Please convince me that the bugs/snakes should not keep me from moving to Phoenix (Scottsdale: apartments, buying a house)

[lotsakits]

My husband and I really would like to move to Phoenix. The only thing that worries me is having snakes in my garage and trantulas and scorpions in my house. Is that really a good reason not to move there or is that stupid?

[MotleyCrew]

I have aracniphobia (sp?) in the worst way. I actually google what types of spiders live in an area before moving. I am passing on Florida and Costa Rica. I had the very worst experience of my life on Maui 30 years ago. I have not seen one tarantula in the whole two years of living here in Vistancia. My poor neighbor however has a colony in his yard (actually only 3). When he hits very high notes we cover the wine glasses. Scorpions have been spotted dying on our patio after the bug guy comes. Not one scorpion has made it into my house that we have run into. Get a cat. Cats like to hunt them and are immune from the sting. I have come across snakes on our walking trail and a few folks have found them under their cars in the a.m when the weather is getting warmer. No one resident has been bitten yet. I am no longer afraid of rattlesnakes, I respect them, but no fear anymore. They actually go a great distance to get out of your way and if you give them time, they will keep on going. I am still working on my fear of spiders but find so few of them, I am happy so far.
Please visit for awhile, you will enjoy our air.

[mhouse2001]

Unless you live in raw, untamed desert, you should have absolutely no problem. I've seen only one tarantula--poolside in Sedona. I've seen only one scorpion--came in on the Christmas tree which was promptly returned. I've never seen a rattler or sidewinder--except the Arizona Diamondbacks, if that counts. To avoid all of these, its best to live in established areas away from desert washes and open spaces.

[Cj81]

hey lotsakits, My opinion is that is a stupid reason to not move here. C'mon, there are about 4 million people living in the Phx metro area (maybe more) and if the bugs were that bad or that deadly then we would be dropping like flies out here. But there are more and more people moving out here every year. I have lived here for over 13 years and I think I have seen about 8 scorps, I have seen a lot of black widdows but they hang out outside, I have never seen one inside a clean house. They eat bugs like crickets. I used to have the black widdow webs in my backyard and I would go out at night and catch a cricket then throw it into the BW's web, its like watching National Geographic. Sorry for getting off track there, the point is they set up shop where the food is, so a clean house won't have crickets inside it and no reason to have spiders. I live in central Phx and I have never seen a snake here ever. I do know people who live in N. Scottsdale that see them often though. But a lot of N. Scottsdale homes are surrounded by natural desert. Don't worry about the bugs and snakes, So many people post these worst case sceneros up here that I start to freak out. And I live here!!! Honestly though , its not that big of a problem. I don't know what else to tell you though. The next post will probably be from someone who has been bitten by a snake 10 times, sees 2 scorps everyday and can't remeber how many times they have been bitten by black widdows. So you just have to decide for yourself at this point. Could you handle it if you saw just one scorp in your house one time? If the answer is no, then you prob shouldn't move out here. If your just worried that you will have to take on a second job killing scorps and snakes in your house , then you have been reading far too many exadurations and have nothing to worry about. Good luck.

[Steve-o]

It seems like a silly reason to move, but you have to ask yourself, are you ready to encounter them? You WILL encounter them in one way or another. Use some common sense (ie check your clothes before you put them on, dont reach around or behind things w/o checking first, etc) and you should be fine. I guess Im the resident bug expert here, so if you have any more questions ask!

Google these following names (common in AZ) for more info:

Centruroides exilicauda (AZ bark scorpion--potentially lethal)
Latrodectus hesperus (western black widow)
Crotalus atrox (western diamondback rattlesnake)
In fact, Google the Crotalus genus, and youll find the whole list of rattlesnakes that live in AZ.
Scolopendra species (giant centipedes), mainly Scolopendra polymorpha.

These are the animals that will do the most damage to you, should you be envenomated.

[kelle]

Originally Posted by lotsakits

My husband and I really would like to move to Phoenix. The only thing that worries me is having snakes in my garage and trantulas and scorpions in my house. Is that really a good reason not to move there or is that stupid?

Wow, we are alike! I hate creepy crawlies, ESPECIALLY spiders. I think Phoenix is a great place to live, even if you have the bug phobia's. Tarantula's??? If you live in a trailor in the middle of the desert-yes! A suburb of Phoenix, tarantula's don't live in the 'burbs'!

