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 respect the natural order of things when it is outside my house. When inside of my house all rational thought goes out the window and it becomes vermin regardless of Webster's definition.
Specializes in ICU, Haemodialysis, acute medicine and s.
well I was considering moving from the UK to Arizona but after reading this thread I'm not so sure it's a good idea. I am petrified of spiders and my husband is petrified of snakes. Some of the piccies you have put on here are horrendous. I must say I am not concerned about the bites, other than the scorpions and the rattle snakes, but i flip when i see a spider any bigger than a quarter, and compared to your spiders ours are babies. Can i get the exterminators in daily?????lol
so i turned on the h2o and got in the bath when i see something SCURRY along the top of the shower curtain rod
supraventricular tachycardia
so i jump out of the shower dripping wet and put on my glasses
IT'S A FREAKIN CENTIPEDE
20 year old condo building
so i go to the storage closet where the vaccuum is [and the cat boxes] so i can vaccuum up this unfortunate intruder [i vaccuum up everything that i can't deal with]
this thing could move baby
not to mention cat litter all over my wet feet and now all over the condofloor
not to mention i'm all alone [where is big daddy when you need him]
i am screaming also
new neighbours next door had recently moved in
anyway
i successfully eventually vaccuumed that mother freaker up
heartrate now about 180 bpm
calmed down, showered and went on my merry traumatized way
LMAO! Don't ya just love the vacuum?!?! Ahhhhh!!! I'm always afraid to empty my filter now because I'm terrified I'll find colonies of scary critters in my vacuum....I make my boyfriend do it.
omg
long story to follow
upset me for a week
i was going to take a shower and i wear glasses
so i turned on the h2o and got in the bath when i see something SCURRY along the top of the shower curtain rod
supraventricular tachycardia
so i jump out of the shower dripping wet and put on my glasses
IT'S A FREAKIN CENTIPEDE
20 year old condo building
so i go to the storage closet where the vaccuum is [and the cat boxes] so i can vaccuum up this unfortunate intruder [i vaccuum up everything that i can't deal with]
this thing could move baby
not to mention cat litter all over my wet feet and now all over the condofloor
not to mention i'm all alone [where is big daddy when you need him]
i am screaming also
new neighbours next door had recently moved in
anyway
i successfully eventually vaccuumed that mother freaker up
heartrate now about 180 bpm
calmed down, showered and went on my merry traumatized way
well I was considering moving from the UK to Arizona but after reading this thread I'm not so sure it's a good idea. I am petrified of spiders and my husband is petrified of snakes. Some of the piccies you have put on here are horrendous. I must say I am not concerned about the bites, other than the scorpions and the rattle snakes, but i flip when i see a spider any bigger than a quarter, and compared to your spiders ours are babies. Can i get the exterminators in daily?????lol
Bless your heart. Certain neighborhoods in AZ don't have vermin problems 99.9% of the time. Of course this new story is a cautionary tale:
I actually had to have surgery following a brown recluse bite, the resulting necrosis was terrifying, and now I have a huge scar on my ankle.
The true brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) does not occur in Arizona, this is a quote from urban integrated pest managment.
violin belly has nothing to do with a black widow, the black widow has an hourglass on its belly, and thats only the female. Both Brown recluses and Black Widows are shy and will not usually bite unless you either intentionally or accidentally make contact with them. All spiders have venom and people can have varying reactions to the venom.
I never imagined that you would be afraid of anything, I am glad to see your more sensitive side. I do understand your fear . We had a problem with spiders on our ICU unit. We kept reporting that spiders were falling down from the ceiling while we were charting at the desk but no one would do anythng about it. Finally one of us got bit by one and it was a Brown Recluse..the most dangerous in this area. My friend became very sick and missed over a month of work, even required hospitalization and almost lost her foot. She filled out all the proper occurance reports and can you believe it but workers comp. would not pay anything on her medical bill or lost wages because she couldn't prove that the spider did not come from outside. She is fine and doing well now though it was very difficult for her and her family .
Description: The true brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) does not occur in Arizona, but two closely related species have been reported here. They are quite similar to the brown recluse and can be distinguished only by an expert. The Arizona species are Loxosceles arizonica and L. deserta. Three other species, one from the southeast corner of our state (and the New Mexican and Mexican Chihuahuan Desert), one from the Grand Canyon, and one known only from Sabino Canyon in the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson, have not yet been described, but will eventually be named by Dr. W.J. Gertsch. Loxosceles arizonica is very common in our state and L. deserta is fairly rare. For the sake of simplicity, all five species will be referred to as brown spiders, and all should be considered equally menacing. The reader should note that there are numerous species of brown-colored spiders in Arizona, but the name "brown spiders" here refers only to members of the genus Loxosceles. The brown spiders can be distinguished from all others by the following characteristics: the body of the adult is about 1/3 inch (9 mm) long, and the leg span is about 1 inch (25 mm). Color is tan to brown and there is a distinctive violin-shaped darker marking on the cephalothorax, with the neck of the violin pointed toward the abdomen. Brown spiders have three pairs of eyes on the base of the violin. These are difficult to see without a hand lens. Other spiders that might be mistaken for brown spiders have four pairs of eyes rather than three and do not have the violin.
Envenomation: All species of Loxosceles are seriously venomous to humans. In 1969, Dr. Mont A. Cazier in the Department of Zoology at Arizona State University forced an Arizona brown spider to bite him on the arm. He then observed and reported the progress of the disease caused by the venom. The symptoms were very similar to those previously reported for the true brown recluse. Three enzymes have been identified as the major components of the venom: a protease, an esterase, and a hyaluronidase, all enzymes that cause a breakdown of tissues. Volume-for-volume, this venom is much more toxic than that of the most poisonous snakes. The brown spiders are not aggressive, and bites have most often been suffered when the spider is trapped inadvertently against some substrate. Significantly, Dr. Cazier had to restrain and prod his brown spider repeatedly in order to cause it to bite. They may hide in folds of clothes or bedding, and bite when the clothes are donned or the bed is occupied. Most victims have been bitten when putting on clothing in the morning, and the wounds have centered mostly on the arms or legs. Little or no pain is felt at the time of the bite, but pain and local swelling are experienced in from 2-8 hours. A blister forms at the bite, and this becomes a center of swelling and reddening in the form of a bull's eye target. In the next day or two, the skin becomes discolored and darkened, and a tough scab forms by the end of the first week. When the scab separates within 2-5 weeks, it leaves an ulcer with a necrotic base. This is slow to heal, requiring more than three months, and heavy scarring may result. In severe cases (many are mild), there may be (in addition to the symptoms listed above) joint pain, vomiting, and a fever as high as 104° F (40°C) that occurs within 36 hours of the bite and lasts as long as a week. Fatalities attributable to "brown recluse" spider bites are extremely rare in the U.S. and are due to renal failure.
Multicollinearity, BSN, RN
3,119 Posts
I respect the natural order of things when it is outside my house. When inside of my house all rational thought goes out the window and it becomes vermin regardless of Webster's definition.