How do people actually enjoy being outside in Texas? (Houston: houses, live)

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

As others have said, everything is pretty easy to control except for Mosquitos. Our exterminator sprays our yard for ants/ticks/fleas/etc each spring and we have never ever had an ant problem. With Mosquitos, EDS gave you a good list of ideas.

Hey T - the spray for fleas - is it dangerous to dogs or humans? Our dog suddenly picked up a bunch of fleas. We frontlined her and that knocked out 90%, but I think she recontracts them when she's out chasing the squirrels. Do you know what your people use and how safe it is?

[stan4]

What!?

Where do you people live?

I am barefoot year-round.

Never been bit, stung, etc.

Mosquitoes are really more of a dusk thing, and they aren't that bad. Remember, they like pregnant people and overweight people - or anyone else pouring off CO2.

I think I have seen 3 snakes at/near my house in 26 years. We live on a golf course/creek, so we do have turtles, ducks, bobcat, rabbits, raccoon, possum, and once my dog was sprayed by a skunk. But that's cool!

I'm always outside. You just have to acclimate and drink plenty of water. I exercised 4 hours yesterday -all outside.

[DanielWayne]

I am glad the OP ended up in the Dallas area and not the Houston area.

[TexanAgain15]

I have a ton of baby pics in the grass, in wildflowers, ect.
The West coast is still there you know!

[metroxian]

Outside is an educational experience. How does a kid grow up without a bee sting? Running from a rattle? Sun burning a fire ant? A few stickers in the feet?

How does one tempt the fates while watching soap operas?

[BigDGeek]

I wish y'all wouldn't jump all over the OP like that; I completely feel her pain.

Mosquitoes and chiggers LOVE me. LOVE ME. No matter when I go outside, whether I fog or not, or how much DEET I slather onto myself, I will have multiple bites within 60 seconds. I've also been swarmed by fire ants and it's pretty damn unpleasant.

I've also had more than one spider bite in my life. *shudder*

I'm not afraid of snakes; I don't see them too often in my yard and when I do, they're not poisonous. So, no issues there.

I can't walk through grass barefoot either. Even if my yard is free of ant piles and dog poop, with my luck I'd step on a wasp (it's happened to me several times already). I'm allergic to wasp stings.

So, OP, I feel your pain. I don't spend much time outdoors in summer either. Our summer climate is pretty awful. And there's something about my blood that drives mosquitoes nuts.

P.S. I was born and raised here.

[Johnhw2]

Play golf year around. It's not that complicated. A swim in summer evenings is nice too.

I like variety in weather. Does California have enough water for golf course upkeep with out charging two arms and a leg to play?

[pinkmint]

Thank you for the understanding! Yes mosquitos go crazy for me. I can't walk to the mailbox without getting bit. I think some areas around Dallas are worse than others. We rent and our property is kind of poorly kept and we don't want to pay an exterminator so we try various pest control methods we find at Home Depot and such but it's not going very well and I do worry about flinging poisons to and fro around the lawn with small children around. I think summer is something you sort of have to suffer through in this part of the US. The spring and fall are nicer.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Mosquitos and chiggers love my wife, but if she sprays some OFF on herself, she's fine. Our yard is maintained by a pest control service, we don't have any fire ants in our yard, and before we had a service, they were easy enough to take care of. Just mix half a bag of fire ant killer in with your fertilizer and you'll be helping your lawn and killing any ants at the same time. Also helps with any mounds that might spring up elsewhere.

Wasps build a few nests a year, if you eliminate them the moment they start building their nest, you break their mating cycle and you'll have less throughout the year until they are completely gone.

For snakes, there are things you can buy to spray on your yard to keep them away, I don't remember the name but everyone in FL uses it. They have a much worse problem with snakes and reptiles than we do in Dallas.

[rantanamo]

If you don't want the bugs, there are plenty of safe products to use to get rid of them. Especially mosquitos. If you are worried about the heat, there are plenty of hotter places.