I live in Tucson. I'm on the far northeast side. I've lived here for a few years. The vermin are traumatizing me. I just had an encounter with the BIGGEST SPIDER I HAVE EVER SEEN INSIDE. I'm still shaking. I realized after I saw it that it was too big to kill with a shoe. Long story short, it has left this world and its corpse is on my patio.
I am moving to Phoenix for nursing school soon, when my pre-reqs are done. I know that the newly developed areas have the most insects indoors, but still? Are certain areas worse than others? Does Phoenix have as many 'vermin' as Tucson? Here's what I experience outside: tarantulas on my sidewalk last week, bobcat by trash can a few days ago, a snake by my drive a few weeks ago, and javelina come by my bedroom window at night. Indoors: spiders, roaches, and the occasional scorpion. I have been stung by a scorpion. It actually wasn't too bad. A little nausea, cramps, rapid heart beat, and numbness. (((It's the large spiders that I cannot handle.)))
I live in Tucson. I'm on the far northeast side. I've lived here for a few years. The vermin are traumatizing me. I just had an encounter with the BIGGEST SPIDER I HAVE EVER SEEN INSIDE. I'm still shaking. I realized after I saw it that it was too big to kill with a shoe. Long story short, it has left this world and its corpse is on my patio.
I am moving to Phoenix for nursing school soon, when my pre-reqs are done. I know that the newly developed areas have the most insects indoors, but still? Are certain areas worse than others? Does Phoenix have as many 'vermin' as Tucson? Here's what I experience outside: tarantulas on my sidewalk last week, bobcat by trash can a few days ago, a snake by my drive a few weeks ago, and javelina come by my bedroom window at night. Indoors: spiders, roaches, and the occasional scorpion. I have been stung by a scorpion. It actually wasn't too bad. A little nausea, cramps, rapid heart beat, and numbness. (((It's the large spiders that I cannot handle.)))
we have lots of spiders and snakes and coons - a few cougers - lots of coons ( which unfortunately quite a few lately have had rabies - we have one girl bitten by a rabid bat and she will never be the same ) we have huge spiders inside and they do give me the willys however since my son sent me pictures of the spiders he had to deal with in iraq i have a whole new view on them lol - called camel spiders and you think yours are huge check them out on the net - you will feel quite grateful for the small ones you have lol. i hate them all but i guess i wouldnt leave because of them. check out something like orkin - perhaops they could help woith the insects and as for the vermin well - dont know - we have what we call animal control and they will for a fee come trap any unwanted animals and dispose of or transport them far far away. just some ideas anyhow.
To respond to your earlier question regarding Phoenix locations & Phoenix College....
I go to Phoenix College and love it. Would definitely recommend it. As for a place to live: I live in Tempe and commute with a couple of friends from the east valley. Our neighborhood is pretty well established and don't have problems with critters. I have been told that if you eliminate the scorpions' food source, they don't hang around (i.e. crickets). As for spiders, I figure they are entitled to live outdoors. The inside of my house is my domain. I just don't go sticking my hands in bushes, under things etc. outdoors. I know we have black widows and those gargantuan brown ones (some tree spider??) I keep the inside of my house free of webs as best I can but we haven't had an existing problem with spiders (except for the itty-bitty ones), roaches, ants, scorpions, etc.
My recommendation is to find a well-established house/apartment. Look first in the downtown area (for ease of access to school). I have a couple of classmates that live downtown and love it (they're young yuppie types 25-35 y/o). There's lots of possibilities and it would be fun being downtown in the Encanto or Arcadia area (my personal opinion).
