Varmints? (Raleigh: motels, buying a house, neighborhood)

[THEROVERS]

What kind of varmints should I be aware of encountering in my new home in Raleigh? I will be buying a house in North Raleigh if this makes any difference.

In FL we have in-house nuisances such as silverfish, roaches, ants, termites, daddylongleg spiders, and attic rats. Outside we have mosquitoes, flies, horseflies, wasps, dragonflies, junebugs, and lizards and frogs of varying size from small to startlingly large. On the larger scale we have benign black garden snakes, iguanas, rats, turtles, land crabs, grey squirrels, opossums, raccoons, alligators and the rare fox and armadillo.

Just wondering what to expect in the corners of the closets and out back. We have smallish dogs, so this is also a concern, are there any special shots for dogs in NC? We also have the poisonous huge tree frogs that kill dogs if they touch them in FL, anything like that in NC?

Someone mentioned mosquito problems, are they a big problem year round, and all day?

Thanks!

[saturnfan]

Heartworm prevention is a must for your dogs.

Be sure Rabies is kept current. Racoons and foxes can bring rabies to your pets.

Ah attic rats, I remember them from New Orleans. Not common here.

We have ants, crickets, spiders, and mosquitos in our North Raleigh residence. Dodson Brothers Exterminators does a good job. Orkin was totally useless in another place.

[autumngal]

That particular bufo toad genus is not found in NC. And no land crabs...lol, I remember those,

The NC Wildlife site will help you on the territory of wild animals, and also a search on this forum will bring up all sorts of threads on this topic.

[mdm]

Lots of spiders!

[mfrank2109]

Also copper heads - my beagle has been bitten twice within the past year. Not usually fatal to dog or man, but painful.

[KimberlyLS]

COPPERHEADS! I just moved to N. Raleigh. I'm within walking distance of Shelly Lake. I've been wondering if I should beware of snakes because of the lake and my backyard (nothing but woods).

[saturnfan]

We once saw a small black snake in our bushes. Non-poisonous.

[VickiR]

"Varmints"?

Well, I'm most annoyed at the varmints that come to my door and try to sell me magazines, even with the "no soliciting" sign at the beginning of my neighborhood!

We do seem to have our fair share of spiders, although I blame the trees!

I've heard from others that we seem to have our share of mosquitoes but they don't bite me so I can't say first hand that we have alot.

I saw a snake ONCE but he was dead in the street.

A very cute bunny lives near my green electrical box.

I saw a turtle walking across the street the other day. Really. A real green turtle.

We had a mouse in the garage once.

Sometimes in August, I'll notice very tiny ants around my sink. One of those "ant motels" and 5 days later, all gone!

l/2 of the houses I have inspected DO have termites. Seems people don't want to pay for the warranty...about $125 per year.

My dog lives in the backyard during the day and loves to chase the many squirrels.

I have seen alligators but they were in Florida. My aunt had one in her backyard...in florida!

Vicki

[saturnfan]

We get some cute lizards. Cats go nuts watching through the windows.

[IdaClaire]

We've actually seen and heard coyotes where we live in Orange County, but I doubt you'll see many running around North Raleigh. I consider coyotes more of a "critter" than a "varmint". Critters are wild things you actually like.

Definitely have to get tick and flea treatments for pets. I've been on hikes around here and had to pick off over 8 ticks at one time.

I've had chigger bites, seen baby copperheads on my property, and have heard that fox and owls carry off cats in our neighborhood.

Some people I know have problems with ants in their kitchens and bathrooms. And you CAN get roaches here, but what we have is nothing compared to what you get in Florida.

And though this isn't a "varmint", I am constantly plagued with Poison Ivy.