Rural Texas is a living NIGHTMARE - snakes and spiders! (San Antonio: homes, living in)
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I just skimmed over this thread and while I don't want to deny anyone's experiences, it does seem a bit over the top to me. Maybe some people are just unlucky?
My grandparents moved from Kansas to Texas in 1922 and I never heard them complain about stuff like this. Despite living in Brazoria County, which was much more rural during those years.
Main biggest memory regarding their opinions about animals here was that my grandmother really hated crows and snakes. She kept a shotgun to dispatch them. I suppose she was familiar with crows from seeing them pilfer wheat fields in Kansas. Regarding the snakes, I dunno whether they would be worse here or there for farming folks.
Snakes and spiders were living in rural Texas before any of us were here, and they aren't leaving anytime soon. While they sometimes pose problems for us, they all have their role in nature and are a lot more scared of us than we may be of them. I do what I can to keep all unwanted critters out of my house, and yeah I sometimes wish they weren't around at all, but then again it comes with the territory of living in Texas and even the snake and spider aspect of nature can have it's charm.
I grew up on a farm in Kansas. I am used to the outdoors. My family relocated to Texas after living in Virgina most of our lives. We lived in a nice country house in Virginia, but after being laid off in 2007, moved here to Texas for employment reasons. We found the countryside of Texas to be beautiful - but underneath that beauty is a hidden world of three animal species that have cost my family our sanity, nearly broken up my marriage, cost us the lives of two dogs, nearly killed one of my children, and cost us over $30,000 in hospital/vet bills. The brown recluse spider, the black widow spider, and the copperhead snake are the real culprits, but fire ants, mosquitoes, and wasps have certainly also played a factor.
Let's rewind about four years ago. My wife and I had two kids at the time and five dogs (yes, we are dog lovers). We both love the country. We could not imagine ever living in a normal neighborhood. We found this beautiful house on three acres of land near Sherman, sort of near the border of Oklahoma. The property was beautiful. Trees everywhere, a creek running through the edge of the property, and the peace and quiet and solitude we love about the country.
When we first looked at the house, we noticed something that alarmed us - nearly three black widows in the kitchen sink. The realtor assured us it wasn't a problem and that they would be taken care of.
When we first moved in, we found a wolf spider in one of the bathtubs, which freaked my wife out completely. We both HATE spiders and are not used to the horrible species of spiders found in Texas. I was able to trap it in a jar and get pest control out the next day. But when we first moved in, we also found lots of these spiders we had never seen before, which to our alarm we discovered to be brown recluse spiders. We found these INSIDE! They would be in bathtubs, on window sills, on the floor, under furniture...
I do a lot of work outside. The first year we lived in that house, I was bitten by a brown recluse twice. Both were extremely painful and I still have scars. My wife was bitten once, and had a very bad reaction. she ended up in the hospital, and her calf is still disfigured to this day. i was bitten by black widows four times since living in this house. I have discovered I have a bad reaction to their bites, and was bedridden for nearly two weeks each time after being bitten. I was bitten once when hauling off branches off our property, twice in my shed when moving things, and another in the backyard when turning on the hose.
Copper head snakes are nearly a daily occurrence - I have killed over a hundred of them coming into our yard. They have killed two of our dogs, one of these incidences happening inside - we basically came home to see a dead copperhead in the kitchen and one of our dogs breathing heavily with a swollen muzzle where she was bitten. By the time we got to the vet she had died.
One of our kids was bitten by a brown recluse in bed. Horrible bite, horrible spider. These creatures from hell will hide in your clothes, in shoes, and even under the sheets of your bed.
Our kids have been bitten by black widow spiders so many times when playing outside that we no longer let them play outside. Our youngest child, when four months old, was bitten by a black widow spider WHILE IN HER CRIB! She was rushed to the hospital and almost died, but did make a full recovery, thank God!
My wife has threatened to leave me several times and take the kids with her because she just cannot live in this house anymore, but not until recently have we had the financial means to move. We have had to tear the sheets off of beds every night to check for spiders. We check shoes for spiders constantly (how one of my kids was bitten by a brown recluse actually!) Basically we have become paranoid and scared to live in our own home.