As a side note, I've lived in many different states and countries and I'll take Arizona's critters over anyone else's. Texas and Florida have what we called "Jurassic Park bugs" I'm sure because of the moist environment. Everyone else has mosquitos -- we have virtually none. Korea (as the previous poster said) has REALLY big roaches. Germany has mosquitos. Hey, I'll take our little critters anyday. Just know how to identify them and how to avoid them. We're living in their desert, remember
oh yeah the skeeters - yuck - we have huge wons = oh and ticks - i have a friend right now with lymes disease - she is pretty ill. thhe winters have been t o mild the last few yrs to kill to many off - they are horrible the last 2 yrs. and the ticks are scary cause they get on latch on and get off beforew you even know they were there
I am in urban Phoenix and I have so many scorpions I keep track of the annual kills on a white board on my refrigerator! Last year we killed 18 IN THE HOUSE! Exterminators just piss the scorpions off, you have to SMASH them to kill them. We killed two in the house just last week and found one drowned in the pool! BTW, scorpions mate for life and if you kill one scorpion you will eventually kill the mate in the next couple of months!
Yes, there are certain areas of Phoenix known for scorpions. Anywhere at a base of a mountain or on a mountain has scorpions. Moon Valley, Paradise Valley, Carefree, and the base of South Mountain are reknown for scorpions.
Black widows are everywhere around Phoenix. There bites are much worse than scorpion bites. I probably have about 20 black widows right now between the front and back yards. You rarely find them indoors.
Now to find javelina or mountain lions you really have to live in the extreme suburbs of Phoenix. Extremely north Scottsdale, Carefree, Cave Creek have these critters in abundance. Rattlesnakes can be found around mountains and the extreme suburbs. Or smashed crossing any major thouroghfare
lol when i went to california to visit my friend she had a whiteboard with marks and every day or so the hwole week i was there shed add a check - last night i was there i was sitting outside and facing their fence and nearly fell off teh chair when a huge rat went sailing by and snap - and whineeeeee - lolol i tol dher she cuold have told me so i didntfreak out but she didnt tell me cause she didnt want me to worry lol. to funny it was
it's cooler here because we get an occasional delta breeze from the coast,
but the cost of living is will set a checkbook on fire.
house prices (for my area -greater sacto area) 350- 400k and up -- fancy will run $750k-1.5m
(est. rent -basic apt. not fancy - 1 bd $650+ 2 bed $795 and house rental are a little more),
gas is over $3. per gallon, water/sewer $ 100 mo. ---- why we stay... i was raised here, so it's home.
(question to all) is the cost of living lower where you live? (:offtopic: question )
i think gas os over 3 anywhere lol - depending on where you live is by how much - we are about 310 - my propane- i idont even want to quote that porice lets just say its double what it was last yr and i prepay - feel bad for anyone who hasnt as i am sure it will skyrocket even more than last yr - produce is rediculous caus emany farmers got hit by hail and lost most of their crops or they did not plant due to the cost of gas. housing isnt to bad for me but ive lived here forever - those bying around me are poaying triple what we paid and their lots and houses are smaller!! its sad. rent is outragous as we live in a collage town so that keeps the rents up -
Your right, I didn't have a map when I looked that population census up.
I can see that there is a greater metro area in the Phoenix area.
I've never been there, but insects, blazing heat doused by a monsoon is scaring this potential traveler... I'm heading north. LOL (only joking;) )
Actually, we went to Palm Springs for a work conference last spring and it the desert region was very nice, we had a great time.
went there when visiting my son at the marine base in 29 palms - loved the desert - quite the change from what i am used to so to me it was really nice and beautiful. thiose josua trees are really cool. dont know id like living there but i could breath really well there ( due to the less humidity -) hard to breath at home lol.
The first spider is called a 'Bird-eating Goliath.' It is in South America. The second one is a Camel spider. Its home is in the Middle East.
im told m16s work great to deal with the camal spiders roflmao - my son who is absolutely freaked by spiders - is the best camel spider kiler his buddies know ( how he made it nearly 3 yrs in iraq with those things around i will never know - lolol the littlest spiders set him off here - yet he buys a snake that will grw to 6 ft eventually as a pet - go figure - BOYS!!! lolo.
That Middle Eastern camel spider is the one that gives me the most terrors. :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: Did you see the mandibles on that thing?
you should be a mom whos son is liing with them and first hear the fake story about how they run fast and eat at a camels belly and will attack people - LOLOL we sure had some moments of stress till we found out it was a tall tale that is for usre lol.
