Dripping Springs/Sawyer Ranch/Belterra, etc Snakes and Scorpions (Austin: apartment, houses)

[janejanejanejanejane]

I love all the green (well brown now) out there from pictures. Have yet to make it out there.

What kind of wildlife will we be dealing with if we live out there?
What major stores are out there- any?


That is all.

[LisaM76]

There is an HEB grocery store. I don't think there is much else besides for a Sonic, McDonalds and some independent establishments. There are bugs everywhere in Texas. If you live on a greenbelt lot, there might be snakes, etc. But, with the wildfires these days, I wouldn't care to have a greenbelt lot. If you don't mind being slightly isolated, then DS might be for you.

[janejanejanejanejane]

Specifics...pretty please. Anyone live there?

[CptnRn]

With 35 years in Texas, most of it in SW Travis County, I have seen several scorpions but never been stung by one. My wife did get stung once when she was barefoot on our back patio, shortly after the house was built and the land behind the house was still all natural. This is far more common with houses built backing greenbelts. Only once did we find a scorpion inside the house, and I suspect it had been brought in with the laundry, when some towels were left on top of the drier for awhile before they were brought into the house. I pulled a clean one off the shelf to dry myself after a shower and felt something scratch my stomach, looking down I found a scorpion hanging onto the side of the towel. He was quickly deposited into the toilet and flushed.

Texas scorpions are annoying and the bite is unpleasant but rarely deadly unless you have an allergy.

Texas Department of State Health Services - Medically Important Arthropods - Captions
The striped scorpion is common in Texas and does not have a deadly poisonous venom. However, hypersensitivity and allergic reactions may require medical attention. It is not unusual for scorpions to enter houses and hide in closets, attics, garages, and other dark, undisturbed places. Scorpions feed on spiders and other small arthropods.

Serious injuries from snake bites are very uncommon.

Texas Department of State Health Services, Infectious Disease Control Unit > Snake

• On average, 1 to 2 people in Texas die each year from venomous snake bites in Texas.
• Roughly half of all venomous snake bites are "dry." That is, the snake does not inject venom into the victim.

[CptnRn]

One of the problems you can have when you move into an unincorporated area outside of a municipality, is that the County has limited authority to intervene in problems such as this one which the residents in the Belterra area have had with the noise from the Nutty Brown Cafe.

//www.city-data.com/forum/austi...-belterra.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/austi...ng-4-27-a.html

[TexasHorseLady]

Or, presumably, limited authority to intervene in the problem that the neighbors have caused the Nutty Brown Cafe (or their neighbors who support it) - that goes both ways.

[mresara]

I have been visiting there and staying with friends.
I cant wait to leave.
Scorpions and snakes own everything.
Not to mention the spiders that make homes in my shoes at night.
Yikes!

[Lunawink]

We've been in our house for about 8 months now and we had a snake in our backyard once, nothing in our house. I've never seen a scorpion. And we don't have pest control. I saw worse when we lived in an apartment closer to downtown Austin. As for stores, as people have mentioned on other boards. there's an HEB in DS proper but all closest other major shopping is in Sunset Valley. Supposedly there's a target or wal-mart coming, but I haven't heard anything definitive yet.

[FalconheadWest]

We have only ever seen a snake skin in our yard or storage shed, no actual live snakes and we've backed to a creek or greenbelt for years. Scorpions are a different story. I've found no less than 10 in our house. I was told they always come in pairs, but I always find singles. No specific place in the house, all over. Master bath, master bedroom, foyer, family room, kitchen stove... never been stung.

Store are coming to DP, but they need more people to make stores want to open so they can sustain the population. Brodie would be the closest, main shopping.

[maadimom]

We've lived near the Salt Lick for 3 years now. We've seen a few scorpions and a couple snakes in all this time. I posted some photos here awhile back that I took on the same night. We have a regular service come and treat the outside of the house and haven't seen anything significant in over a year. The trick it to remove the food supply and the scorpions won't be a problem. It hasn't been nearly as bad as you'd think when you read what all is out here. My neighbors have lost kitties to the coyotes and there is a mountain lion or two around here, but they seem to keep to themselves. We love it here. The "critters" are what help us remember that we aren't in a big city.