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I am more curious than anything else. I am moving from Australia in an area that doesn't have anything like hurricanes or earthquakes. Bush fires seem to be our main thing and the occasional hail storm which can drop hail the size of baseballs from the sky which will wreck your car and say good bye to any sky light you may have.
We also have tons and tons of bugs, blue tongue lizards, possums, poisonous snakes and spiders.
What kind of creepy crawlies and weather can I expect in New Hampshire?
I'm looking forward to squirrels - we don't have them either. They're so cute I can't stand it.
I am more curious than anything else. I am moving from Australia in an area that doesn't have anything like hurricanes or earthquakes. Bush fires seem to be our main thing and the occasional hail storm which can drop hail the size of baseballs from the sky which will wreck your car and say good bye to any sky light you may have.
We also have tons and tons of bugs, blue tongue lizards, possums, poisonous snakes and spiders.
What kind of creepy crawlies and weather can I expect in New Hampshire?
I'm looking forward to squirrels - we don't have them either. They're so cute I can't stand it.
Ticks may be your primary concern coming from coastal NSW- Most of the northeastern USA has a problem with Deer Ticks.
Taking common sense precaution is needed if going in to the 'Bush' here;- do not go bare foot into tall grass or woodlands. Wear sox and long pants .
Southern New Hampshire is the northern range for two poisonous snakes; The eastern timber rattler and copperhead- both are not common. However their toxicity is very mild compared to snakes found in Australia.
Other denizens are mosquitoes; which at rare times can carry disease- again wearing a repellent and avoiding dusk to dawn exposure is best.
We do have some spiders that bite here- black widow and a brown spider- they are not lethal, but can cause some pain. Black flies can be nasty in the late spring- and will bite.
Possums are the only marsupial in New England . Skunks are a nasty nuisance- and an encounter on the road can be very smelly. Also beware of Moose as one goes further north- these large creatures are pretty harmless- but an encounter with your car is not a nice way to begin or end your day.
We also have brown and black bears, wild turkey, foxes and nasty coyote (with the latter its best to keep domestic pets inside) Wolves and wild cats/bob cats have been said to have been seen again in the north country- this claim has not been verified.
Weather wise- hurricanes are uncommon in New Hampshire; but the region can see the remains of one with high winds and rain. Tornadoes are rare.
Ice storms (freezing rain) when liquid rains freezes on surfaces like pavement, utility wires, tree branches when the surface temperature is below 32 or 0 degree Celsius , can cause many serious problems; treacherous driving, and power outages.
Summers can bring thunderstorms with vivid lighting; and winters the aforementioned freezing rain, but also sleet (frozen ice pellets) and an occasional 'nor easter' bringing heavy rain or a blizzard with high winds in the winter months. Destructive hail here is not common.
Earthquakes of destructive magnitude are very rare here- but mild to moderate tremors happen from time to time.
Last edited by skytrekker; 07-03-2007 at 06:45 AM..
You'll pretty much never encounter a poisonous snake out here. Like said above, there are a couple here, but you could take weeks actually trying to find one.
Nothing as far as animals will bother you. Unless you live in northern remote areas (w/ bear, moose, which again aren't common to see) you're just going see racoons, possums, squirrels, porcuipines, and skunks. Coyotes are tiny and people worry about them for no reason. They will take small pets though.
Ticks are bad, but avoidable. The ONLY thing buggy here that bothers me is the biting midges (not black flies). I fish in the coastal marshes and around dusk they swarm in clouds around me. They bite but it doesn't bother me like mosquitos, they just swarm all over me everywhere and are super irritating.
Ticks may be your primary concern coming from coastal NSW- Most of the northeastern USA has a problem with Deer Ticks.
Taking common sense precaution is needed if going in to the 'Bush' here;- do not go bare foot into tall grass or woodlands. Wear sox and long pants .
Southern New Hampshire is the northern range for two poisonous snakes; The eastern timber rattler and copperhead- both are not common. However their toxicity is very mild compared to snakes found in Australia.
Other denizens are mosquitoes; which at rare times can carry disease- again wearing a repellent and avoiding dusk to dawn exposure is best.
We do have some spiders that bite here- black widow and a brown spider- they are not lethal, but can cause some pain. Black flies can be nasty in the late spring- and will bite.
Possums are the only marsupial in New England . Skunks are a nasty nuisance- and an encounter on the road can be very smelly. Also beware of Moose as one goes further north- these large creatures are pretty harmless- but an encounter with your car is not a nice way to begin or end your day.
We also have brown and black bears, wild turkey, foxes and nasty coyote (with the latter its best to keep domestic pets inside) Wolves and wild cats/bob cats have been said to have been seen again in the north country- this claim has not been verified.
Weather wise- hurricanes are uncommon in New Hampshire; but the region can see the remains of one with high winds and rain. Tornadoes are rare.
Ice storms (freezing rain) when liquid rains freezes on surfaces like pavement, utility wires, tree branches when the surface temperature is below 32 or 0 degree Celsius , can cause many serious problems; treacherous driving, and power outages.
Summers can bring thunderstorms with vivid lighting; and winters the aforementioned freezing rain, but also sleet (frozen ice pellets) and an occasional 'nor easter' bringing heavy rain or a blizzard with high winds in the winter months. Destructive hail here is not common.
Earthquakes of destructive magnitude are very rare here- but mild to moderate tremors happen from time to time.
That's an *excellent* description and summary! But after reading that, I'd not want to move to NH! That's enough to scare anyone away.
