All manner of creeping things

[Kevin Peacocke]

We had a thread a while back on snakes, and who isn't petrified of being bitten by one? But what about nasty insects that can inflict a pretty painful bite also, some even fatal. Although I only know the African ones I'll start off with those, but this thread doesn'tneed to be just Africa. The point is - what sensible precautions can one take to avoid the hunt going south?
I am terrified of scorpions, the biggies like parabutis africana are really scary, and can be fatal, but it is the little black ones with the row of white dots on the underbelly that get me going. Years ago when we built our thatched house they kept falling from the grass, I guess they were either there or hatched out from field eggs. I felt and heard this little bump near my head but I was seven eighth's asleep, so when it crawled down my back I rolled on it. That got my attention, I was instantly wide awake and in agony. There were five distinct puncture wounds down my spine as it wreaked it's revenge for the squashing. That pain took a good day to wear off, and that was only a tiny one.
First lesson for the bush - deploy your mozzie net as soon as the bed is made, not last thing at night.

 

[Hogpatrol]

All sorts of hornets, wasps and other stinging insects here in the U.S. While driving, I had an open bottle of iced tea in my truck's cup holder, took a swig, felt something crunchy. got stung by a yellow jacket. My lips blew up like a clown's. I now keep a cup with a slide cover lid. Another time fishing a canal in Florida from the bank, stepped on a fire ant colony. After that, paid more attention to where I was putting down my foot.

 

[Jörg Krüger]

Hate the 3 S's
Snakes
Spiders
Scorpions
I can really do without those creepy crawlers

 

[Red Leg]

Here in Texas, the only scorpion is the small brown and it has a sting like a bee. They are regular visitors to sheds and occasionally the house. The most impressive collection of scorpions I have ever encountered were on the Arab Peninsula. The "Death Stalker," a small yellow variety, was the worst. It crawled into boots, bedding, etc. Fortunately, I was never hit by one, but several troops were and required pretty extensive medical intervention, to include neural blockers for the pain. The Arabian Fat Tailed is another. Also very toxic, they were at least big, black, and somewhat lethargic. We saw them everywhere, but I don't know of anyone actually being stung. They at least were easy to spot and avoid.

Texas is the home of wasps. Yellow Jackets and a couple of the paper wasps are the most aggressive. They often build their nests in odd places (like underneath my shooting bench!) and deliver a nasty sting. I get a local reaction to them where the bite site swells up and hurts like hell for a day, and then itches like hell for another week or so.

Fire ants are a biblical plague. Do yard work in Texas and you will get stung by the little demons. They typically hurt for a bit and then develop a tiny pustule that itches for a while. Our other plague is the chigger (probably some new woke name in the offing). It is an almost microscopic red insect that secretes a digestive enzyme when it bites that will itch terribly for days. To add insult to injury they prefer to bite in places like the waistline and crotch. They also tend to be in colonies so if you pick up one, you likely will have several.

Finally, I truly loathe ticks.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

If you are going to be hunting in the Kariba area from Makuti to the top Sengwa at least you will come across a little orange scorpion I should think is akin to your Death Stalker Red Leg. In the military days sleeping where you bedded down in the dark of an evening stings were inevitable. John, a large chap in our group got one in the palm of his left hand. Next morning it was a large fed circle and later as it spread infection set in, I suppose necrosis. Anyway we were on OP and radio silence, but after a day we just had to contact the medic. All we had was pain killers and perixide, so the instruction was to pour peroxide into the hole. Then it went through, like a bullet wound, so nothing for it but to call in a chopper and evacuate him. A little UV torch is a useful thing, these beasts fluoresce.

 

[mark-hunter]

I am terrified of bugs, centepides, ticks, spiders, snakes, scorpions and alike.
Thank you guys for not posting any such images. I wouldnt sleep!

 

[JimP]

In my former life of a worker bee I managed to see a lot of theses creepy crawlers. I have ran into wasp while I was on the top of a pole, snakes when I was sitting down next to the utility box that he was in, and black widow spiders crawling over me.

However if I can see them before they scare the crap out of me I am just fine. I once took a gopher snake that I had caught into my bosses office and he threatened to bend his chair over my head unless I left. Then there were the scorpion and black widow spider, the scorpion always won.

 

[Fabnosh]

I'm with the tick vote. Invidious little blighters. For such a small brained creature they have an encyclopaedic knowledge of human anatomy and especially the bits homo sapiens struggle to reach!

Hate them with a fiery passion.

FN

 

[Randy F]

I would hug a snake before I would purposely go anywhere near anything already mentioned above, including ticks after having African Tick Bite Fever.

The one thing I will add, is the ever present mosquito, which for me was always just a nuisance until I ended up with West Nile Virus. Now they are a little different story.

 

[PARA45]

Living in GA, we have all sorts of bugs. Besides, the ticks (which BTW I'm a tick magnet), we have chiggers, scorpions, and lots of spiders to include Black Widows, gray ones, and Brown Recluse. Now, these Brown Recluse love to live indoors, and their bite is bad, this little bastards have a Necrotic venom, which kills your skin/muscle cells. Thank God there are not many of them here.

When my wife and I went to Africa, my wife took a nap on the ground next to a tree, played with the owners dogs, petted all the animals, and guess who ended up with a tick? Me. The owner of the concession was freaking out when I told I had found a tick on me. I told him that it was normal for me, and every day they checked on me to make sure I didn't get the tick fever. I may be immune. LOL.

