Anything scary in Wisconsin? (Milwaukee, Appleton: fit in, rental, crime)

[mrkool]

The north side of Milwaukee is a scary place, as well as embarassment.
Animals and insects would be an improvement.

[Bee]

I grew up in Wisconsin -- up north, then down in the southern part, and spent every summer at my aunt's lake house in northern Wisconsin. Since then I've lived in Florida, Illinois, Connecticut, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California. Fear not, Wisconsin is wonderful.

Centipedes are creepy insects with lots of legs, hence the name centi-pedes (hundred feet) though I doubt if they literally have that many! They are very soft and squish easily, but they are ugly and I do not like them. If you are realy clean about not wanting bugs in your house, you could have a spray service. My experience is that every area has some kind of bug. DON'T MOVE TO FLORIDA! giant roaches seem inevitable in the houses there.

If you're in northern Wisconsin there are bears and they are definitely dangerous if you don't respect them and leave them alone. Having said that, and having spent the first 12 years of my life living in the middle of the woods up north, I can say that I have never seen a bear!

Tornadoes exist there. Again, I've never seen one of those.

And snow is indeed wonderful and beautiful, but as someone else said, learn to drive in it. Again, I've never lived anywhere where they do such a great job of plowing the roads immediately and thoroughly.

Wisconsin is a great place, you'll love it!

[dreamhunter65]

Bears are getting back up in population but then again so are the bear hunters..Again the thing with bears is a sow with cubs, but that usually spring time and they are very protective it is if out in woods be ALERT and make noise so they know you are out there they will move away.

[Lanny North]

What about Lyon's North American Thunder Squirrell?

[toodles]

Actually those centipedes can bite.

As for snakes. Timber Rattlesnakes and Massassauga Rattlesnakes are pretty docile and hard to find. Both are endangered. Massassaugas are only found in 3-4 small areas of WI (1 area is about 8 miles east of Janesville). You pretty much have to step on them to have them strike, unlike the Eastern Diamond backs which will if you present the opportunity to them. Then again I like snakes and enjoy looking for them.

Areas around the City dump in Janesville is a 'termite zone' from what a Terminex guy told me.

Deer ticks bad.

Deer are a problem. I'd say ya should expect to maybe hit 1 at some time or another.

[WItoNC]

Originally Posted by pioneer8

I know this is a bit silly, but what is scary in your beautiful state? Snakes? Bugs? Animals? I moved from FL to Texas last year and I guess I didn't understand that we would really have rattlesnakes in the country. I know this is crazy, but it is one of the reasons why I am even considering moving as many things are wonderful here. Anyway, I am hoping for no suprises when we move on to our new home. I desperately want to live in the snow. Can anyone tell me what kinds of things are "not so good" or even downright scary??? Thank you.

I would highly recommend you come and visit our state of Wisconsin in January or February for a week, and see if you can take the cold. Those of us who have lived here our whole lives learn to brace against it. It is really quite chilly when the north winds blow and we have 20 below windchills. Can you even imagine what that feels like? I wish you the best of luck

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by nemaroller

As far as Wisconsin, they are not exclusive to this State, but you will find them in homes in the Midwest where the foundation or roof has water problems - so in that aspect, if you're buying a home, they're a good tip off.

My parents called this weekend: they finally got the roof repaired!
These 'pedes exist in southeastern Michigan as well and love to hide behind shower curtains and the like.

Midwest is Best!

Speaking of Wisconsin, my parents love Culver Burger and I have started to like them too.

[WeLuvItHere]

I didn't read the entire 6 pages of the thread. Just in case no one has mentioned:

Earwigs in the summer (SE WI) - they're just disgusting looking.

Mayflies (SW WI) - mass suicide on a single day in May, dead ones everywhere. Very gross.

Other than that, can't think of anything actually dangerous other than the occasional snowstorms.

[TaraMoon]

There has never been a documented case of a North American wolf intentionally attacking a human being. In all of North America (which includes Mexico and Canada in addition to the U.S.) during the entire last century, black bear have killed something like 39 people. There are literally millions of black bear and there were and are way more than 39 incredibly stupid people. In order for a black bear to pose a real risk to a human the human would have to either corner the bear or get between a sow bear and her cubs. So, unless you're going to do that or fall onto a sleeping bear, the risk is practically zero.

Timber rattlers, on the other hand, are highly venomous and very aggressive. Diamondback rattlers are very venomous but not very aggressive. An earlier poster had their aggressive tendencies reversed.

Wisconsin has about 100 species of venomous spiders, 20 of which can be found indoors. The black widow and brown recluse are NOT found in Wisconsin. I expect someone will doubt the numbers I have listed. I suggest that they contact an entomologist for confirmation. Note that a spider can be venomous but pose little risk to humans. An exception would be the yellow sac spider that is found in virtually every house in Wisconsin. It's not lethal but can cause an nasty necrotic bite. They're the very frail, almost transparent looking spiders you find in the upper corners of rooms. Still, the likelihood that one will bite you is extremely small.

And it's a fact that Wisconsin has produced notorious serial killers. Something in the milk?

But by far the biggest risks you're likely to encounter are hunters lusting to shoot anything that moves (every year they shoot each other, cows, horses and, occasionally, people just walking down the road) and drunk drivers. Apart from those two categories of threat, Wisconsin is pretty safe.

[drobi1070]

Property Taxes Are Ridicously High. So Buying A House Or Renting Is High For What You Get. You Don't Get Much For Your "buck"