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Brown recluse more of a concern as they can be inside and out but think they are all over the US and have not seen one. Black Widows are usually under things outside so you just use caution, have only seen a couple in 12 years. Snakes are here yes, only problem is a dog who can't mind her own business. We have learned to take bird feeders down in summer as they attract mice which attract snakes. Rest of the wildlife is not an issue if you use common sense..no trash outside and if you have feeders in every night without fail.
I'm at 3200 feet and there is humidity but generally pleasant summers especially nights nice breezes. Winter can nail us on occassion but hey you can't compare to New England. Overall pretty darn good here!
I have a friend who was bitten by a brown recluse. After multiple surgeries, and hyperbaric chamber sessions over the course of five years they finally think that they got it.
Yikes! I hope your friend is ok. I'm not afraid of spiders or snakes, but I spend a lot of time in the woods sitting in one spot during hunting season. This past deer season a friend and I sat about 20 yards from each other along a snowmobile trail. No snow on the ground at this point but we were there maybe 15 minutes and I could see my clothes crawling with tics. When I said something he noticed them on him too. We had to have had over 100 tics on each of us. Id deal with tics and lime disease any day over a black widow or brown recluse bite.
Yikes! I hope your friend is ok. I'm not afraid of spiders or snakes, but I spend a lot of time in the woods sitting in one spot during hunting season. This past deer season a friend and I sat about 20 yards from each other along a snowmobile trail. No snow on the ground at this point but we were there maybe 15 minutes and I could see my clothes crawling with tics. When I said something he noticed them on him too. We had to have had over 100 tics on each of us. Id deal with tics and lime disease any day over a black widow or brown recluse bite.
Unless you have a lot of wood piled outside, or a lot of large evergreens growing up against the house, don't be concerned around here. No worse (imo) than critters in New England. This is not the "deep" hot humid south where everything you can imagine crawls. However, if you are not accustomed to crawl spaces, they are prevalent here. Unless you are on a sloped lot with a walk-out basement, or a "daylight" basement with foundation on 2 sides e.g., you will most likely have a crawl space with a bulkhead or other wide entrance to enter from outside. I am very "bug phobic" -- myself and most of my neighbors have a pest control contract where they come every 3 months, spray all around the perimeter of the house outside, and fog bomb the crawl space once a year, and they also put mouse traps outside. There are never any mice in them. I have lived on a mountain on 2 acres of forest land and also a home in a subdivision; and have never been uncomfortable thinking about critters. I've also owned property in FL, now that's an entirely different story. Ugh.
Have seen some momma bears w/cubs in the late spring, but you've got those up in NH too. We have our usual wasps, bees, and carpenter bees here. Other than that, no problem. If you get to Brevard you will see white squirrels. Here and there in Hendersonville there are some also. Too cute.
I will miss the Moose most of all. We've seen them just down the road from our house. I've had them cross the road in front of me on my way to work. What an animal, so big! Seen a few beers and cubs, deer, turkeys every where and some porcupines.
Check out Fletcher. It's smack between asheville and Hendersonville and has a larger young family population. We live in Arden (the buncombe co side) and love it. We've met a lot of people with babies, there are tons of places to eat and shop within 15m radius, and there are all kinds of baby/kid friendly things.
^^ The OP will have to take a good look at the urban sprawl of Fletcher. Coming from NH, the traffic situation(s) on Rt. 25, Rt. 280 and the roads leading to the airport and I26 may not be their cup of tea.
They may want to look more into Cane Creek Road area; Hooper's Creek area; and especially the nice subdivisions in Mills River, more countrified, yet near all the shopping. All depends on their budget.
I thank you all for your info. I've been looking at all these areas. Looking on line you only see so much. So your input is great. We will be renting when we get there. Probably for a year before we buy a place. So we have a chance to roam and get a feel for NC and find a spot we like. I drive 70-80 miles a day to and from work now so a commute is fine. I don't want my wife to have to do the same. We need a place with a good elementary school for our daughter. Some place slow and quiet and friendly. As it is now we have about a 30 min ride to anything. Like shopping and eating.
One big difference between WNC and NH is that we have no black flies here. I think that we are still Lyme Disease free here, so far, but we do have our share of ticks. Outside the cities, mosquitoes are relatively infrequent. Mosquitoes are fond of the standing water like mis-hung gutters.
That sounds great. Both black flies and Mosquitos are unbearable at times here. To the point were you see people doing yard work with the screens covering there heads just to keep the bugs out of your eyes.
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I have lived on a mountain on 2 acres of forest land and also a home in a subdivision; and have never been uncomfortable thinking about critters. I've also owned property in FL, now that's an entirely different story. Ugh.
