Spiders and Snakes in Tennessee? (environment, health, houses)

[JMT]

Originally Posted by 2mares

Not until now? LOL. The bug that is bugging me the most now is those darn TICKS. I have lost count of how many Ive removed from me the grandkids, kids and dogs. Ive treated the yard but dosent seem to help much.
Pam that is a good idea to shake out your clothes. I have been stung by wasps that have gotten into shirt sleves hanging in the closet. Wasps are pretty bad at my place already too.

Holy cow, a wasp in your shirt? That's horrible!

I still say, however, that it's better here in TN than in Florida. I remember as a kid it wasn't unusual to have roaches in our clothes and shoes in addition to big hairy spiders and who knows what else. Oh, snakes in the shower, even a rattler behind the piano once. (My mom hacked it to pieces with the rage that only a mother can have when she feels her children are being threatened.) Oh, and how about the alligator my uncle's dog discovered under their front porch?

You've never heard a more blood-curdling scream than the one I made when I put on a pair of pants only to have a big ugly roach come crawling down my leg...

[Eat]

Originally Posted by JMT

I still say, however, that it's better here in TN than in Florida.

Yep. At least here, I have never had a frog surface in my toilet.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Eat

Yep. At least here, I have never had a frog surface in my toilet.

Or a roach!!! Once in Florida a few years ago I went to the bathroom only to see a big hairy roach (or water bug as some people call them--but it's still a roach in my book) come crawling out from under the toilet rim just as I was getting started doing my business. I am soooo glad I didn't have to sit down to go to the bathroom that time...

[2mares]

JMT
Wow. Ill just keep my ticks and wasps!

I believe the law protecting certain snakes, copperheads and rattlers, has been changed. I dont know for sure, but remember having a conversation about it with a couple wildlife officers years ago. Those old time officers would be the first to off a snake law or not.

[2mares]

Or a roach!!! Once in Florida a few years ago I went to the bathroom only to see a big hairy roach (or water bug as some people call them--but it's still a roach in my book) come crawling out from under the toilet rim just as I was getting started doing my business. I am soooo glad I didn't have to sit down to go to the bathroom that time...

When I was little my grandma had an outhouse, I hated using that thing. Ive always had a fear of something crawling out of that nasty hole right up to my no no area.

[2mares]

I spray around the foundation every two weeks. We have chickens and gineas loose for the rest. I try to keep the grass mowed real timely like.

I would love to have free range chickens and some gineas (as annoying as they can be) to cut down on the insects, but Im afraid my dogs would have them for supper.

[bbkaren]

"...When I was little my grandma had an outhouse, I hated using that thing. Ive always had a fear of something crawling out of that nasty hole right up to my no no area..."


...especially a brown recluse--I hear recluses like to live in caves lol!

[Eat]

Originally Posted by 2mares

When I was little my grandma had an outhouse, I hated using that thing. Ive always had a fear of something crawling out of that nasty hole right up to my no no area.

In the West and Southwest, you always beat on the lid before sitting down in an outhouse. It makes the scorpions drop off.

[JoshB]

Wow, it doesn't sound to bad. Yea around here we get ticks like mad because we have lots of trees. We also have these pretty cool looking snakes called Rat Snakes. I'm not so worried about non-venomous snakes as I'm the spiders. The main reason I'm afraid of them venomous/poisonous spiders is because I've seen pictures of what it can do to your skin if you've been bitten by a Brown Recluse. I really like Tennessee and the topography and I don't want to let that hinder my moving there sometime in the future.

Boy them Copperheads sure do sound nasty!

Thanks everyone who responded to my post here.

[2mares]

In the West and Southwest, you always beat on the lid before sitting down in an outhouse. It makes the scorpions drop off.

Lids? Lids you say. You must have had one of them fancy **** houses. Ill bet it was even a 2 seater.

Josh
Those pictures youve seen are probable worst cases. My son was bitten last year, after a few days of continued swelling and spreading redness, he went to the dr. and got anti biotics and that cleared it up. Those copperhead bites turn nasty looking quick too. That worries me more than spiders.