We've lived there more than 30 years and loved it, have dealt with the weather extremes in winter and even enjoyed those most winters. It's cozy to run the wood stove during a power outage.
I never saw a snake other than a garden snake even though we have good sized wooded areas around our house. We would regularly see deer pass through the back yard (way back), looking for food in the winter; one year we saw wild turkeys wander through the yards, and occasionally a young moose. Neighbors all thought it was the same one, though I was never around to see its visits. Never saw a bad spider. We have a fenced yard, so racoons, skunks, etc. were kept out. Two regular squirrels, for which I put food out.
I was actually surprised to learn after many years of living in NH that it is on a fault line and has about 200 tremors a year. We only felt two mild ones in all the time we've been there, although more were reported in the news.
All in all, it's nothing compared to what Australians have to live with. I'd love to see Australia (have friends and relatives there) but I'd much prefer living in NH!
Hello. Thank you everyone. It's a wonderful description and I'm not frightened away at all. It all sounds pretty good to me. I've had redback spiders set up in my bathroom, a funnel web in my friends lounge room, a red belly black snack in the garage, and when we go walking in the Hunter Valley garden we make loud noises and stomp to distrub the snakes etc, etc, etc.
I find the prospect of coming across a large moose and a bear (in the distance) quite exciting.
I bought a plant for my Dad when I was over there last because it said "Deer resistant". I thought that was hilarious - imagine having a deer in your back yard - I thought at the time.
We have 3 cats which are house bound. We had talked about letting them out once in a while when we move there, but we won't know .. I'm glad I asked.
We'll probably move to Nashua, but not in the city parts - not really sure yet.
I'm looking foward to all the new and definatly large sounding creatures that will cross our path.
Location: Atlanta Suburbs...Georgia...Life is good!!!
276 posts, read 1,127,291 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by surts
Hello,
I am more curious than anything else. I am moving from Australia in an area that doesn't have anything like hurricanes or earthquakes. Bush fires seem to be our main thing and the occasional hail storm which can drop hail the size of baseballs from the sky which will wreck your car and say good bye to any sky light you may have.
We also have tons and tons of bugs, blue tongue lizards, possums, poisonous snakes and spiders.
What kind of creepy crawlies and weather can I expect in New Hampshire?
I'm looking forward to squirrels - we don't have them either. They're so cute I can't stand it.
Hi there,
I lived in NH as well as MA for 42 years and I can tell you this....
I love everything about NH but the snow....Other than that I would still be there.
There are possoms but they are nothing to worry about, racoons(dont feed them) squirrels(yes they are cute but dont touch them they can really hurt and can carry rabies...look at a distance...just not to close...they are adorable though, there are miquitoes(sp) that are bothersome but not anything to be worried about, spiders( dont know what kind but they do bite and it can be very itchy and sometimes painful if you happen to be sensitive to them, ants(regular ant...I live in FL now and we have red ants and let me tell you those HURT when you get bit...I never had a problem with any ants back home in NH)Moose, they are on Kagamagus Hyw towards the White Mountains(a beautiful area ...)and they are plentiful so do take care if you drive especially at night but I lived there a LONG time and never had an issue at all. Skunks...on now that is a nasty smell, and if you have pets outside they are liable to get the brunt of that...and its not a pleasant thing to deal with(tomatoe soup baths lol)...NH is a gorgeous state and has four distinct seasons...although spring is short and much like fall without the falling leaves, and then you head right into summer and then winter..they seem to last forever..........and black ice(ice storms and hail happen but not to much) but freezing rain is pretty common in the winter so just be careful...NH takes very good care of thier highways and roads but it does get messy and might take a bit longer to get somewhere but its not to bad...Nashua area is ok. I wouldnt live there* too city for me) but my sister lives there and loves it and so does my niece...I lived in Dover and I adore that city...charming and quaint city but feels like a small town...
I never dealt with tornadoes in NH although I have heard of an occasional tremor from a minor earthquake, I have also never known anyone to be bothered by a hurricane that is anything like catastofic of the likes of Charlier or Katrina..the last one I remember back home was BOB and he did pack a wallop with rain and wind but it was managable and as far as winter goes they have been mild for quite alot of years now but an occasionally blizzard comes thru(Feb 78 March 95) are the last two big ones that I was in and that was rough but its not an every year occurance and with hurricanes and blizzards you have plenty of warning and lots of time to prepare so dont be detered by them, if you do as your news tells you or your neighbors it will be fine. I was never overly scared and neither were my kids,,,its just alot of wind, rain and or snow but it goes away pretty much withiin a week or so(unless its like 78) and life goes back to normal pretty quickly...NH is a great place to live(all of New England is really) I think you will really come to love it....Good Luck with your move and welcome to USA and NH...You will love it...Any questions feel free to PM or post here...Take Care...
Last edited by nibseysgirl; 07-04-2007 at 11:10 PM..
Reason: added a comment
Please don't let your cats outside when you move here. Outside cats, even well fed ones, kill the backyard wildlife and birds that you want to enjoy. Cats are one of the largest ecological disasters in this country and people are completely oblivious to it.
My cats have never killed any birds/wildlife, but they are not aggressive and they are a bit chubby--Ragdoll breed, so maybe that is why. I can't wait to visit New Hampshire this summer. It looks really beautiful there and I will get out of the upcoming Texas summer Heat.
Hmm I find it interesting that NH gets tremors is that within the whole state
or just certain areas. Also which way does the fault line run.
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That's enough to scare anyone away. 
