[atlmburns]

We have decided to move from CA to CT next year, I just have one last question.....BUGS? Does CT have any dangerous bugs like Black Windows like we have here in CA? I'm not a fan of spiders at all!

[sun]

Technically there is a Northern Black Widow spider species that resides in this region of the U.S., but bites from them are relatively rare of as far as I know.

Black widow spider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Most of our spiders are daddy longleg spiders which are very friendly and harmless, and most of the garden spiders are very harmless too.
There's probably more of a chance of an exotic spider coming out of a crate of bananas than for someone to run into a really poisonous spider. While it may happen occassionally, it's not something that we worry or really ever hear about even.
What we do have in the rural areas is deer ticks that carry Lyme Disease. It's a bacterial infection that's difficult to fight, and sometimes requires long term intraveneous antibiotic treatment. The teeny tiny ticks get brought in on pets and from being in the woods, and they need to feed for about 24 hours and engorge themselves until full before they can be more certain of infecting the host. If the infection is caught in the early stages it's not as hard to cure, just some pills. It can cause a host of symptoms which can be long term, but not usually chronic if properly diagnosed with a blood test & in a timely fashion.
Ticks aren't in the cities really, but mostly where there is more deer and field mice in the woods.
We also have West Nile Virus, that's being carried by mosquitos and infecting birds, like crows which are dying, and can infect humans. The young & elderly are more susceptible to having a bad bout of it, but can also cure itself. Since it's a disease that's new to the area here, people don't have immunity to it like in the region where it came from.
There are warnings of potential for Eastern Equine encephalitis Virus, which the mosquitos can infect horses, and humans can get encephalitous from it too, but it's very, very rare. The state samples bugs for it, and it's present near RI sometimes, but if a single person is infected every decade, I'd be surprised.
Lyme Disease is really the biggie, and the only poisonous snake, the Copperhead (rattler), is also very rare and probably considered endangered here.
Are you moving near the woods or afraid of big snapping turtles?
There is an abundance of poison ivy in the parks & woodlands here. That's probably really the biggest environmental health threat besides regular minor air and water quality issues (Like don't eat the mercury or PCB laden fish - well a little bit is okay I guess! ).

[skytrekker]

Sun covered just about all the bases. Connecticut has the Lyme disease problem as do many states in the Northeast, Midwest and even California now. Common sense practices will protect you and your family and pets.

The other problems of West Nile Virus and EEC are growing with a warming climate. With winters milder here then 30 years ago, more exotic tropical type diseases could possibly come into the state from the south.

Spiders that are lethal like the common Black Widow found in California are rarely found here.
Two snakes; the Eastern Timber rattler and Copperhead are both uncommon and increasingly endangered. The rattler is confined to a few populations along the rocky ledges above the lower CT river south of Hartford. Copperheads are sometimes found in heavily wooded and wetland areas. Both are poisonous, but their bites are rarely lethal.

A growing potent poison Ivy (another offset of increased Co2 in the atmosphere) Plants such as the southern Magnolia, camellia, hardy banana, Giant Sequoia, Hardy palm and yucca can be seen in some gardens here now. The Giant sequoia is now easily hardy now- in Connecticut- I have a beautiful specimen in my garden; while the coastal redwood, is becoming hardy along the immediate shoreline.

For wildlife; bears, foxes, turkey's, feral cats, skunks, groundhogs, coyote- all which have been seen from city to rural area.

[atlmburns]

Guys this is great info, i'm not too bothered by daddy longlegs spiders, its the really dangerous ones like the black window and brown recluse i was worried about, i have two small children and don't want them encountering them in the yard, but it sounds like its along safer than CA standards. I have to say i was suprised to see Turkeys on the list of wildlife...the only time i've ever seen a turkey is in the grocery store lol.

[skytrekker]

Wild Turkey was nearly extinct here 30 years ago- they number over 100,000-and growing.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Wild Turkey was nearly extinct here 30 years ago- they number over 100,000-and growing.

I've got at least 10 walking around my neighborhood every year doing their thing. (Fighting with themselves in bumper reflections, chasing the hens around etc etc...turkey life. lol)