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Old 07-14-2011, 12:22 PM
 
67 posts, read 193,072 times
Reputation: 24

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I'm happy to report my kitty is fine. He slept a little more than usual on Sunday (might not have been feeling that great) but he is back to his normal feisty self and has earned the nickname 'scorpion killer'.
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Old 07-14-2011, 11:34 PM
 
97 posts, read 182,202 times
Reputation: 48
Woah,

Woah,

Woah,

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm happy for your cat and I'm sorry to momentarily highjack your thread but...I'm I supposed to understand that scorpions, poisonous scorpions, Indiana-Jones scorpions are a common occurence in Austin?

Like how you sometimes find a spider in your bathroom; in Austin you find scorpions?

And snakes?! Are there snakes?!
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Old 07-14-2011, 11:58 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
293 posts, read 730,459 times
Reputation: 424
Quote:
Originally Posted by NextstopAustin View Post
Woah,

Woah,

Woah,

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm happy for your cat and I'm sorry to momentarily highjack your thread but...I'm I supposed to understand that scorpions, poisonous scorpions, Indiana-Jones scorpions are a common occurence in Austin?

Like how you sometimes find a spider in your bathroom; in Austin you find scorpions?

And snakes?! Are there snakes?!
I saw a scorpion riding a snake the other day, they're working together now.
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Old 07-15-2011, 07:15 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX!!!!
3,757 posts, read 9,060,121 times
Reputation: 1762
Quote:
Originally Posted by spelrod View Post
I saw a scorpion riding a snake the other day, they're working together now.
Hahahahahahahah

The scorpions here are smaller. They are the nonfatal kind (unless you have an allergic reaction) and they are common in SOME neighborhoods. I don't think you see them as often as you see spiders. I know some people that have lived in Austin their whole lives and have never seen them and then there are some of us lucky enough to have had infestations (rare) but I think most people that find them in their houses find something like two or three a year.

Yes, there are snakes. But you don't see 'em often. When it's really hot you might see them out in your yard if you live next to a green belt or in a rural area, or if you are walking on a green belt, at McKinney Falls State park, Barton Creek, Town Lake, etc. We have four venomous species here: diamond back, coral, copperhead, cottonmouth. Learn what they look like and just stay away from them.
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Old 07-15-2011, 10:02 AM
 
21 posts, read 75,319 times
Reputation: 11
I've only been in Austin since April, so my experience is definitely limited, but yes there are scorpions here. I found one in the copier room of my work a few weeks back. It was a good size, 2 inchs not including its tail, but was only a common striped bark scorpion:

Striped bark scorpion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


They do sting and it does hurt, but they're not the scorpions you see in the movies. We put a cup over it and took it outside.

To the OP, that's great about your cat! We were a little worried for our cats with the range of insects here, but everyone I've talked to says that the cats are more the solution to the insect problem than the victim of it.



Quote:
Originally Posted by NextstopAustin View Post
Woah,

Woah,

Woah,

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm happy for your cat and I'm sorry to momentarily highjack your thread but...I'm I supposed to understand that scorpions, poisonous scorpions, Indiana-Jones scorpions are a common occurence in Austin?

Like how you sometimes find a spider in your bathroom; in Austin you find scorpions?

And snakes?! Are there snakes?!
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Old 07-15-2011, 10:21 AM
 
97 posts, read 182,202 times
Reputation: 48
*hyperventilates a little*

Every sentence in that reply was worse than the one before. 4 poisonous species?! 2-3 a year?! I was the kid who screamed and vomited at the zoo during a field trip when that harlot of a tour guide put a python on their neck. I was 14.

Why do I now have the distinct feeling that Austin is going to bend me over a barrel and take what was given to me by God...How is the Hyde Park/UT area in term of this 80's horror movie pestilence?

Just for the record; that was not a comforting wikipedia link or picture! That thing is freaking terrifying and calling it "common" is mean.

...I can't believe I'm going to miss the rats of Manhattan.

EDIT: Also; Scorpions on a Plane! Just saying! We all laughed at Samuel L Jackson but this is the future apparently. F--k me.
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Old 07-15-2011, 11:08 AM
 
117 posts, read 347,445 times
Reputation: 99
Wait till you see your first Texas giant redheaded centipede. (They bite and sting.) You'll forget all about the scorpions. I've found a half-dozen full-grown ones already this summer. That's not counting the little babies. Only two small ones in the house, but three big ones in the garage and a few more out on the patio, hoping to get in.



Seriously, you will encounter scorpions, centipedes, tarantulas and snakes here ... fact of life. People love to tell you the stories about how a scorpion fell out of a can light and landed on them in bed in the middle of the night, or stung them when they left their shorts on the floor overnight. Leave your garage door open, you might find a rattlesnake inside. I fished a tarantula out of the swimming pool and had to swerve to avoid another one crossing the street.
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Old 07-15-2011, 11:20 AM
 
2,226 posts, read 2,103,072 times
Reputation: 903
Default snakes....in Texas....ohhhhh nooo!

Quote:
Originally Posted by NextstopAustin View Post
Woah,

Woah,

Woah,

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm happy for your cat and I'm sorry to momentarily highjack your thread but...I'm I supposed to understand that scorpions, poisonous scorpions, Indiana-Jones scorpions are a common occurence in Austin?

Like how you sometimes find a spider in your bathroom; in Austin you find scorpions?

And snakes?! Are there snakes?!
Tarantulas, centipides, scorpions, fireants, spiders and yes snakes. Keep the high grasses and rock piles (if you live in the country) away from the house...as far as possible, don't go into dark places without a good flashlight....and make sure you have a bug guy on retainer!
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Old 07-15-2011, 12:21 PM
 
8,007 posts, read 10,428,452 times
Reputation: 15032
We are in Steiner and we have scorpions. Quarterly pest control helps A LOT. But we still occasionally get one in the house. I was even bitten by one in my bed as I was sleeping one night.

We do have a lot of snakes. I posted a couple months ago about a 4 1/2 foot rattlesnake that was in my backyard. 3 of our neighbors' dogs have been bitten by rattlesnakes in their yards. We have seen 2 coral snakes in the 6 years we've lived here. Our neighbor saw a copperhead recently, but we have never seen one. And we see rat snakes regularly.

I have never seen one of the infamous centipedes though. That may very well send me packing.
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Old 07-15-2011, 02:37 PM
 
80 posts, read 191,942 times
Reputation: 46
Quote:
Originally Posted by soontobetexan View Post
Wait till you see your first Texas giant redheaded centipede. (They bite and sting.) You'll forget all about the scorpions. I've found a half-dozen full-grown ones already this summer. That's not counting the little babies. Only two small ones in the house, but three big ones in the garage and a few more out on the patio, hoping to get in.



Seriously, you will encounter scorpions, centipedes, tarantulas and snakes here ... fact of life. People love to tell you the stories about how a scorpion fell out of a can light and landed on them in bed in the middle of the night, or stung them when they left their shorts on the floor overnight. Leave your garage door open, you might find a rattlesnake inside. I fished a tarantula out of the swimming pool and had to swerve to avoid another one crossing the street.
ACK! Kill it! Kill it with fire.

Seriously, I'm having back spasms right now at the thought of finding one of those things in or around my house.
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