snakes, spiders, scorpions in frisco? (Dallas, Lewisville: house, neighborhood, scorpion)

[st74]

I'm planning on moving from Philadelphia to Frisco, TX. and am worried about all the rumors of snakes and spiders. im scared as hell over these damn things and would rather not deal with them. please give me some feedback on your experience with these creatures.

[pepper131]

Hmmm...guess anything is possible since Frisco was recently built upon prairie/farmland. Add coyotes to the list.

[bluescreen73]

Snakes - Abundant, but unless you go trapsing around in the underbrush you're probably not going to see them very often.

Spiders - They're everywhere but that's what quarterly pest control is for. Fortunately there are only 2 worrisome spider species - the black widow and the brown recluse - and serious/fatal bites from them are very rare.

Scorpions - One species. The striped bark scorpion. It's fairly common to most of the midwestern and western US. It's not highly toxic. It's sting is comparable to a wasp's and usually only causes problems for people who are allergic to the venom. They're more common in heavily wooded or rocky areas. I've seen one in 10 years here.

Heck we have geckos, armadillos, bobcats, coyotes, and foxes around here as well. Very rarely there are gator and mountain lion sightings, too.

What you're more likely to see than all of those (except for spiders) are mosquitos, cockroaches, and grackles.

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

I've never seen a scorpion in the Dallas area - Ft. Worth sometimes has them (but they are harmless, just a little sting).

Snakes are around, but again, rarely seen, especially in the populated areas. Unless they are poisonous, they are beneficial, as they feed on mice and other rodents. I can't recall the last time I encountered even a garter snake, other than at the Heard wildlife refuge in McKinney (harmless water snake in that instance).

Spiders we have in good supply, but they are also beneficial because they eat bugs that you don't want (mosquitoes, flies, etc.). Occasionally, someone will find a Black Widow or Brown Recluse (the only species that present any risk to human in the US) - but I've never seen either. They are by nature reclusive and more interested in avoiding you.

I doubt that we have any more spiders or snakes than you do in Philadelphia - maybe just different species.

[momof2dfw]

SHHHH!!! A few weeks ago someone posted about snakes and we all said the same thing. Very rarely see them. Then guess what.......... I saw TWO in ONE DAY!!!!! One was here at the house and was sitting right where the overhead garage door was when we raised it. It is now in snake heaven. Later that day we went to the lake and while I was on the Seadoo I saw one within a foot of me. The first snake was about 18" long and the second one was a good 3'-4' TOTALLY WIGGED ME OUT!!! To make matters worse...... when we got down to our lakehouse the neighbors informed us they had just killed a 5' rat snake at our outdoor kitchen the DAY BEFORE!!!!

Now, I've hardly seen 1 LIVE snake in a years time but to see TWO LIVE ONES in one day...... Oh, and a few days before we saw the one at the house there was a dead one on the main road by our house.

The exterminators told us that right now they are bad if you live near the woods or creeks/lakes because of the recent heavy rains.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

The exterminators told us that right now they are bad if you live near the woods or creeks/lakes because of the recent heavy rains.

Lakefront property = snakefront property

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

To make matters worse...... when we got down to our lakehouse the neighbors informed us they had just killed a 5' rat snake at our outdoor kitchen the DAY BEFORE!!!!

Why would they kill the snake? Do they prefer rats?

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Lakefront property = snakefront property

Only 2 of the 4 snakes in a weeks time were on "lakefront". One of those was actually IN the water. The other 2 were here at my house.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by TriumphOfTheSprint

Why would they kill the snake? Do they prefer rats?

One was a copperhead. The rat snake the neighbor killed. They have small dogs as do we as well as all of the kids we have down there on holiday weekends. I was not around for them to kill it or to tell them too. The other 2: One I ran over in the water on my SeaDoo and I doubt I killed it. The other was in the road and someone probably ran over it.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Only 2 of the 4 snakes in a weeks time were on "lakefront". One of those was actually IN the water. The other 2 were here at my house.

We live "near" (half a mile from) the lake and a flood control pond that feeds into Lake Lewisville. We've seen a crayfish snake, a copperhead, and a water moccasin in the 7 years we've lived in our neighborhood.