My wife and I love the outdoors, but after the first few months of living here, we never go outside anymore thanks to all the mosquitoes and allergies. We used to spend nearly all our free time outside when we lived in Virginia.
I do not know how anyone can live in the countryside in Texas like this. My hats are off to anyone who is able to handle rural Texas. Our pest control guy did say that this is one of the worst places in the country in terms of snakes and spiders, though.
I also did not even mention the horrible allergies we have here in Texas, and the time I had to go to the hospital from being stung by hundreds of fire ants while mowing some tall grass on our property.
Rural Texas has just been a nightmare for all of us, and has damaged my family financially, physically, and psychologically. I do not know how anyone can live here. We are moving next month to the suburbs, to a neighborhood that is ugly, but has relatively few trees and no creeks nearby (which are what attracts these pests)
I know this thread is old but I was searching for something and came across it. After reading this thread to the end, I thought it was odd that the poster did not return and didn't appear to be a one post new poster. I looked at his other posts.
I'm from California as well. However, I'm one of the few who realize that the economically liberal policies of California are what has doomed it to eventual bankruptcy. California actually turned me from a liberal to a libertarian.
Unfortunately, talking to many others from California who have moved here, most of them have still failed to learn the lesson of how stifling government regulations and oppressive taxes can destroy business.
I loved California, but it's going downhill fast. Most people there don't realize how bad it is, because most big areas like the Bay area still have managed to keep at least the appearance of prosperity.
I love Dallas. It's incredibly diverse (and not as segregated like California was), business here is thriving... and honestly, Texas just seems like one of the last few bastions of liberty left in the world
So the OP is a story teller. He is from California and this whole story in the opening post is a lie. Matter of fact, he made a different post a year before this one stating his wife and him were bitten at relatives house by spiders and doesn't know how anyone could move to rural Texas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeSherman
I have some relatives that live in a fairly rural area near the border of Oklahoma. The entire area is infested with black widows and brown recluses. While my wife and I stayed with them for a week, we were both bitten by brown recluses (they bit us while we were sleeping, there must have been some in the bed sheets). We were wanting to go to the emergency room, but my uncle thought it was no big deal. Apparently they get bitten by brown recluses multiple times a year. They have this method of using salt to draw the venom out from the wound. My wife and I were both mortified. It seemed to work ok. We just took a few Benedryl's and treated the wound, and we were fine for a couple days. Needless to say, we didn't stay another night at their house. My uncle recounted stories of a friend of his who got bit in the testicles in an outhouse, and had to have them removed... the removal of his testicles destroyed his marriage and his life. Another story of a newborn baby who got bit by a brown recluse and died. Another story of a pregnant woman who got bitten by a brown recluse and then miscarried. I simply cannot believe how you rural Texans can deal with these spiders. My wife was bitten in her ankle, and she had to see the doctor over it, because the bite became infected and necrotic. She still has a nasty scar there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeSherman
How often do you guys get bitten by spiders? Rural Texas terrifies me with all the black widows, brown recluses, and wolf spiders. The snakes don't bother me as much, because you can at least see them.
He wrote these two posts a year before writing the one in this thread.
Story is completely different than he tells here. It was all BS.
I'd leave it alone but because people come here to seek information and dishonest posts trying to terrify people do a huge disservice, Such as
Quote:
Originally Posted by lynnylo
I started hyperventilating just by reading that posting. What about the Dallas Area? Is it that bad there too? In the normal Family Home Neighborhoods? Is it possible to build spider proof houses? I was really concerned about moving to Texas, but now I'm terrified.
People should know the OP is being untruthful if they come across this thread.
Let's rewind about four years ago. My wife and I had two kids at the time and five dogs (yes, we are dog lovers). We both love the country.
We could not imagine ever living in a normal neighborhood. We found this beautiful house on three acres of land near Sherman, sort of near the border of Oklahoma. The property was beautiful. Trees everywhere, a creek running through the edge of the property, and the peace and quiet and solitude we love about the country.
