Hissing Cat Awakens Mother

[maatTheViking]

Did you know we also have several varieties of poisonous plants?

of course you do!!

Crazy that all that poison haven't managed to take care of those invasive species!

[Japanfan]

Not moving to Australia! I am terrified of snakes. Also, not moving to South Africa. A friend who lived there said she regularly found snakes in the house and garden. The best thing for me is to stay in a urban area where snakes fear to tread (or slither as the case may be).

Ditto. I can't even look at pictures of snakes. My phobia isn't so bad that I don't go anywhere where snakes are to be found - which is pretty much everywhere - and I've survived numerous trips to the dessert without once meeting a rattle snake.

But I wouldn't get anywhere where the possibility of encountering a snake was more than minimal.

[danceronice]

I get nervous enough in the backwoods out east (I have no desire to step on and startle an Eastern Diamondback. And yes, we technically have a venomous species in Michigan, the Massasauga rattler, but they're extremely rare and also pretty docile-you have to really scare one or deliberatly provoke it to get one to strike.) In Australia I stay on the sidewalk and out of dusty corners as I have no desire to get bitten by something poisonous. Especially spiders. I don't like spiders that AREN'T poisonous.

[joeperryfan]

My intentions of spending some time n Australia have significantly diminished...

[mkats]

Uh oh.
I just looked at our schedule for next week's lectures (we're in dermatology at the moment) and we're having a whole lecture on ARTHROPOD bites and infestations

That's what I used to do too, until recently at work where the earthworms LEAP into the air! Every time I touched them with a leaf, they would jump!

I have no idea what sort of cancer treatment or radiation we've been inadvertently leeching into the ground, but our earthworms are frightening!

I always try to quickly slide a pine needle under them to scoop them up and out This is sometimes much more successful than others...

[Aussie Willy]

My intentions of spending some time n Australia have significantly diminished...

Go to New Zealand - they don't have snakes there.

[joeperryfan]

Go to New Zealand - they don't have snakes there.

Good to know

Are snakes a problem in the cities too?

[Aussie Willy]

Good to know

Are snakes a problem in the cities too?

Well you won't find many. That is not to say the occaisional snake doesn't pop up from time to time.

[madm]

Go to New Zealand - they don't have snakes there.

There are also no venomous snakes in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. It's a very friendly place to hike and camp. About the only poisonous things to watch out for there are the black widow spiders that sometimes reside in home wood piles. You are right, though, that in the U.S. there are things that can eat you like grizzly bears and mountain lions, although those are quite rare.

[madm]

Go to New Zealand - they don't have snakes there.

Aussie, I saw a documentary about kangaroo "mobs" invading the suburbs in Canberra, Australia. They could kick you pretty badly and must eat landscaping. How serious is that problem? Best story I read about a scary kangaroo home invasion is http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2...-kangaroo.html.

[cruisin]

Same here. I'm fascinated by spiders, but dread them as well. I HATE centipedes!!

Centipedes! I hate them too. For the last few years we have been getting them in the house. Big, 2" to 3" long ones. I get them with the vacuum. I am sure that one of these days some giant mutant bug will crawl out of my vacuum. Hate stink bugs too. And every house in our area is getting them. Exterminator said no way to get rid of them. Just keep the fireplace flu closed and burn a fire occasionally (that's where they usually come in). But, we're still getting them. They are positively prehistoric looking.

[IceAlisa]

Ditto. I can't even look at pictures of snakes. My phobia isn't so bad that I don't go anywhere where snakes are to be found - which is pretty much everywhere - and I've survived numerous trips to the dessert without once meeting a rattle snake.

But I wouldn't get anywhere where the possibility of encountering a snake was more than minimal.

Just my luck, I found a baby rattler when I was in summer camp, decades ago. I was hanging up my swimsuit outside when I heard a pile of leaves on the ground rustle... you don't need to know the rest but it was a baby and it used its rattle on me. I remember screaming and

[misskarne]

Good to know

Are snakes a problem in the cities too?

Not really, but they DO love heat and warmth and asphalt retains a lot of that. I've found one or two in our front garden before, but we live in the outskirts.

Better than Sydney. Bloody funnelwebs. Not happening. I like most creepy things but funnelwebs, not on your life.

Aussie, I saw a documentary about kangaroo "mobs" invading the suburbs in Canberra, Australia. They could kick you pretty badly and must eat landscaping. How serious is that problem? Best story I read about a scary kangaroo home invasion is http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2...-kangaroo.html.

Your resident Canberran can inform you! It's really not as bad as they make out. Because of Canberra's location (nestled in the foothills of the Brindabella Range), the kangaroos often come down into the valleys in winter or when it's particularly dry. Thus, we tend to get a few of them. I even saw one bouncing down the street one day, and just last night had a near-miss with a kangaroo when I was driving home. Lots of the time if it's been dry, I'll see them grazing on the sports oval near our house. (Never seen them eating a garden, though.)

The important thing to remember about Canberra is that it's called "the bush capital" for a reason. The city is littered with parks and hills and open spaces, so kangaroos can get pretty much everywhere. (Hence the one I nearly hit last night!) Kangaroos also won't tend to harm you unless you harm or threaten them. Like most "dangerous" animals in Australia, leave them alone and don't do anything stupid, and they'll leave you alone.

[Aussie Willy]

Uh oh.
I just looked at our schedule for next week's lectures (we're in dermatology at the moment) and we're having a whole lecture on ARTHROPOD bites and infestations

[Anita18]

Centipedes! I hate them too. For the last few years we have been getting them in the house. Big, 2" to 3" long ones. I get them with the vacuum. I am sure that one of these days some giant mutant bug will crawl out of my vacuum. Hate stink bugs too. And every house in our area is getting them. Exterminator said no way to get rid of them. Just keep the fireplace flu closed and burn a fire occasionally (that's where they usually come in). But, we're still getting them. They are positively prehistoric looking.

Aaaah centipedes are THE WORST! My aunt lived in Central Jersey and they would get ones bigger than my hand!

Stink bugs are taking over SoCal too. They are non-native pests, so I take some pleasure in smashing them. They've never stinked on me, so I have no idea. Also, despite their armored look, fairly easy to kill....

[cruisin]

Aaaah centipedes are THE WORST! My aunt lived in Central Jersey and they would get ones bigger than my hand!

Stink bugs are taking over SoCal too. They are non-native pests, so I take some pleasure in smashing them. They've never stinked on me, so I have no idea. Also, despite their armored look, fairly easy to kill....

True, that's why I don't understand why the exterminator said they were impossible to get rid of. Maybe, because they just keep coming back.