Dangerous local fauna

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

C'mon down to Chandler...there are a couple large hawks that live over by a farm to the south of us that make soaring patterns over the neighborhood daily. Lost a couple of cats to them (I think)...and not small ones either. There is a large owl that lives somewhere in the greenbelt behind the house as well...Could have been him rather than the hawks that got the cats...not sure. I also had a great blue heron land on the neighbor's playhouse a couple of months back...neighbor has a coy pond so I assume the big boy was looking for a snack.

I think there is a riparian rescue up in Gilbert as well...

Yeah, I know they are down here but have not seen them myself. I guess birds of prey also prefer the east valley over the lowly west valley.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by observer53

True. The more central areas do not have a problem, but there are areas, particularly relatively close to the "fringes" of the Valley, where coyotes do venture into the neighborhoods.

I saw a coyote cross 7th Ave at Encanto heading into Willo a year or so ago. I've never thought of coyotes as problems. They probably think we're problems.

[AZgarden]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Are you sure what you are seeing is actually a dead scorpion or just the "skin". Scorpions shed their exoskeletons as they grow. Maybe the pesticide is causing mutations that make them grow very quickly. You may find yourself facing a ten pound scorpion one morning!

OMG !!!! I hope not, cause I will jump out of my skin !
And yes, that is where I live: Ocotillo

[locolobo13]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

Yeah, I know they are down here but have not seen them myself. I guess birds of prey also prefer the east valley over the lowly west valley.

I've been seeing smaller birds of prey around the neighborhood. Saw an immature kestrel a week ago while mowing my yard. It tried to fly away but was unable to get more than a foot off the ground. I left it alone, afraid I would make things worse if I tried to catch it and put it in a tree. Haven't seen any sign of it since.

[esiebert7625]

I saw these on my back fence a few weeks ago, vultures?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0lk5gukiax...614_155524.jpg

[PoppySead]

I've lived in Tempe by ASU and had scorpions, and I've lived by the outskirts with a mountain view and had none. Just check with the bug guy for that area before you buy a house. He will let you know. In apartments I'd worry more about bed bugs. Make sure they don't have a bed bug issue. Your apartment should have a website with comments, you can usually find out there.

I've lost a cat to a black widow bite, and another to a hawk but it was small. Make sure you scan the yard for widow webs so your dogs don't walk through one and catch a widow. They are worse for pets and people than scorpions. Thankfully they are easy to spot and kill. You'll start to recognize their webs. Go out at night and spray them, that way they are out and you can easily see them.
You'll get use to it, it's sounds scarier than it actually is. Look at all the people who live here, and the wildlife doesn't seem to detour them we are always growing larger.

Make sure you watch for this: Evil Apartment - Phoenix, Arizona, April 1994 lol

At least we don't have a fire ant problem like Texas! Scorpions don't even make this list: http://www.listosaur.com/science-a-t...united-states/

[observer53]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

I saw a coyote cross 7th Ave at Encanto heading into Willo a year or so ago. I've never thought of coyotes as problems. They probably think we're problems.

There are some really urbanized coyotes. Except when they are trying to cross a busy road, they probably don't think we are problems at all..