My 2 new members to the family.

[Jeffery]

cockroaches kind of give me the hibbie jibbies also, and people eat them...aaawwwww eehhhhhh!!!

[fotofashion]

Ah, yes, fire ants. I live in the world fire ant capital. We have what is called "imported fire ants" and I assume, regular domestic fire ants.
Having been raised in the north where the ants are not aggressive and don't bite, the first time we visited Houston in the 60's, my DH stepped on a fire ant nest. They rapidly climbed his legs under his slacks and proceded to do their thing. Just try to get at them under your pantlegs. All I could do was laugh at his dance as he tried to kill them. Of course, when it happened to me, as it would eventually, it wasn't funny.
They can do serious injury to livestock and many people are allergic to them. I seem to have adjusted to the venom because the bites, altho very itchy, don't get infected anymore.
The chemical companies make good money selling substances that proport to kill them but they eventually come back.
You learn to be careful as you walk around in the yard and I definitely don't go barefoot.
Oh, and we also have snakes although I don't see many now as we have a cat.
One of our favorite fauna is the anole. I believe we had a discussion about them recently.
Beverly A.

[Connie Star]

Originally Posted by nibbler

Whats a fire ant? I saw them on CSI Las Vegas but I dont actually know what they are? Why do you hate them?

I am frightened of earwigs, woodlice, centipides and silverfish.

Fire ants have a painful sting and there are enormous numbers of them in a nest, and they are very aggressive. There also may be a lot of nests in a small area. They have made some farmers fields unusable, even with mechanized equipment because someone has to ride on the equipment. I've never been stung/bitten, but I don't live in the right part of the US.
I remember on my first trip to the Amazon (Peru) we were told that the most dangerous animals in the jungle were the ants, and always, always look where you are stepping and where you are putting your hands.

[nibbler]

Ugh. The more I hear about what lives in other countries, the happier I am that I live where I do! We have nothing like that, no snakes, no dangerous spiders, no fire ants.....

[KHaze]

Thats really bad a spider big enough to eat a bird, I love song birds, rather see nothing eatting them

I'm really glad that those things live in Peru...but to be honest, I think I'd rather see one of them then the Brown Recluse's we have around here. At least you can see them coming!

I know several people who have gotten bitten by Brown Recluse spiders...Not pleasant...

[nibbler]

I just googled that spider, if the pictures are anything to go by........... ugh

[KHaze]

I just googled that spider, if the pictures are anything to go by........... ugh

Ugh is right. You should see what happens when they bite you. Their venom is necrotic and the skin and flesh around the bite start to die.

The guy I know who got bitten last fall almost lost his leg from it. It took the doctors over a month to figure out what was going on...bites are still pretty rare here...although they seem to be on the rise.

I wish those spiders were bigger...they are hard to tell from all the normal house spiders. I don't think I've ever even seen one...but I'm not sure I would know it if I did so I'll just stick to my normal plan of action when I see a spider in the house...Shriek like a little girl and get my husband to catch it a put it outside where it belongs!

[Tropicgirl]

We have brown recluses and black widows here but so far they don't bother me. I will quickly change my opinion if they decide I'd be a good snack.

We also have rattlesnakes, water moccasins and coral snakes-all venomous but usually unseen.

But for me, the fire ants still take the cake for the worst pest. Like the name implies, the bite is like fire under your skin. I know plenty of tourists hated the cold weather here this winter but it sent those little devils into dormancy. It was a wonderful break!

[KHaze]

Holy Crow Tropicgirl! We are not used to so many poisonous creatures up north. In fact, when I was a kid we didn't have anything that could really harm you. Things do seem to be migrating though.

We have Black Widows now too, and a few rattlesnakes (although I've never seen one of those either). They say the fire ants will never make it up this far thank God. I'd hate it if I couldn't wander barefoot through my yard.

[nibbler]

I must live in the most boring of countries. We have absolutely nothing like that. I mean it. I cant think of one dangerous insect other than a bee if you are allergic, no snakes, no bears, no wolves. I dont even think we have any native lizards. Now i am getting curious.