[5kingsinvegas]

Originally Posted by PinkString

5kings, have you seen the scorpions in your Summerlin home or Aliante home?
I've yet to find a scorpion yet in both places I've lived so far. Just those darn field roaches that we all hate. More so this year because of all that road work out on the beltway. I can't wait til that's finished.
----
Wendy, when the monsoons get here starting late this week, when the really super duper big black roaches come out from underground, will that poison keep them out of my home like the smaller ones? Just curious because I've felt so calm the last week or so with none coming in, and I don't want to live in fear again.

Pink, they are in the Summerlin home....maybe we should have stayed in Aliante We are in the Hills so I don't think that qualifies as being very "deserty" either. LOTS of palms though, which I heard can be a mitigating factor???

[BUGBULLY]

Originally Posted by PinkString

Wendy, when the monsoons get here starting late this week, when the really super duper big black roaches come out from underground, will that poison keep them out of my home like the smaller ones? Just curious because I've felt so calm the last week or so with none coming in, and I don't want to live in fear again.

The product is a water based. You should be fine, unless we get major rain. Which I highly doubt. If you see any activity inside, just call us. We will come back and retreat the outside for you.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by kimba01

I have had two big fat hairy centipedes in my house and I never get them--they are my worst fear of bugs here (that I see)

HA! You hate bugs so youre moving to the desert southwest? Really? If you see the stuff that crawls around the desert, youll be begging to be back in MI. Sure, there are less pesky insects in the desert (less mosquitos, gnats, black flies, etc), but the bugs youll contend with are far more dangerous, far larger, and far higher up on the "creepiness factor". Also, centipedes are not "hairy". What you saw was probably a common, harmless house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata):
http://i.pbase.com/o4/90/516390/1/61400403.1393web.jpg (broken link)

House centipedes are beneficial to have around (they eat spiders, cockroaches, etc). Theyre TINY compared to the centipedes found in the desert regions of the USA. Scolopendra spp are found all over the desert southwest... which would you rather run across?
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...icture1036.jpg

There are also harmless tarantulas all over the desert, which seem to strangely scare the bejeezus out of everyone.
http://www.sainverts.com/mexico.jpg/mexico-full.jpg (broken link)

Ooooh, what about the ever-lovely tarantula hawk wasp? Ever seen a wasp large enough to subdue a tarantula? Its always fun to be buzzed by one of these guys while hiking. Talk about a heart-stopper! The sting from one of these is rumored to be the worst on earth. Look if you dare!
http://www.bugman123.com/Bugs/TarantulaHawk-large.jpg

Oh, dont forget about the potentially lethal bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda) and the potentially lethal black widow (Latrodectus hesperus). Other harmless bugs that will be sure to give you a heart attack just from their looks are vinegaroons, tailless whipscorpions and solifugids. And be aware that youre deep in rattlesnake country, too.

All of a sudden MI doesnt look so bad, does it?

[5kingsinvegas]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

HA! You hate bugs so youre moving to the desert southwest? Really? If you see the stuff that crawls around the desert, youll be begging to be back in MI. Sure, there are less pesky insects in the desert (less mosquitos, gnats, black flies, etc), but the bugs youll contend with are far more dangerous, far larger, and far higher up on the "creepiness factor". Also, centipedes are not "hairy". What you saw was probably a common, harmless house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata):
http://i.pbase.com/o4/90/516390/1/61400403.1393web.jpg (broken link)

House centipedes are beneficial to have around (they eat spiders, cockroaches, etc). Theyre TINY compared to the centipedes found in the desert regions of the USA. Scolopendra spp are found all over the desert southwest... which would you rather run across?
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...icture1036.jpg

There are also harmless tarantulas all over the desert, which seem to strangely scare the bejeezus out of everyone.
http://www.sainverts.com/mexico.jpg/mexico-full.jpg (broken link)

Ooooh, what about the ever-lovely tarantula hawk wasp? Ever seen a wasp large enough to subdue a tarantula? Its always fun to be buzzed by one of these guys while hiking. Talk about a heart-stopper! The sting from one of these is rumored to be the worst on earth. Look if you dare!
http://www.bugman123.com/Bugs/TarantulaHawk-large.jpg

Oh, dont forget about the potentially lethal bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda) and the potentially lethal black widow (Latrodectus hesperus). Other harmless bugs that will be sure to give you a heart attack just from their looks are vinegaroons, tailless whipscorpions and solifugids. And be aware that youre deep in rattlesnake country, too.

All of a sudden MI doesnt look so bad, does it?

Give me a break.... there are deadly bugs in your neck of the woods also. I speak from personal experience.... my 14 year old son died in 2001 from EEE which is caused by a mosquito bite and we lived in Michigan. So, I'll take my chances with the bugs I can have exterminated....tell me how,exactly, do you eliminate mosquitos????

