Snakes in Portland (Lake Oswego, Tualatin, Dallas: buying a house, buying, camping)

[Élan vital]

Originally Posted by Wicked Felina

I plumb forgot about roaches. I moved here from NY - even in the ritziest of buildings, roaches were all over the place. Classy, upper-east side roaches! There's no way to get rid of them.

Now that you mention it, I have never found a bug in cereal, sugar that's not been tightly contained, bread accidentally being left out. Like you said, ants, yes. And spiders in the fall and springtime, but they're little ones.

Thanks for the reminders of how bug-free we are here ~

it's great, isn't it??? Love it! On the gulf coast we had those gawd awful flying roaches which some people cal Palmetto bugs but I still say they are roaches...............ewwwwwwwwwww. I'm also not keen on lizards,frogs,crickets and fire ants and haven't seen any of those here either.
My chi dog eats any bugs around,including spiders. Those brown recluse are dangerous little spiders. My husband and I both got bit by one while living down south...................eeeeeeeks.

[LeftCoastee]

I live about 100 yards from Browns Ferry Park in Tualatin and there are quite a few garter snakes there, but thats the extent of what I've seen.

However, I am attacked by spider webs each and every day. I must have some of the most prolific spider web builders on the planet. If I walk in my front gate at night and knock down the web, by 6:30 the next morning the Taj Mahal of spider webs is waiting to cling to my face.

[malachai23]

Originally Posted by Wicked Felina

I plumb forgot about roaches. I moved here from NY - even in the ritziest of buildings, roaches were all over the place. Classy, upper-east side roaches! There's no way to get rid of them.

Now that you mention it, I have never found a bug in cereal, sugar that's not been tightly contained, bread accidentally being left out. Like you said, ants, yes. And spiders in the fall and springtime, but they're little ones.

Thanks for the reminders of how bug-free we are here ~

I have had roaches in a couple different turn-of-the-century Portland apartment buildings that I lived in! What is much, mMUCH ickier though is that I used to work in a cafe downtown (which shall remain unnamed) that had them soooooo bad that they would come out from under the cash register when the cash drawer popped open and run across the counter. Blech. Roaches are disgusto!!

[Nell Plotts]

While carpeter ants don't consume buildings no one wants them taking up residence. Keep wood chips and firewood away from your house.

[puerco]

Growing up in Portland I used to see a lot of garter snakes. I think you have to go to Southern Oregon or east of the Cascades - like Honuman said - to find rattlesnakes.

[Sprightly]

Flying roaches - eeeeek - thanks for the memories. It IS better in Portland. I will say though I've never lived anywhere with this many spiders. I've seen one garter snake, a small harmless fellow so far.

[HonuMan]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

it's great, isn't it??? Love it! On the gulf coast we had those gawd awful flying roaches which some people cal Palmetto bugs but I still say they are roaches...............ewwwwwwwwwww. I'm also not keen on lizards,frogs,crickets and fire ants and haven't seen any of those here either.
My chi dog eats any bugs around,including spiders. Those brown recluse are dangerous little spiders. My husband and I both got bit by one while living down south...................eeeeeeeks.

Oh, yes: I remember palmetto-bug roaches (or "B-52s," as they're called in Hawaii)! I once had one flying around by bedroom when I lived in Atlanta. I was trying to get to sleep, and it kept buzzing. Whenever I'd turn on the light, it would hide. Just as I was dropping off to sleep, it flew through the air and landed on my lips! Eeew! But I found the small German variety to be even more gross.

As for other critters in Portland, we have little green tree frogs, which I find cute. I've seen "regular" frogs (I don't know the variety) in ponds, but they're not common. I can't recall seeing a lizard, except on Oregon's dry side. We have crickets, but not in profusion. Fire ants don't exist here, as far as I know. I don't miss those!

[lilypad]

Oh those terrible flying roach giants! One big plus moving back here from Texas is to get away from the "infestation of the week". All manner of large flying creatures there. Was hanging out the clothes once on a hot sunny day, and a huge dragon fly looking thing flew toward me. It was the size of a small bird. Really scary! Went yelling and screaming into the house, just in time.

Have never seen a roach here either. Saw a little gray garter snake, got into the garage the other day. Probably still there. Also lots of spiders everywhere, but don't mind them. And there are some ants in the kitchen occasionally, especially after raining. I can live with that.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

There are rattlesnakes in the Portland area, but they are rarely seen. Here's a blurb from a local paper:

Rattlesnakes
If you encounter a rattlesnake:
1) Back slowly away from the snake;
2) Do not attempt to handle the snake;
3) Do not attempt to kill the snake;
4) Generously flag off the area where they were found;
5) Hang warning signs; and
6) Notify the police, 503-635-0238, and/or Natural Resource Coordinator at 503-697-6575.
Rattlesnakes are extremely rare in the Willamette Valley. They can be easily identified by their broad flat diamond shaped head, presence of rattles on the tail (not always on very small ones), vertical pupils in eyes, diamond shapes on a broad body, and generally greenish to tan coloring. They can make a rattling sound with their tail. Adult snakes are 30-40 inches. They will rarely strike at a human unless harassed. Most injuries are the result of someone attempting to handle them. If a rattlesnake bites someone, help him or her remain calm and seek medical assistance immediately. Call 9-1-1.

[malachai23]

Originally Posted by BLAZER PROPHET

There are rattlesnakes in the Portland area, but they are rarely seen. Here's a blurb from a local paper:

Rattlesnakes
If you encounter a rattlesnake:
1) Back slowly away from the snake;
2) Do not attempt to handle the snake;
3) Do not attempt to kill the snake;
4) Generously flag off the area where they were found;
5) Hang warning signs; and
6) Notify the police, 503-635-0238, and/or Natural Resource Coordinator at 503-697-6575.
Rattlesnakes are extremely rare in the Willamette Valley. They can be easily identified by their broad flat diamond shaped head, presence of rattles on the tail (not always on very small ones), vertical pupils in eyes, diamond shapes on a broad body, and generally greenish to tan coloring. They can make a rattling sound with their tail. Adult snakes are 30-40 inches. They will rarely strike at a human unless harassed. Most injuries are the result of someone attempting to handle them. If a rattlesnake bites someone, help him or her remain calm and seek medical assistance immediately. Call 9-1-1.

What paper is that from? Just curious. Wow - that's really surprising that they would be able to survive in the Willamette Valley. It doesn't really seem like a climate they could live in at all! I would venture to say that any rattlesnake found in the Portland area has been captured in another area of the state and let loose in the Willamette Valley. I lived in and around Portland for over 30 years (including many years in rural areas) and I have NEVER seen one there. But hey - I don't doubt that there could be a few out there. I guess anything is possible!