Does your city have a pest problem-spiders, roaches, bed bugs, mosquitos, rats etc.?

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

^It was probably pretty bad when N.C. had a severe drought a few years back?

Whenever it gets really dry, they come in from the wilderness looking for food and water.

The last few years during the drought in Cal., they come down from the mountains to swim in backyard pools and raid garbage cans. As far as I know, they never attack anyone.

[dave8721]

We have the whole "nuisance gator" thing. And they show up everywhere these days, not just on the fringes near the Everglades. We have a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to deal with them.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by dave8721

We have the whole "nuisance gator" thing. And they show up everywhere these days, not just on the fringes near the Everglades. We have a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to deal with them.

In Arizona, the fire department comes and removes your "nuisance rattlesnakes".

But the most annoying "pests" are these:

• Video Link

They are mean. I once had one stand in front of my garage door for 15 minutes daring me to try to get past him and into the garage. And they dig up pretty much anything you plant that they can get to.

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

In Arizona, the fire department comes and removes your "nuisance rattlesnakes".

But the most annoying "pests" are these:

• Video Link

They are mean. I once had one stand in front of my garage door for 15 minutes daring me to try to get past him and into the garage. And they dig up pretty much anything you plant that they can get to.

Free bacon.

[CaliNative]

1. little black Argentine ants (swarm 3 or 4 times a year). Can get into houses, into food etc.

2. Black widow spiders (leave them alone and they won't generally bite)--not uncommon in dark areas like garages.

3. In outdoor areas--on occasion, rattlesnakes, pumas (rare)

4. Nuisances-pigeons, coyotes (mostly in areas near open land)

5. In some areas, rats and mice, houseflies.

Not too bad compared to some cities

[dave8721]

Do spring break revelers count?

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by dave8721

We have the whole "nuisance gator" thing. And they show up everywhere these days, not just on the fringes near the Everglades. We have a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to deal with them.

i have job sites in southern arkansas where i have to sample sediment in bayous and get to stick my hand down in there over and over.
some maps show alligator range stopping abruptly at the louisiana/arkansas state line, which is incorrect. i think this map shows the range in arkansas (and other places in the southeast) too far north, as there are no alligators in the boston mountains and other parts of the uplands, but they certainly range well up into the lowland bayous that flow south out of southern arkansas into louisiana.

www.usanpn.org

[pdxtex]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

In Arizona, the fire department comes and removes your "nuisance rattlesnakes".

But the most annoying "pests" are these:

• Video Link

They are mean. I once had one stand in front of my garage door for 15 minutes daring me to try to get past him and into the garage. And they dig up pretty much anything you plant that they can get to.

i see the lady by the slider was indeed holding his beer! wow, those are interesting looking.

[PHX31]

I go on a nightly hunt for scorpions outside using my black light from March - November. Last night I killed 2 scorps (and 3 black widows, although they were ancillary, I just happened to see their webs). My record so far this year is 8 scorpions in one night. I've only seen a few in the house through the years.

Scorpions aren't just a problem in the outlying desert areas, neighborhoods in Central Phoenix can have worse problems than other areas (I'm specifically thinking of the mid-century neighborhoods in North Central Phoenix, my co-worker has a big problem).

Also, I read that when large new housing developments in Gilbert were recently constructed they disturbed some sort of mega colony of scorpions and they can be a huge nuisance out there. Not sure exactly if that is true or if mega scorpion colonies actually exist.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Oddly enough, my parents lived in Ahwatukee for 21 years (south of 40th Street/Chandler) in Phoenix and only ever encountered one scorpion in their backyard (that they know of) about a year before they moved.

Javelinas are just angry, nasty little bastards. There's lots of things in the Sonoran Desert around Phoenix that can kill or maim you, but it seems to me most of them just want to be left alone for the most part.

[JManc]

We have feral hogs here in Texas. Bigger and meaner than those javelinas by the sound of it. People bitch about them tearing up their lawns but never seen one around or have our yard messed up..yet. There are cougars, bobcats and coyotes too floating around. If I saw a cougar, I catch it and keep it as a pet...

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by JManc

We have feral hogs here in Texas. Bigger and meaner than those javelinas by the sound of it. People bitch about them tearing up their lawns but never seen one around or have our yard messed up..yet. There are cougars, bobcats and coyotes too floating around. If I saw a cougar, I catch it and keep it as a pet...

we have those in the missouri ozarks, and up into st. louis county where the geologic ozarks sort of toe into. i came in contact with some along a creek I was sampling in the southwest suburbs of st. louis (basically where the ozark hills/pines/ clear creeks start) but they ran off pretty quickly. they sound rather terrifying at night when they come around my tent if im camping in the ozarks. i think these are smaller than what is found in texas.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by PHX31

I go on a nightly hunt for scorpions outside using my black light from March - November. Last night I killed 2 scorps (and 3 black widows, although they were ancillary, I just happened to see their webs). My record so far this year is 8 scorpions in one night. I've only seen a few in the house through the years.

Scorpions aren't just a problem in the outlying desert areas, neighborhoods in Central Phoenix can have worse problems than other areas (I'm specifically thinking of the mid-century neighborhoods in North Central Phoenix, my co-worker has a big problem).

Also, I read that when large new housing developments in Gilbert were recently constructed they disturbed some sort of mega colony of scorpions and they can be a huge nuisance out there. Not sure exactly if that is true or if mega scorpion colonies actually exist.

