[desertgirl]

Rgb123
When I first moved here, I was worried, just like you. My fears were unfounded, thankfully. Considering what you’ve been through in the past, I don't blame you for being worried.

This past summer, all I saw were crickets, lots of them. I have a pest control professional come out once at month at $22. Only once did I see one in the house. Even though crickets look big and disgusting, they don't bother me because they are controllable and don’t look too threatening. The pest control person told me that once the housing development I live in starts maturing, it will eventually have red ants. The treatment he uses are effective and does a great job of keeping critters out.

In other parts of the country, some pests like giant carpenter ants, are much more problematic and destructive despite pest control efforts.

So far, I’ve never seen scorpions or black widows anywhere. The only other *pests* (for lack of a better word), I saw were groups of small bats flying in the yard and around the house in the summer at dusk. If you have a sliding door to a balcony or something, I suggest you don't leave it open for any length of time especially at night. In my prior residence, a bat flew in my place, twice.

[BobKovacs]

That's interesting about the bats- I've never heard them mentioned anywhere in Vegas except in the Luxor light beacon....lol. What part of town are you in?

Bob

[olecapt]

They are quite common in the NW. At around dusk we have dozens clearing the flying bugs from the rear yard.

I suspect many folk don't realize what they are as we have a very healthy bird population during the day. But that choppy flying style is done only by bats.

Never had one in the house though the birds have gotten in three or four times...and we have a window strike two or three times a summer. Had one that left the perfectly clear outline of the bird on the window. That guy did fly away though once in a while they bump themselves off.

I would not worry about the bats. They do nothing bad.

[RedWingsFan]

Speaking of bats... there is a great bat cave hike you can take at Red Rock. They sometimes offer a guided hike tour there. I've done it before, it's a great hike. You go into the moutain, it's a cave that is a bat cave. It goes several layers deep, you need flashlights because it's completely dark. It's very cool to do!

[desertgirl]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

That's interesting about the bats- I've never heard them mentioned anywhere in Vegas except in the Luxor light beacon....lol. What part of town are you in?

Bob

I live in Anthem Highlands. Bats are practically everywhere in the world from the boroughs of New York to the Carribean. If you want to see bats, just hang out in your backyard on a humid night in the spring or summer. It’s sounds silly to use the word *humid* to describe the Southwest but there are days that are more humid than usual.

If you live elsewhere in the country, you might hear them first. They sound similar to crickets but much more muted and subtle. Sometimes groups of them make screeching sounds. I could recognize these sounds anywhere. When they *fly*, they flutter like giant butterflies or, like Olecapt said, fly choppily, or hover if something catches their interest. They consume a lot of insects. Some bat species are federally protected.

I noticed them several times at dusk in the summer in my backyard right here in Henderson. I was surprised to see them at all because there are hardly any trees around. They don’t bother me but I won’t leave my sliding door open even for a few minutes.

[desertgirl]

Originally Posted by olecapt

They are quite common in the NW. At around dusk we have dozens clearing the flying bugs from the rear yard.

I suspect many folk don't realize what they are as we have a very healthy bird population during the day. But that choppy flying style is done only by bats.

Never had one in the house though the birds have gotten in three or four times...and we have a window strike two or three times a summer. Had one that left the perfectly clear outline of the bird on the window. That guy did fly away though once in a while they bump themselves off.

I would not worry about the bats. They do nothing bad.

The two separate instances of the bats coming in occurred in another state. In hindsight, I wish I videotaped them. I was more concerned about my cats at the time. It was wild trying to get them out. I could only laugh about it now. When rgb123 mentioned that he/she lived in an apt complex, it reminded me that no one is really shielded from seeing some weird stuff. When the bats came in, I lived in a condo complex in an urban city at the time. I also saw a family of raccoons swimming in my neighbor's pool around midnight. There was a big tree in their yard which the bats loved to hang out in.

[Dedalus]

I visited Death Valley once, and needed a tail light bulb. I went to the local gas station and they fixed me up. While there, I used the bathroom, and a scorpion crawled out from under the bowl. I stepped on it, like I would a roach...

Didn't faze it. I had to grind it under my heel to kill it.

On the way out, I told the mechanic, "Sorry, buddy...I think I messed up your little friend in there." He said, with a grin, "We'll add it to your bill."

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

Anyway, with reasonable precautions, you won't run into these nasty creatures! .

The worst nasty creatures you will run into out here are your neighbors.
As for the bugs, they think people are nasty for killing them for no reason.

[rgb123]

thank you for all the input!!! desert girl, I hope I dont run into any swarms of bats....I have probably seen them before and never even known it!! But I think I could handle that better than a scorpion or even a roach!! hahah. well, I found out the job is in boulder city....I bet I will be exposed to even more creatures than I thought

[Dedalus]

Originally Posted by rgb123

thank you for all the input!!! desert girl, I hope I dont run into any swarms of bats....I have probably seen them before and never even known it!! But I think I could handle that better than a scorpion or even a roach!! hahah. well, I found out the job is in boulder city....I bet I will be exposed to even more creatures than I thought

Bats are everywhere. I used to kind of see them in my backyard in the nighttime, in Manhasset, NY. You can tell them if you see kind of shadowy things flitting about in the night time, and you throw a pebble in the air and they dive at it. They think, from their echolocation system, that it's a bug or something.