They are gross. They get into the cats food.This time of year I really do not like slugs. They can be seen during the day under plants and near rocks, but at night they cover the grass in my yard. Big ones and little ones. (The grass is very dewy here at night in the summer).
Thank you, everyone, for all the very interesting postings about animals in your area.
I know, they are very slimy. I thought of googling tonight to learn more but don't know if I want to learn more.They are gross. They get into the cats food.
Don't they die if you pour salt on them? Or is that a myth?I know, they are very slimy. I thought of googling tonight to learn more but don't know if I want to learn more.
The best way to get rid of them is beer traps. Take a paper cup, dig a hold in the ground for the cup to fit into so just a few cm of the rim is above ground. Half fill the cup with beer. Slugs can't resist it and they die happy.Don't they die if you pour salt on them? Or is that a myth?
That is a cool looking snake. I would follow it to get more pictures, probably.kashmir64
I posted the Ratsnake photo on the company I work for website. That way people have click the link and it won't show on here to make people uncomfortable.
http://www.accessrigging.com/GrayRatsnake1.jpg
That sounds more like a hornet.I'm changing my vote to wasps. One landed on my leg last night. I brushed it off without looking down to check what it was and the little bleeder stung me. OMG that hurt! I've been stung by wasps before but this was an all black one and was obviously much more venomous than wasps I've encountered in the past. Spent the evening alternately dipping my thumb in a glass of vinegar and wrapping it up in an ice cloth.
Evil wasps!
We have them in Florida too. I detest them. DH used to take them back outside.In the US we have a product called Terro. It's a bait used for ants but it works very well on roaches. I don't know how big your roaches get but our Texas cockroaches, a.k.a. palmetto bugs, get huge, from 1.5"-2". They fly and will sometimes fly right at you. They're noisy, too. We had one cat that would not only hunt and catch them, but crunch them down with great gusto. Ugh! They live primarily in trees and other wood but are quite willing to come inside for a drink of water or a nosh. It's downright disgusting to be awakened by one that's sneaked into the house through an impossibly small hole, landing on you with a thump and scrambling with its spiky legs to go elsewhere. I. Do. NOT. Like. Them. At all!
Same with where I live. Not much in Ontario that is fatal to a human. Typically you would have to corner an animal with it's young to be attacked. There are rattle snakes but they are in a remote part of the province and not something a typical person would run into.I would much more prefer to deal with the things we have here than the ones in Australia!
This reminds me of the time I got tagged by one. It was a big brown female. I was at the bus stop and she was crossing the open area where the bus and other parents drive. I ran over and scooped her up. I let her crawl over my hand until I got her back into the grass. I think she looked out and said "Hey, this is where I started" and got my hand as I lowered it.Believe it or not, tarantulas are neither aggressive nor fatal.
Benadryl gel also works wonders if applied immediately. I saw a yellow jacket zip up my daughter's sleeve and she got stung. There was barely a mark by bedtime. To give you an idea of how long ago this was during a shopping trip far to the south during the post Hurricane Isabel aftermath, yet the mental trauma still has her terrified of things with stingers.I don't know if it's available there but you might find this on the internet. It's called AfterBite. It looks like a fat pen and the tip is saturated with something that immediately kills the pain. One of those red monsters popped Robert on the foot and he was hopping around and howling in pain. I found the AfterBite and daubed some on the bite. Within 15 seconds the pain was gone, as was the swelling. It didn't even get sore.
To be entirely accurate tarantulas do have poison, but with most species of tarantulas it rarely affects humans. Of course I heard one heck of a story about an expert tarantula owner when his very, very expensive and (whole species) very, very aggressive tarantula got loose and hid in the innards of the washing machine. He got bit about a dozen times while taking the washer apart to recapture it and the next day his arm was swollen to the shoulder and he felt somewhat sick. So it can somewhat affect humans.Come to Texas if you want to meet a variety of not-so-nice-but-interesting critters. Believe it or not, tarantulas are neither aggressive nor fatal. There are only a few species whose bite could cause problems. People here keep them as pets. I've been brave enough to let one crawl on me. It tickled.
That would be more terrifying than any tarantula.And the d***ed crickets that were in its cage got into the walls and chirped their hearts out for two weeks.