Rural Texas has just been a nightmare for all of us, and has damaged my family financially, physically, and psychologically. I do not know how anyone can live here. We are moving next month to the suburbs, to a neighborhood that is ugly, but has relatively few trees and no creeks nearby (which are what attracts these pests)
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeSherman
I have some relatives that live in a fairly rural area near the border of Oklahoma. The entire area is infested with black widows and brown recluses. While my wife and I stayed with them for a week,
Might also add that in another post he stated they only had two older declawed cats and no dogs and was having a hard time finding a rental.
With the time frame he posted that would have been no longer than two years of this story.
Spiders and snakes could be most anywhere across the country. I'm aware that some people have phobias about various creatures. Thank goodness I don't! I live in the rural southern edge of the Hill Country. Once I had a friend visiting us briefly. She wouldn't even walk across the wooded part of our property. She thought snakes would somehow come out and attack her if she even put her foot down. I've lived here 26 years and we've never been bitten by a snake. Actually, there is pretty much only nonpoisonous ratsnakes and they are very seldom seen. There are spiders, but no poisonous or dangerous ones. Some people are just tellers of tall tales!
Spiders and snakes could be most anywhere across the country. I'm aware that some people have phobias about various creatures. Thank goodness I don't! I live in the rural southern edge of the Hill Country. Once I had a friend visiting us briefly. She wouldn't even walk across the wooded part of our property. She thought snakes would somehow come out and attack her if she even put her foot down. I've lived here 26 years and we've never been bitten by a snake. Actually, there is pretty much only nonpoisonous ratsnakes and they are very seldom seen. There are spiders, but no poisonous or dangerous ones. Some people are just tellers of tall tales!
Thank you so much!
I'm researching a possible move to Texas and the OP really had me scared!
Some of my best friends are from Texas and I couldn't imagine them living in the environment described in the original post!
Once I had a friend visiting us briefly. She wouldn't even walk across the wooded part of our property. She thought snakes would somehow come out and attack her if she even put her foot down.
This makes me chuckle a little. I grew up in Southern California, and my dad grew up on a farm and enjoyed wildlife and hunting as well. He always taught us that we needed to stomp our feet when we walked if we suspected snakes nearby so that we could ale them to our presence. If they knew we were there, they would go out of their way to avoid us. Snakes usually attack when they feel threatened or surprised.
By the way, does anyone know what the more dangerous pests are like when it comes to gardening in Texas? Will it be likely that I'll find black widows hanging out on my trellises or the more poisonous snakes wrapped around the base of raspberry canes? I know garter snakes and rat snakes are good for my garden, but I am worried about encountering a rattler or copperhead when trying to harvest or prune.
There are spiders, but no poisonous or dangerous ones.
This statement is not only untrue, but it is both foolish and dangerous to try to "reassure" people with such untruths!
I am not trying to scare anyone, but brown recluse and black widow spiders CAN indeed be dangerous to humans (the recluse even moreso than the widow.)
Please people, if you believe you or your loved one has been bitten by one of these spiders, please be wise, and get the approriate medical treatment as soon as possible.
(And yes, I am speaking from personal experience here.)
Last edited by unnativeelpasoan; 01-01-2016 at 08:31 PM..
Many many Texans live in rural and semi rural settings and never experience anything like what the OP describes. I don't believe he has killed over 100 copperheads. The entomologists at Texas A&M would probably want to see this place because that kind of concentration of venemous snakes must be a record. I bet some of these killed snakes died out of paranoia.
My uncle raised quarter horses on a ranch in Seguin for over 50 years. Rattlesnakes? (often around hay bales) Yup a few. Poisonous spiders? Yup a few. Scorpions? Yup.
My father grew up on a 800 acre ranch and saw lots of wildlife. But nothing like the OP's post.
I live outside Austin in a semi rural setting on a lake. I see lots of bugs. The most common poisonous thing is scorpions (I have been stung several times). Then giant centipedes. I see snakes, including non-venomous water snakes at the dock. But most of the critters I see are harmless.
There is much to like about rural living in Texas. Find another place more to your comfort level.
I know this is a super old thread, but it bumped to the top again. Are you referring to Lake Travis? If so, that's where I was considering until seeing this thread.
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What about the Dallas Area? Is it that bad there too? In the normal Family Home Neighborhoods? Is it possible to build spider proof houses? I was really concerned about moving to Texas, but now I'm terrified.
