Scorpions, Tarantulas, Snakes, Oh-My (Austin, San Diego: apartments, medical, new home)

[edge_gordon]

Originally Posted by twange

What a sterile world it would be without the various critters living among us?

And don't forget Austin is at the confluence of many different ecological zones, so it's one big, happy party...and everyone's invited

Oh, ain't it the truth? I'm looking at a place in Bee Cave and planning hummingbird feeders. I'm well used to the creepy and the crawly, and if it isn't in my lap, we'll just go our separate ways. We've evicted innumerable wolf spiders from our home in Bavaria this fall. They don't pay rent, so...

The diversity of CenTex, is one of the beauties of it. Curiosity is always rewarded with learning. Most of these critters are WAY more scared of you, than you are of it. Learn about them, find out where they fit in the world, and do as you would like for them to do for you.. let them be.

Once again, whatsthatbug.com is incredibly useful for leggy things, and tpwd.state.tx.us is useful for slithery things, furry things, and other things.

Enjoy!
edge

[Megan1967]

This thread has some bug info in addition to spiders, scorpions and snakes so I thought I'd post my question here.

Is it possible to leave out cat food on the kitchen counter without attracting bugs? I'm pretty sure the answer is no, I just wanted to ask.

[twange]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

This thread has some bug info in addition to spiders, scorpions and snakes so I thought I'd post my question here.

Is it possible to leave out cat food on the kitchen counter without attracting bugs? I'm pretty sure the answer is no, I just wanted to ask.

We do it but when it's warmer(70 and up), it sometimes attracts teeny, tiny ants. We really keep an eye on it, since my cat is used to eating when she's hungry and she ain't gonna start eating like our dog anytime soon

[b. frank]

Originally Posted by twange

We do it but when it's warmer(70 and up), it sometimes attracts teeny, tiny ants. We really keep an eye on it, since my cat is used to eating when she's hungry and she ain't gonna start eating like our dog anytime soon

Really? I never thought about this. Our cat food is always on the counter and we've never had bugs in it. It's only dry food, though.
Actually, I have not had the same critter experiences that I read here so often.
Since we have been in South Austin we have never had fire ants in our yard, never seen a scorpion, never seen a poisonous spider (some truly immense ones though!), and have never seen a snake.
One critter we did have that was quite disconcerting: enormous flying roaches (during summer months). At first, I was really worried that our house was infested. But research showed that the type that was coming in our house was a variety that lives outside and only comes in to find crumbs and water. Still pretty gross, but at least not living in our walls. Our neighbors told us that they are common especially in wet years, and in our neighborhood because they live in the mature trees.

[twange]

Originally Posted by b. frank

Really? I never thought about this. Our cat food is always on the counter and we've never had bugs in it. It's only dry food, though.

Yea, ours is dry as well. These things are tiny! And they only show up sometimes. But the cat's not happy about it! I can imagine what she might say:

"Look if my foods going to move around, I at least want the satisfaction of killing it"

[Melann]

If you live in an area that is not wooded and has been developed for years like an older track home you won't have any scorpion problems. Maybe if you are out lifting rocks in a field or neglected area of a yard. I have friends who get scorpions in thier house but the house is not even a year old and in an undeveloped area.
And we spray for fire ants every year and once in a while we see a little dirt area in our yard and the pest company comes out and resprays for free and it is only 89.00 a year.
We also spray for regular (carpenter) ants and bugs every three months. I hate bugs and spiders and really hate scorpions but don't have any in my house. Actually moving here has given my husband and I an appreciation for bugs. Texas has a bad wrap as far as bugs go, most of them are really cool looking, it is the mosquitos in the summer that really BUG us!

[edge_gordon]

I would never leave anything out on the counter in Austin. Bread left out will mold in a day or two. I always kept it in the fridge. Cat food attracts not just ants, but a host of other freeloaders, especially if you have a pet door. If the pet food is disappearing, and your pet is looking nervous and hungry, or making a lot of noise at night, you may have a four-legged freeloader.

MLE

[edge_gordon]

Originally Posted by Melann

If you live in an area that is not wooded and has been developed for years like an older track home you won't have any scorpion problems. Maybe if you are out lifting rocks in a field or neglected area of a yard. I have friends who get scorpions in thier house but the house is not even a year old and in an undeveloped area.

Based on my experience, 25 years in the city and 5-6 out in the sticks, that's fairly accurate. However, in Texas, you never know what's going to turn up!

We also spray for regular (carpenter) ants and bugs every three months. I hate bugs and spiders and really hate scorpions but don't have any in my house. Actually moving here has given my husband and I an appreciation for bugs. Texas has a bad wrap as far as bugs go, most of them are really cool looking, it is the mosquitos in the summer that really BUG us!

I'd want to know what was in those sprays. I used heavy stuff (Sevin Dust) to keep the carpenter ants from eating my garden, but I prefer to stay with stuff that makes the critters decide to go elsewhere, and won't kill me or my pets.

Do they still sell Logic and Amdro in Texas? That stuff, spread out weekly in the spring (March) really knocked the fire ant population back. You have to stay on top of the flea problem with that back-of-the-neck stuff, or you'll have as many fleas as your pets. Itchy!

Mosquitos are everywhere. At least they are big and slow, here in Bavaria.

Happy New year to everyone, we still don't know where we are going to end up, but Austin is still a possibility.

MLE

[Lilly3]

Dear God! I am officially 2nd guessing our move to Austin for the seemingly inevitable night-time assault I'm going to suffer from a giant tarantula.

[Phisch]

You're not moving from California, are you? The only tarantula visit I've ever heard of was in San Diego. My SIL found one in the trunk of her car. She wasn't too happy.

I've not heard of people finding tarantulas here in Austin. Scorpion? Yeah we found one in our bathroom.