I have family in Chandler, they said when they dug out the 202 freeway scorpions scrambled into the neighborhoods and was a weekly occurrence of stomping one on their tile floor after sunset.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by JManc

There are cougars, bobcats and coyotes too floating around. If I saw a cougar, I catch it and keep it as a pet...

I'd like to see you try that on the apex predator where I live:

El Tigre (this specimen photographed in southern AZ and named "El Jefe")

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...zona/79775680/

Jaguars could be found in the southwestern United States, and as far north as the Grand Canyon in Arizona (Tony Davis, 2013). There was an estimated 400, 000 jaguars roaming in the wild. In the 1960s and 1970s, approximately 18, 000 jaguars were killed each year (Panthera Inc, 2014). By 1996, the jaguar population was almost completely eliminated from the United States. Only four jaguars sighted in New Mexico and Arizona established that the population still inhabited the U.S, and the jaguar is now listed as an endangered species in these areas by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

https://population-dynamics-of-jagua...on-growth.html

[Pedestrian]

Drama in the Arizona suburbs:

• Video Link

[floor23]

I really enjoyed reading this thread. Pests in urban areas is something rarely discussed, but its something we all have to deal with.

In Honolulu, cockroaches will always be the most common pest. Wherever you eat food, they will nest. Had a friend who would eat in his car often until he found a nest of them living inside the engine. It's a neverending battle with the roaches.

If you go to the more suburban areas you can have centipedes which are very poisonous, but their sting isn't fatal unless you're very young or old.

Mosquitos really aren't an issue unless you go hiking in the jungle or go inland. Honolulu being an urban city in the tropics has a surprisingly low amount of mosquitos.

The worst pest though is feral roosters/chickens which are beginning to make their presence in urban Honolulu. They have already overrun Kauai, parts of Maui, and Big Island, and the north shore of Oahu. Now they're becoming more common in the city. Since Fall of last year, I've been awakened by roosters at 3am. Living in one of the most densely populated urban areas in the country, you would never think that roosters/chickens which are generally associated with rural areas, would be a problem.

City's Solution to Fowl Problem in Urban Honolulu is Working Councilwomen Says (she is a full of shit IMO)
http://www.khon2.com/news/local-news...8857/901493149

Ala Wai Residents Fed Up with Noisy Roosters
http://www.khon2.com/news/local-news...7639/901498467

Feral Chicken Problem Invades Oahu
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/6...m-invades-oahu

Hawaiian Humane Society Now Responding to Chicken Noise Complaints
http://www.kitv.com/story/34311091/h...ise-complaints

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Oddly enough, my parents lived in Ahwatukee for 21 years (south of 40th Street/Chandler) in Phoenix and only ever encountered one scorpion in their backyard (that they know of) about a year before they moved.

Javelinas are just angry, nasty little bastards. There's lots of things in the Sonoran Desert around Phoenix that can kill or maim you, but it seems to me most of them just want to be left alone for the most part.

Maybe they're lucky and don't really have many, or maybe they're blissfully unaware. Have them get a black light and go hunting around at night. They may see more than they realize. A couple of nights ago I smashed a pair of mating scorpions (which is a huge win for my future fight against scorps), and last year I smashed one with a cricket in his pincers. I kind of felt bad about that one, but I'd rather not have any scorpions and have more crickets. I have 2 young kids that I don't want stung.

I feel like once my neighbor behind me landscaped their yard I'm seeing a lot more now (although I really didn't look before they did it), almost like scorpions caught a ride in the materials, rock, plants, and trees brought in by the landscapers/landscaping and they are making a new home in our neighborhood.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by PHX31

Maybe they're lucky and don't really have many, or maybe they're blissfully unaware. Have them get a black light and go hunting around at night. They may see more than they realize. A couple of nights ago I smashed a pair of mating scorpions (which is a huge win for my future fight against scorps), and last year I smashed one with a cricket in his pincers. I kind of felt bad about that one, but I'd rather not have any scorpions and have more crickets. I have 2 young kids that I don't want stung.

I feel like once my neighbor behind me landscaped their yard I'm seeing a lot more now (although I really didn't look before they did it), almost like scorpions caught a ride in the materials, rock, plants, and trees brought in by the landscapers/landscaping and they are making a new home in our neighborhood.

I'm guessing blissfully unaware. Then again, they moved to East Mesa late last year and right around the time they saw their "first" scorpion in their old home in Ahwatukee was when construction crews started excavating dirt for the 202/South Mountain Freeway expansion.

[Steely Dan]

serious question: how painful is a scorpion sting?

is it just annoying like a bee sting, or is it more serious?

we don't have them in the midwest so i know very little about them.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

serious question: how painful is a scorpion sting?

is it just annoying like a bee sting, or is it more serious?

we don't have them in the midwest so i know very little about them.

I don't really know, I've only been stung by a bee personally. Putting aside if the person getting stung by a bee or scorpion is allergic, I think a scorpion sting is a bit more serious and painful in general, but likely not truly serious (except for maybe young people and old people). I do think scorpions have more venom than bees and I've heard they can sometimes inject more venom on certain stings than others.

Anecdotally, my friend was stung once and he called poison control (we were drunk and probably overreacted in calling poison control). They basically just said put ice on it and check your symptoms to make sure he wasn't having a bad reaction. Otherwise he would be fine. It was painful for sure but not the end of the world and we went back to drinking and playing pictionary.