Critters, Austin Vs Houston (Round Rock, Spring: new home, landscaping, scorpion)

[kiwidave]

Hi All, my family is considering moving to either Austin or Houston from Seattle and have read lots of information about the Snakes/bugs/etc in Austin and was wondering if the same info is true in the Sugerlands/Woodlands/Katy areas of Houston or is it because Austin is in the hill country.

Thanks!

David

[tstone]

Austin and Houston both have a lot of insects and spiders. If it gets wet in Austin like it did this summer it can be much worse than Houston in places.

Houston has an abundance toads, frogs, lizards, geckos, and grass snakes which won't bother you. Sweep them out the door. They eat insects.

Houston is notorious for giant flying roaches that leave visible poo.

Austin has quite a few poisonous snakes (copperheads, rattlers) and also a few scorpions. You have to watch your chair before you sit down, or you might get stung.

I can go barefoot in my yard in Houston... in Austin I wouldn't dare try such a thing.

[jwb123]

That's silly! I go barefoot in my yard all the time in the Austin area! So do our kids. And the kids on our street.

If you aren't out in the country (leander, Dripping Springs, elgin) I think you don't have *as much* worry.

We are also from Seattle

There are more bugs, namely ants, but really, they aren't a huge deal. Have your lot and home treated every quarter, and have ant stuff on hand to treat the mounds when they pop up. Have a can of bug spray for when you go out in the evening, in the summer... that's about it.

We have seen 2 snakes in our yard when we were pulling up landscaping. They were small and harmless. My sister has lived here 14 yrs and I think she's seen one snake. They have never had scorpions (neither have we).

We have tons of Geckos and Anoles - but those are SO COOL!

THere are a few really long posts about this in the Austin forum - do a search on it, in that forum.

Houston is notorious for giant flying roaches that leave visible poo.

Disgusting.

[jwb123]

//www.city-data.com/forum/austi...kes-oh-my.html

But search "snakes bugs" using the search query in that forum and you will have a ton of posts on this topic.

[kiwidave]

Thanks for the replies. I have already seen a lot of the posts about the critters in Austin but haven't seen many about Houston. It sure sounds like it all depends on where you live in Austin. Being from New Zealand and Seattle the thought of Scorpions droping from ceiling onto the kids (and me for that matter ) scares the crap out of me. How does the Round Rock area rate for creppy crawlies? It looks like an affordable area with good schools.

Thanks again!

David

[jwb123]

We love Round Rock - and you are right, it's affordable and has excellent schools. We have been thrilled. Our move from Seattle to this area, period, has been wonderful and really quality of life changing!

I don't know where in Seattle you are coming from - but hands down our school experience here beats our public school experience in the Seattle area. (Bothell/Mill Creek, Edmonds school district)

I think that you will find more of the spiders, snakes and scorpions in areas of new construction - and then, they seem to settle back down as houses are completed.

Like I said, our only unwanted intruders have been ants and the snakes in the yard. We have lots of snails, lizards and frogs that we don't mind. Mosquitos weren't too bad for us, and spiders - well there are tons of those in Seattle, so we were ok with that.

Haven't seen a scorpion...

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

That's silly! I go barefoot in my yard all the time in the Austin area! So do our kids. And the kids on our street.

Ok I'm referring to the Cedar Park area out into the hill country, Colorado River, Marble Falls, etc. Also San Marcos (to the south). Sticker burrs ain't no punk. They are as sharp as needles!! Watch your feet, legs, fingers, etc. Scorpions are not that common. My grandfather got stung out there by one hiding on his chair. They are only about 1-2 inches long if you do see them... nothing like what you'd see on the Discovery Channel. And I hear they aren't anymore dangerous than a bee.

The Houston roach thing... most of them aren't giant and haven't figured out how to fly. Average maybe 1.5-2". Maybe once in the summer a giant (2.5-3") will wander its way into your house looking for water, and fly with a loud buzz. If you watch them crawl you can see them release as they walk - no lie. It's a good idea to stock up on those little roach bait things and lay them around the corners of the house.

Hill country or swamp country, you'll have your critters. Just keep a rolled up newspaper handy and you'll be fine.

[Trainwreck20]

Having lived in the Houston area (Friendswood) and in Austin (and Georgetown), I would say that there are lots of bugs in all those places, but they are different. Ecologically speaking, Houston is wetter and freezes less often, which is better for some bugs than the weather in Austin, which is dryer and freezes more often.

In both locations, completely urban areas have very few snakes or scorpions. In rural areas, I saw many more snakes in Houston, but I was a kid and was probably closer to them . Water Moccasins, mainly, in Houston. They are in both places, though.

The most notable trade off is scorpions in Austin for roaches (or palmetto bugs) in Houston. Actually, there are roaches in Austin, but they are easier to deal with in Austin than Houston. I never saw a scorpion in Houston in my life...they don't like the moisture and lack of rocks, I think.

Depending on exactly where you live, mosquitos can be bad in both places, but Houston has more bad areas than Austin (again, a moisture thing). If scorpions are what freak you out, Houston is a better choice. If roaches are your nemisis, Austin is probably better. Either place, you will have bugs out the wazzo .

[sgarnett]

When I moved from my home-town of Houston to Austin, the most noticeable difference was the ability to go outdoors during the Summer without being mauled by mosquitos. Yes, Austin has some mosquitos (usually quite small), but they do not compare to the prehistoric size and number growing in the Houston area.

Austin also does not have the roach problem that is so prevalent in Houston.

Austin does have scorpions, but as the previous commentor noted, if you're in a subdivision, a quarterly spraying after construction will suffice to curb their numbers.

[Mom2Feebs]

Houston has scorpions--but they are in the prairies of Katy and really are not a common sight. When my parents were having our house and pool built in Fleetwood (Memorial & Hwy 6) we were not allowed to play outside for a while b/c of the scorpions all trying to find new homes, LOL. When Cinco Ranch, Seven Meadows, et al started developing, scorpions were a problem, but they don't like people any more than people like them, so they've split to the next field where they are most certainly praying for no more building (as if...). However, I never really heard of them on the North side of town. They like flat, sandy soil and rocks and not wooded trees, I guess! *shrugs*