Now, I can deal with spiders, scorpions, venomous snakes and whatever other crawling critter out there. However, I can't deal with the big a$$ roaches they have here, specially the ones that fly. Talk about watching a grown man run like a little b*tch when there is a roach within my zip code. That would be me. Thank God my wife is braver than me, and kills them without any issues. Not looking forward to summer, them little flying bastards come out, and they know I'm afraid of them.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Centipedes are also pretty scary because they crawl all over the place with that S like motion, always hunting. Here abouts they are orange with black fangs and really rubbery - tough to kill. Our friend stood on one and she howled in pain, gives me the creeps even thinking about it. For sure take some flip flops to camp to just slip on when you need to go to the loo in the night. Never pull on your boots when you are half asleep, for sure you wont remember to shake them out.

 

[Randy F]

Centipedes are also pretty scary because they crawl all over the place with that S like motion, always hunting. Here abouts they are orange with black fangs and really rubbery - tough to kill. Our friend stood on one and she howled in pain, gives me the creeps even thinking about it. For sure take some flip flops to camp to just slip on when you need to go to the loo in the night. Never pull on your boots when you are half asleep, for sure you wont remember to shake them out.

Centipedes just creep me out.

If I would have been helping to load the Ark, those and a quite a few like it would have gotten launched over the side the very second Noah turned his back.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Living in GA, we have all sorts of bugs. Besides, the ticks (which BTW I'm a tick magnet), we have chiggers, scorpions, and lots of spiders to include Black Widows, gray ones, and Brown Recluse. Now, these Brown Recluse love to live indoors, and their bite is bad, this little bastards have a Necrotic venom, which kills your skin/muscle cells. Thank God there are not many of them here.

When my wife and I went to Africa, my wife took a nap on the ground next to a tree, played with the owners dogs, petted all the animals, and guess who ended up with a tick? Me. The owner of the concession was freaking out when I told I had found a tick on me. I told him that it was normal for me, and every day they checked on me to make sure I didn't get the tick fever. I may be immune. LOL.

Now, I can deal with spiders, scorpions, venomous snakes and whatever other crawling critter out there. However, I can't deal with the big a$$ roaches they have here, specially the ones that fly. Talk about watching a grown man run like a little b*tch when there is a roach within my zip code. That would be me. Thank God my wife is braver than me, and kills them without any issues. Not looking forward to summer, them little flying bastards come out, and they know I'm afraid of them.

Boric acid will take care of roaches. They eat it, get gas and can't fart. At least that's what the locals told me in the Canal Zone. Had a capful in each closet and anyplace where it was dark during daylight hours.

 

[Pheroze]

Deer Flys. Wicked things that hunt humans with open toed sandals, or bare feet, in canoes. They target your feet knowing dam well you will smash your little toe with a paddle trying to free yourself of the pest.

"When feeding, the females use scissor-like mandibles and maxillae to make a cross-shaped incision and then lap up the blood. Their bite can be painful. Anti-coagulants in the saliva of the fly prevents blood from clotting and may cause severe allergic reactions."

I add "and paddle injuries"

They track people underwater and target your head when you emerge. Devils own fly.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Bear hunting in Maine in September, black flies, no see ums and mosquitoes. If not dressed properly, will drive you nuts.

 

[Chukar]

Thankfully we don't have too many nasties in the upper left of the USA (but there are plenty of blue voters which can be very dangerous). There are the odd buzz worm a bit to the east of me.

Ticks, which I also detest, can be abundant in the spring. Nothing like I saw in North Carolina, but still something to prepare for.

Ah, centipedes, my only experience is thankfully second hand. I had a buddy out on an OP in Arizona who took off his boot bands before going to sleep. Some nasty centipede decided to crawl up his leg and he woke and started mashing around knee level. He still got hit and the swelling was most impressive.

My only adverse animal encounter was with a moray eel. Like a snake, you should never stick your hand into places you can't see.

 

[farrokhrt]

One scorpion that is very scary is found in Iran and Iraq named ghadim (Hemiscorpius lepturus). All scorpion stings have an immediate pain so if possible most people get medical help. But ghadim sting is painless during first 24 hours! It’s venom is cytotoxins and hemotoxins. It destroys red blood cells and body cells especially kidney cells in so many hours. Survival is reported to be one in ten. Not good.

 

[Randy F]

Boric acid will take care of roaches. They eat it, get gas and can't fart. At least that's what the locals told me in the Canal Zone. Had a capful in each closet and anyplace where it was dark during daylight hours.

1. What does it say about a critter that will eat Boric Acid?
2. All it does is give them gas and lock up the sphincter??

 

[farrokhrt]

One scorpion that is very scary is found in Iran and Iraq named ghadim (Hemiscorpius lepturus). All scorpion stings have an immediate pain so if possible most people get medical help. But ghadim sting is painless during first 24 hours! It’s venom is cytotoxins and hemotoxins. It destroys red blood cells and body cells especially kidney cells in so many hours. Survival is reported to be one in ten. Not good.

It’s sting is painless because it doesn’t include neurotoxins that would affect nerve cells hence no pain!

 

[PARA45]

Boric acid will take care of roaches. They eat it, get gas and can't fart. At least that's what the locals told me in the Canal Zone. Had a capful in each closet and anyplace where it was dark during daylight hours.

Oh trust me, I am a roach killing machine with chemicals, and know very well on the use of Boric Acid. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Unfortunately it can't be use outside, or where any pet can get to it.