I know this is a silly question (Columbia, Charleston: apartment, house)

[nutraveler]

Ok... My husband and I are contemplating moving down to South Carolina very soon. I can imagine that both Columbia and Greenville are beautiful places. I have been looking on this website and seeing information on the bug and lizard situation in South Carolina. I am fine with lizards (geckos,etc.), snakes and big roaches (dealt with them in Hawaii - we called them "747s" because they flew ). I am not sure about camel crickets. They sound yucky, though. However, I have a ridiculous phobia of spiders. Even the word "spider" scares me a little. It is that bad. Yes, I know, I need therapy. Even the tiny ones give me the "willies". Now, the "wolf spiders" sound hellifying and I am scare to come into contact with one. Do you they come into the house often? I know they are harmless, but the sight of them causes me to wig out. It's embarrassing. When I lived in Hawaii, there were cane spiders (the size of your hand) that came into the house a lot and I think I died a little bit more every time I saw one. What can I do, other than not move there, to avoid them coming into our home. I really would love to enjoy your beautiful state. Are they less common the in suburbs? We were down in NC a few weeks ago and my husband saw one outside our door and it freaked him out. And my husband is a nature lover. I was almost too scared to come out of the apartment after that. I, too, love nature, but my spider issue is a serious problem.

Thanks in advance. Oh, and please be kind, please no pictures. I really do have a clinical phobia. I know, it's sad. Thanks.

[waccamatt]

I've never heard of a camel cricket. Other than the palmetto bugs there aren't any bugs around here that bother me. If you wish to limit your interaction with bugs, try to find a home that isn't too close to a water source and locate in an urban area. There will still be bugs, but probably not quite as many. Being in an urban area will lessen the number of other creatures (like snakes) that you would see.

[samandaxo]

Oh help me...my sprinkler guy just left my house and gave me some upsetting news. I contacted Lake Carolina and received their brochure today and as I was looking through the packet on my front porch, my sprinkler guy said "Woooooh lady you dont want to move to South Carolina, I lived in Beaufort for 3 years and I couldnt stand the bugs"...then he started mentioning all these bugs, sand flees, palmetto mosquito, and giant cockroaches. YUCK!!! Oh I dont think I will be able to handle all the bugs....he said that he could not even enjoy being outside at all cause the bugs would swarm around him

HELP i really want to come to your beautiful state
Crisann

[waccamatt]

If you follow the guidelines in my other post you can limit your bug interaction. I don't find that bugs are significantly worse here than anywhere else; you're always afraid of the unknown. When I go to visit family in Arizona I always worry about rattlesnakes and scorpions.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by samandaxo

I contacted Lake Carolina and received their brochure today and as I was looking through the packet on my front porch, my sprinkler guy said "Woooooh lady you dont want to move to South Carolina, I lived in Beaufort for 3 years and I couldnt stand the bugs"...then he started mentioning all these bugs, sand flees, palmetto mosquito, and giant cockroaches.

I really hate it when people act as though SC is just one big ol' town and everything is the same in every corner of the state. Beaufort is in the Lowcountry, arguably it's the epitome of the Lowcountry, where you're much, much more likely to come into contact with those critters. In Columbia and the Upstate, not so much. As Waccamatt said, the more urban your area, the less likely you are to deal with bugs. I grew up in rural SC between Columbia and Charleston, and the most I had to deal with was the daddy long-legs, which aren't even actual spiders.

[Frankie117]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

If you follow the guidelines in my other post you can limit your bug interaction. I don't find that bugs are significantly worse here than anywhere else; you're always afraid of the unknown. When I go to visit family in Arizona I always worry about rattlesnakes and scorpions.

Indeed bugs are everywhere. Rattlesnakes and scorpions both have significant presence in SC as well.

It should also be known that every effort should be made to prevent standing water from accumulating on your property, whether it be in pots, wheelbarrows, etc. Keep all scrap wood away from the house, and never use mulch near your house and you should be ok as far as most bugs are concerned. Ants, roaches, flies, and things of that sort will always find their way into your house. Make sure that you don't spill any water, because that is usually what they're after during the summer months. If you have pets, make sure that none of their food or water is spilled out, as that can also attract a plethora of bugs. Scorpions rarely show themselves, but they really like places like basements and crawlspaces. SC scorpions can be deadly, but once again you shouldn't find any unless you go looking.

If find snakes everywhere, but if you don't bother them they won't mess with you. Rattlesnakes are extremely poisonous, but they usually give you fair warning when you get too close (people get bites from sneaking up on them, or taunting them).

Hope this helps,

[ranger17]

well, as an outsider who has been reading many threads for different areas of the south--first impression is "way too many bug issues". All we have are wasps, spiders, roaches, ants, earwigs, ticks, mosquitos, etc.... so i guess it doesn't matter where one lives as they exist everywhere. And after watching a local news story up here of a bear in a back yard less then an hour from Madison ( and minutes from where we camp/swim )....and our local state parks can have rattlers as well......
lesson is be careful, watch your surroundings, and avoid "inviting" any critters to your home and you should be in good shape overall.
Oh, and keep the exterminator's phone # handy

[waccamatt]

I never knew there were scorpions in South Carolina; I've never heard of anyone seeing one.

[Tommy1981]

SC has several different vareities of scorpions. None of them are the big nasty ones you see on discovery in the desert. The ones I've seen are fairly small, probably about the size of a quarter. If you've got a pile of firewood sitting for a season, go turn over a few logs on the bottom and you'll find them with the rolly polly's.

I've had a couple of occasions to see them inside buildings. Once at my parents house and once at a place I used to work. I'm not sure what draws them inside, but they're just like any other "bug" to get rid of. As long as you don't squash them with a bare foot you're fine.