To multicollarity,and all the other nurses who think this way:
Ladies and gentlmen,first let me say that I do enjoy these post and the wisdom here is in abundance,but,let me try to calm some fears and spread a little wisdom of my own in hopes of saving a valuble species,both human and animal.
Spiders,are not vermin.despite what pest control companies might tell you.
vermin mostly consist of rats,mice,roaches,fly's and their eggs.
Spiders and scorpions are very clean animals,(they groom themselves in much the same manner as a cat)and eat their fair share of roaches and fly larve,snakes also are very clean animals,shedding often and removeing any parisites they may have in the process(as do spiders and scorpions as well),they carry no zoonotic pathogins,nor to they spread diasese.
In fact,they rid us of pest and vermin that do.And snakes being the biggest exterminator of rats and mice leaving no trace as they do.
That being said,rattle snakes,spiders and scorpions are all venomous to some degree,in the case of rattle snakes,very venomous,no tarantula found in Arizona is dangerous to man but do have a paiful bite and only one species of scorpion in Arizona is of real medical importance to humans:caduceus: ,Centruroidesexculata,the "bark scorpion",it can kill you.
Of the 18 species of rattlesnakes found in Arizona,the only ones you REALY have to watch out for are:
Western Dimondback,Crotalus atrox Mojave rattlesnake,Crotalus scutalus
Prarie rattlesnake,Crotalus viridis viridistheise are fairly big(avg.3'-4'but can be up to 6'),pack a very potent bite,and are quite common,even in urban areas:chair: .But any and all rattlesnakes can deliver a nasty if not potentaly deadly bite,but deaths are very,very rare.
Most of the others are very secritive/rare/seldom encountered
But it is the bulding of new housing developments in what was once rural desert or mountains that bring humans in contact with theis predators,which for the most part wish to have nothing to do with human contact,most bites or stings happen when we either try to kill it or pick it up or handle it in some manner or not checking our shoes before we put them on,it comes down to simple common sence,leave it alone and it will do its best to get out of your way!
When we start killing predators,such as rattlesnakes or scorpions or wolves:paw: ; we are setting our self up for harm,an example might be the 4 corners area back in the 90's where the natural population of rattlesnakes were decimated due to urban encrochment,but the natural diet of the rattlers,the kangaroo mouse,thrived and reproduced like,well,kangaroo mice.
Soon these mice were getting in to human habitats and setting up house and while doing so were spreding there dried feces and urine over food stuffs and air duct systems causing an outbreak of Hanta virus,causing quite a few deaths in a short time,far more than the rattlesnakes caused in years.Why?because the kangaroo mice had no natural predators to keep them in check.
So,while they may unplesant to look at,and have the burden of too much negative press and not enough positive information,we do need them,and if we take time to observe them,we will find them to be very facinating animals indeed.SORRY FOR MY RANT!
Hey James that made for a very interesting read and I shall certainly look at things in a different way, and if I may I will educate my family with your words of wisdom.
Can I ask you a question of topic-Is that your real name or is it a tongue in cheek name?
Thank you, James. We do forget the natural order of things frequently. I wish that every child would be taught at home and in the earliest school years, to respect these other forms of life. If we were taught the roles of the other creatures that share our world, and how they really benefit us, and the planet, I can't help but think, we would be more comfortable with sharing space with them. Personally, I know my phobias came from some members of my family. My father, however, would never kill a spider that came inside because it ate other less beneficial critters.
) we have huge spiders inside and they do give me the willys however since my son sent me pictures of the spiders he had to deal with in iraq i have a whole new view on them lol - called camel spiders and you think yours are huge check them out on the net - you will feel quite grateful for the small ones you have lol. i hate them all but i guess i wouldnt leave because of them. check out something like orkin - perhaops they could help woith the insects and as for the vermin well - dont know - we have what we call animal control and they will for a fee come trap any unwanted animals and dispose of or transport them far far away. just some ideas anyhow.
:eek:
english_nurse
1,146 Posts
the dog lucks like hes just tasting the kitten to see if its worth swallowing him or not lmao