Venomous creatures? (Silverdale, Poulsbo, Indianola: houses, scorpions, school)

[Susandsb]

Hi everybody,
We are hoping to move to the Kitsap peninsula, likely Poulsbo, next summer. We live in Alaska right now, and my kids have lived here all their lives. We have absolutely no snakes and no poisonous spiders in the state, so my kids are a bit worried about moving to a new place that has them. Can anyone tell me the situation? We are hoping to not live right in town, but get at least a few acres. What is the snake and spider situation?
Thanks so much!! I hope it's good news

[bmsea]

People always talk about those recluse spiders and hobo spiders, but I don't know anyone that has actually found one in their home (or on their property). So, I'm not going to say its an urban myth, but I think its not something that even needs to be on your radar of things to worry about. As for snakes - I have seen some garden snakes but nothing poisonous.

Worry more about the meth-heads in rural Kitsap County.

[LMB]

We live in Poulsbo, but we're in town. I don't know if that actually makes much of a difference around here--in town and outside of town aren't all that far apart! We're new residents, but we've seen (and walked into!) lots of spiders & webs and had a few garter snake sightings in our back yard. There was a raccoon in the yard a few nights ago, but I've also seen one in downtown Poulsbo. We've been told there's no poisonous critters around here, but I'm still cautious while working in the yard.

We lived in Florida for the last 15 years, and had plenty of poisonous and dangerous insects and snakes around, not to mention the occasional alligator that would show up just when you least expected it! I'm really happy there are no fire ants here either. I can actually walk through our back yard without getting bitten by them--nasty little creatures that pack a wallop that lasts for weeks!

Others might know of poisonous spiders & snakes common around this area. There are none that I know of though.

Good luck with your move to Poulsbo. It's a great little town!

Lynn

[earls]

You generally don't use Poulsbo and acres in the same sentence - but it is a nice place to visit too crowded for me and if you a moving from Alaska it will be really too crowded for you. Go more south. Snakes no worries. Spiders the brown recluse is the one to watch out for but it is not like a big problem they mostly hang out where you don't go just read up a little about them so you are aware then don't worry - another spider on the watch list is the Black Widow.

[jabm67]

There are no venomous snakes native in Washington west of the Cascade ridgeline. There are lots of snakes ... my daughter used to catch garter snakes at her schoolyard most days in the spring ... but they are nonvenomous.

[Skytripper]

I have seen a couple HUGE Garter snakes here in Whatcom County....but like others here have said....they are completely harmless.
No poisonous snakes here in western WA.
Rattlesnakes are abundant though...EAST of the Cascades.

Spiders....MANY variety and some are VERY big and WILL creep you out for sure!
Whoever posted stating that Brown Recluse spiders are not poisonous....IS WRONG. I had to get treated at a doctor's office many years ago after being bit by one and even needed a shot of something I think.
Black Widows are around too.....but you don't see them much and they are very docile by nature.....just DON'T get bit by one!

[Susandsb]

Thanks for the replies!! Well, we can handle the garter snakes, even though they creep me out. They don't generally come in houses do they? I know about the brown recluse and black widow, I lived in Oklahoma for a year and grew up in Colorado. They were frequent visitors in Oklahoma, I was hoping it wouldn't be like that in WA. It doesn't sound like it will be too much of a problem.

Earls, that's interesting to hear. All I really know about the area is what I've looked up on the internet. It looks like a great, quaint small town, which I love, I guess I assumed we could live out of town a bit with a little land. I don't like living right next to someone. I didn't think it would be crowded, the poplulation seems small. Can you tell me more? What about other towns nearby? We picked Poulsbo because we thought it was a nice small town. My kids will be going to school in Indianola, so anywhere in the vicinity will work.
Suggestions??

[KidBlue]

No rattlesnakes in Western WA! Another reason to come there. We've had four rattlesnakes in our yard so far this summer. We have had garter snakes in our house before, but they were small baby snakes. Just keep a large clear jar with a lid on hand. The snakes, frogs, and lizards go right in and can be taken outside.

Thanks for the info. on the hobo spiders. I was worried, but sounds like they aren't any more of a danger than black widows and brown recluses which we have here. Instead of fire ants, we have small scorpions that really sting. It will be nice to leave them behind also!

[LMB]

Originally Posted by Susandsb

All I really know about the area is what I've looked up on the internet. It looks like a great, quaint small town, which I love, I guess I assumed we could live out of town a bit with a little land. I don't like living right next to someone. I didn't think it would be crowded, the poplulation seems small. Can you tell me more? What about other towns nearby? We picked Poulsbo because we thought it was a nice small town. My kids will be going to school in Indianola, so anywhere in the vicinity will work.
Suggestions??

It is a great, quaint small town! We love it here. There are plenty of rural areas around Poulsbo with 1-10+ acre homesites. Many of our friends and relatives live on small acreages here, but are only 10 minutes or less "out of town." You just need to visit and check it out so you can see for yourself. Obviously, it's not going to be as rural/remote as Alaska, but you can easily find a home that won't be too close to your neighbors. There's a bunch of them on the market right now. Other nearby towns with rural areas are Kingston, Hansville, Seabeck and Silverdale.

Lynn

[earls]

considering where your kids are going to school you might be able to find some place with a little land going toward Kingston or Port Gamble. I think if it was me I would contact one of the bigger named Realtors and see if he/she has any listings they can link to you for review.