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by 5kingsinvegas

Give me a break.... there are deadly bugs in your neck of the woods also. I speak from personal experience.... my 14 year old son died in 2001 from EEE which is caused by a mosquito bite in Michigan. So, I'll take my chances with the bugs I can have exterminated....tell me how,exactly, do you eliminate mosquitos????

There are no deadly bugs in my part of the country. There are 2 venomous snakes here, but theyre on the endangered species list in IL. Ive looked for them for years and havent even found a trace of them, unlike NV where I can uncover dozens of widows, several bark scorpions and rattlesnakes in less than an hour. I research and study venomous critters, including keeping many as pets. Wildlife in NV is 100 times more dangerous than wildlife in IL.

[olecapt]

Steve-o is playing word games. How many deaths from the bark scorpion bite in the US in the last ten years Steve?

[olecapt]

And note that there are in excess of a hundred deaths in the US each year from bee or wasp stings...And there are lots of those in the upper midwest.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

There are no deadly bugs in my part of the country. There are 2 venomous snakes here, but theyre on the endangered species list in IL. Ive looked for them for years and havent even found a trace of them, unlike NV where I can uncover dozens of widows, several bark scorpions and rattlesnakes in less than an hour. I research and study venomous critters, including keeping many as pets. Wildlife in NV is 100 times more dangerous than wildlife in IL.

You don't even live here and you're an expert. Go figure. I think you've been watching too many scary movies. What a creep.

[guinnessjim]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

There are no deadly bugs in my part of the country. There are 2 venomous snakes here, but they're on the endangered species list in IL. Ive looked for them for years and haven't even found a trace of them, unlike NV where I can uncover dozens of widows, several bark scorpions and rattlesnakes in less than an hour. I research and study venomous critters, including keeping many as pets. Wildlife in NV is 100 times more dangerous than wildlife in IL.

hate to bust your bubble here steve-o...but you are mistaken. and for some one who claims to research these things, you present some dubious claims.

first off, i don't know that i ever heard of someone dying from a black widow bite or a bark scorpion sting in NV (yes, i know the bark scorpion does carry a punch and is responsible for some deaths, but i don't recall hearing of any here). in fact, near as i could tell, almost no deaths from bark scorpion stings (aside from anaphylactic shock) have been reported in US since the late 60s eMedicine - Scorpion Envenomation : Article Excerpt by Sean P Bush. and as for the widow, while definitely poisonous, they are not aggressive, rarely inject more than a small amount of venom, and have very few deaths associated w/ them (basing this on the fact that i have spent most of my life in widow country and have never heard of a death).


now, lets talk about what could be hiding up north:

the brown recluse has been found as for north as north eastern IL and southern WI. while there is debate about its frequency and if the organisms found represent an expanded range or just 'travelers' the fact remains they are there Monmouth College - Biology Department - Dr. Cramer - Brown Recluse Spider Project...and people are getting bit Brown Recluse spider bite. Increasing incidents in...[IMJ Ill Med J. 1974] - PubMed Result. personally, i wouldn't worry about them, but to say they are not there is inaccurate.

just as it is inaccurate to dismiss the incident of mosquito or tick born pathogens such as WNV or lyme disease (among others) between the two regions. long story short, incidence of either is an order of magnitude higher in your neck of the woods.

West Nile Virus: CDC - CDC | DVBID: West Nile Virus - State and Local Government Sites and CDC: West Nile Virus - Surveillance and Control Case Count of West Nile Virus Disease 2003

lyme disease: Lyme Disease --- United States, 2001--2002

but really.....there are so many other things that will pbby get you first (i.e., don't worry about deaths from the above mentioned regardless where you live). the lack of nuisance insects in the desert, IMHO, is one of the best things about living here...we don't need screen porches/houses to enjoy summer nights. i dunno the last time i was bit by any bug. and to me, that is awesome (i donated enough blood to skeeter in my lifetime already)...i'll take the occasional sighting of something venomous over the constant harassment of nuisance pests any day.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Steve-o is playing word games. How many deaths from the bark scorpion bite in the US in the last ten years Steve?

There could have been several deaths, had there not been anti-venin available from ASU (which is almost out of supply). The FDA is currently working on procuring a AV from Mexico that is highly effective, more so than the serum that ASU developed (using goats). Secondly, there have never been deaths from a scorpion bite, ever. Anyway, why would there be need for anti-venin if the bark scorpion didnt send many people to the ER every year with life-threatening symptoms? Did you know that the AZ bark scorpion's direct relatives in Mexico (Centruroides limpidus and Centruroides noxious) are responsible for hundreds of deaths every year in Mexico, mainly because of lack of medical treatment available?