Scorpion mobility

[Valveman]

Scorpions are bad, but they rarely kill anyone. A new problem we have here in Texas is the Rattlesnakes no longer rattle and they have learned to climb trees. The wild hogs eat the snakes so they have learned to not make any noise, and to climb trees to get away from the hogs. This one is 8' off the ground in a live oak tree.

 

[gwstang]

Wow, that would really make for a bad day if it dropped out of the tree on to an unsuspecting hiker.

 

[dalroo]

That tree would have lead poisoning if on my property. Sheesh!

 

[Pettrix]

Scorpions are bad, but they rarely kill anyone. A new problem we have here in Texas is the Rattlesnakes no longer rattle and they have learned to climb trees. The wild hogs eat the snakes so they have learned to not make any noise, and to climb trees to get away from the hogs. This one is 8' off the ground in a live oak tree.

Same here. All the rattlesnakes I have encountered, NONE of them ever rattled. I believe they are evolving to know that rattling means they give away their position and it ends in death. So the rattlers who DON'T rattle, end up living longer and reproduce.

They climb trees out here also. That's always the scary part since they can be well hidden in an oak or juniper tree.

 

[CCWKen]

I've never seen a rattler in the trees yet but I suspect they're hunting birds if the rodent population is low. The copperheads like shrubbery around here. They'll string themselves inside a young Huisache like Christmas tree garland. We used to be inundated with snakes until about 5-6 years ago. That's about the time we started having several pairs of Roadrunners take up residence around the property. So far, we've had them every year since and they're having young. The darn things will build nests in the oddest places--Over the picnic area, inside a 3-wall shed and in trees near the house. They don't seem afraid of people as long as you're walking slow. I've been out by the barn working on a tractor and have one walk right by me within a few feet. Sometimes they'll stand there for a while and watch you. And they aren't small birds either. They get pretty darn big. It gets creepy sometimes.

 

[Pettrix]

This is what you DO WANT around areas with rattlers. The bull/rat snakes will actually attack and kill rattlesnakes. Some idiots out here shoot ALL snakes which just creates huge rat & gopher population problems.

 

[Pettrix]

That's about the time we started having several pairs of Roadrunners take up residence around the property. So far, we've had them every year since and they're having young.

I wonder if Roadrunners kill rattlesnakes???

 

[Garandman]

And people wonder why we put up with 10' of snow in a season. Answer: no scorpions, no poisonous snakes, no beetles the size of baseballs, fewer hornets and wasps. And if you live near salt water mosquitos are rare.

I'll live with single digit temps because insects can't!

 

[CCWKen]

And people wonder why we put up with 10' of snow in a season. Answer: no scorpions, no poisonous snakes, no beetles the size of baseballs, fewer hornets and wasps. And if you live near salt water mosquitos are rare.

I'll live with single digit temps because insects can't!

I put my time in on the North Coast. It's not bad when you're young and can enjoy it. I had my fill of the white stuff and the 2-month boating summers. We start planting in February and the growing season lasts nearly into January of the next year. Some years we may get one or two nights below freezing but by 9am, the frost is long gone and it's in the 50-60s. Life just seems to balance out. If we all liked the same weather, what a crowded place that would be.

 

[SirReal63]

I wonder if Roadrunners kill rattlesnakes???

Yes they can/do.
Roadrunner and Rattlesnake fight - YouTube

 

[Pettrix]

And people wonder why we put up with 10' of snow in a season. Answer: no scorpions, no poisonous snakes, no beetles the size of baseballs, fewer hornets and wasps. And if you live near salt water mosquitos are rare.

I'll live with single digit temps because insects can't!

One mans paradise is another mans misery.

I could not live with 10 feet of snow and a winter that lasts for months in deep freezes. Been there, done that.

As I got older the less I could tolerate the cold and snow. When I was young, yes, bring it on but no longer.

I can deal with the snakes, scorpions, etc. because it's about being aware and not doing things that can get you stung or bitten. I get 320 days of sunshine, winter temps in the 50's and 60's, no shoveling snow (as it melts within 1 day of snowing). No weeds, no cutting grass, no mosquitoes, no rusty cars (due to road salt), etc.