Now for the bad news: I've lived in two towns in two different houses (one built in 1981 and one built in 2004), and BOTH have had a scorpion wandering through at one time or another. I'm telling you, I"ll take a scorpion over a wolf spider, wasp, black widow, or any other totally gross thing! They are SLOW AND STUPID. Easy to kill or trap under a glass (they can't escape!!). And if you have scorpions on your property, you will always have them, they are in the soil, the block walls, they can't be 100% killed by pesticides. But get this: Our friends have lived here for 20+ years, and neither of them (they live in Sun City, & downtown Phoenix) have ever seen a scorpion!! We lived in Chandler and Gilbert. If you are buying a house, just check the seller property disclosure statements, they have to disclose the creepy crawly report there. See scorpions? Bail. Knock on neighbors doors, if they don't have them, you probably won't have them either.

But getting back to my point, we have so few bugs here that really bug you! But it depends on where you're from...I'm from the northeast where wolf spiders and spiders that look like they've swallowed a cat hang out in your basement. So the scorpions here really didn't freak me out. I was even bit by one, and a wasp bite is WAY worse. The black widow's are here too, but they usually hang out outside and can be completely eradicated with an exterminator.

Hope that helps! It's really an OK place to live for bug phobias!

[AZ Rider]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

It seems like a silly reason to move, but you have to ask yourself, are you ready to encounter them? You WILL encounter them in one way or another. Use some common sense (ie check your clothes before you put them on, dont reach around or behind things w/o checking first, etc) and you should be fine. I guess Im the resident bug expert here, so if you have any more questions ask!

Google these following names (common in AZ) for more info:

Centruroides exilicauda (AZ bark scorpion--potentially lethal)
Latrodectus hesperus (western black widow)
Crotalus atrox (western diamondback rattlesnake)
In fact, Google the Crotalus genus, and youll find the whole list of rattlesnakes that live in AZ.
Scolopendra species (giant centipedes), mainly Scolopendra polymorpha.

These are the animals that will do the most damage to you, should you be envenomated.

Most folks get bitten because they harass the snake, belong to some dorky snake-handling cult, put their hands in crevices without looking, or bear a strong resemblance to a kangaroo rat. It was once my belief that virtually everyone who suffered a rattlesnake bite had it coming. I still believe this, though because of my recent experience, I have to add "boneheaded inattentiveness" to the list.

Average number of deaths from rattlesnake bites in AZ: <1 per year (one every 2-3 Years)

Last time someone in AZ died of a scorpion sting: 1968

Average number of death from tornadoes in Illinois: 4 per year.

Last time someone died in a tornado in IL: Well someone gets killed by one every year - sometime a lot of peope are killed.

Steve-O, do the people of your beloved home state a favor and start warning them of the risks of tornadoes! Shake out your clothes? - good grief!

[lotsakits]

Everyone on this forum talks about how if you build a new house you will have all kinds of problems, and that is what we would like to do....possibly in Queen Creek, but I just don't know if I could handle have all kinds of scorpions in my house and rattlers in my garage!!! That is the only thing that worries me about moving out there....stupid as it may be.

[sablebaby]

Don't worry about it so much. I'm tired of telling people on here not to worry about it. It's not like the rattlesnakes (which I've never seen one here in all my 31 years) and scorpians (have seen I think 3) are roaming the streets like gangbusters. This only started on here because a couple of people (one who doesn't live here) started warning people. I gaurantee if you talked to natives who live here they'd look at you funny. IT'S NOT A PROBLEM! You may see them, yes, but we're not inundated with them.

Things to worry about (depending on where you are coming from):

The heat
Crazy drivers
commuting to work if you live in QC
skin cancer
some crime
not so great schools

There are so many other things to be concerned about. Like finding work, if you haven't already. Finding a home to live in. Schools for children, if you have any, etc.

[AZ_singlemother]

I've been here for almost 5 years and the most I will see frequently are the following:

2 inch sewer cockroaches - yikes!
Dog size wild pigs - don't go near them, they smell like skunks.

The only time I encounted scorpians were at work when they were doing construction. There are some complexes - mostly by the mountains, that could have infestations of scorpians - such as apartments in north scottsdale by the mcdowell mountains.

All I can say is get familiar with the desert animals and know what precautions you should take if you do encounter them, such as spraying your apartment/house frequently, and pouring bleach down the sewer pipes, sinks, tubs, etc.