Like I said, different strokes for different folks. For me, I would be completely miserable living in an area that has harsh winters (Wisconsin, Michigan, Rhode Island, etc.) I also don't like RAINY climates where it rains 6 months of they year (Portland, Seattle, etc). Pacific Northwest areas are beautiful and great in the summer but once October hits, then nothing but rain/clouds/overcast drizzle and rain from October through April/May. I would get depressed, I need my sunny Vitamin D weather.

Different strokes for different folks. That's what makes the USA so great. So many different climate areas and views. One maybe loves the rolling hills of Kentucky, while another loves the flat plains of Kansas, while another loves the desert mountains or high Rocky Mtn/Sierra Nevada range. Deserts, swamp lands, mountains, coastal, etc. We do have an AWESOME country to live in.

 

[Wagtail]

I wonder if Roadrunners kill rattlesnakes???

I don't know about rattlers but, according to old 'Saturday Morning TV' documentaries I've see, they can do a lot of damage to coyotes!

 

[TCowner]

Winters in Minnesota get to be long and sometimes depressing. Of course it helps to have winter toys to make it actually enjoyable but that's another story. But every time I read the stories from the Texans and the Arizonians about their biting and stinging vermin I thank God that the family settled in Minnesota. Sure, a week of minus 20 degrees at night with a high of zero limits one's outside activities , but you can rest assured that there is no chance of a snake, scorpion or brown recluse spider bite. Even the killer bees some to like you folks better than us.

So as others have said, to each his own. I spent a week in Phoenix the end of June and determined that 114 degrees during the day (but it cools way down to 102 at night) was just as miserable as our cold winters. So again, to each his own.

 

[CCWKen]

It's not just the fauna that sting and bite, it's the flora too. Practically everything that grows down here has thorns or produces seeds with thorns. Within hours of arriving in South Texas you learn that a "goat head" has nothing to do with an animal. And we have feral hogs that reach 1200 pounds that will consume your entire garden in less than 15 minutes and Javelinas that will rip your legs off and eat you. If the Cougar don't get you first. Yeah, it's all bad.

That should convince you softies to stay out of Texas. We don't want you down here anyway.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

You forgot the Prickly Pear Cactus, Stinging Nettles, Ground Hornets, Thorny Locust, Mesquite, Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac, the dreaded Catalpa worm, Boll Weevil, Fire Ants, Ant Lions, Alligator Gars, plain old alligators, Snapping Turtles and Horned Toads. We have most all of these too, and even some quicksand down along the Cimarron, North Canadian and I think the Red River also. I about forgot Liberal Yankees, but they mostly live over in the upscale gated community across the road and don't cause any trouble, except maybe the heavy traffic of illegal immigrants driving trucks with trailers loaded with lawn care equipment. You REALLY have to watch out for them!

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

You forgot the Prickly Pear Cactus, Stinging Nettles, Ground Hornets, Thorny Locust, Mesquite, Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac, the dreaded Catalpa worm, Boll Weevil, Fire Ants, Ant Lions, Alligator Gars, plain old alligators, Snapping Turtles and Horned Toads. We have most all of these too, and even some quicksand down along the Cimarron, North Canadian and I think the Red River also. I about forgot Liberal Yankees, but they mostly live over in the upscale gated community across the road and don't cause any trouble, except maybe the heavy traffic of illegal immigrants driving trucks with trailers loaded with lawn care equipment. You REALLY have to watch out for them!

You almost made me pee my pants...

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I love Texas. I guess because it's so much Like Oklahoma, and I was born just a stone's throw from the border. Besides, most of my relatives live there.

 

[dalroo]

Transplanted Okie here - Ada boy, but fell in love with central Texas while hunting here many years ago.

 

[Bird]

Transplanted Okie here - Ada boy, but fell in love with central Texas while hunting here many years ago.

Yep, I was born in Carter County, just north of Ardmore, later lived in Healdton, Marlow, and Marietta before moving to Texas when I was 16.