# One of the downsides to living in the desert **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740 "2019-05-09T19:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/21 "2019-05-09T23:29:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When I lived in the desert, I had to watch out for [goatheads](https://forums.mtbr.com/attachments/general-discussion/538890d1272255494-goat-head-thorns-dealing-natures-tire-spikes-goat_head_thorns.jpg). The spines were long enough to go through my flip-flops. Flip flops hell, they can go through tires. Hurts less, but it’s a bigger inconvenience. We’ve got invasive [Russian olives](https://i.imgur.com/9jOwQfg.jpg) here too. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/22 "2019-05-09T23:39:53Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > No mosquitoes. It’s a fair trade. this, plus so little humidity. high humidity makes me lose the will to live. and SUN. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/23 "2019-05-09T23:55:09Z")
One good side to thorny plants however: when our ancestors in Africa bedded down for the night, in order to not wake up being chewed on by lions, hyenas, or other nocturnal predators, they would typically build a boma- an improvised fence of thorn bush that nothing bigger than a rat or smaller than an elephant could get through. We probably owe our existence in part to thorny plants. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/24 "2019-05-09T23:55:50Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > this, plus so little humidity. high humidity makes me lose the will to live. and SUN. until its 115 at 8 pm and its only going to get down to 95 if it does cool off … oh and you’re not supposed to go outside because on the air quality and UV index is at cancer levels… However, having been near the big easy in July I can say yeah there isnt enough filthy things the humidity can go do with its self … ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/25 "2019-05-10T08:00:51Z")
AAARRGGHH! The fargin goatheads! Not only do they do all the things already mentioned upthread, but once they’re in your yard it is a serious hassle to get rid of them. The sneaky bastards grow flat and extend along the ground underneath everything. I don’t mind the blackwidows living in my garage. I don’t bother them, they don’t come into the main part of the house and they eat other bugs that I probably prefer to keep out also. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/26 "2019-05-10T12:09:19Z")
“Everything in the desert either stings, stinks or scratches.” “I hate the desert. It has no…pity (dies).” ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/27 "2019-05-10T12:33:01Z")
There are plenty of bugs in the desert and many bite. And there are itty-bitty ones that find any pinhole crevice. Then they call all their friends and relatives to line up, to squeeze through that pinhole, just to chew on you. The cute little jackrabbits have their litters of little baby bunnies, then all of the little shits go under your house to tear away the insulation, so their homes will be warm and cozy. They’ll be sure to scatter enough of the insulation around to make it look like you had some pink snowstorm. Then there’s the Goddamned mice. They want IN, and for every access you (think you) successfully block, they’ll dig, chew, pry, and probably bring in little tiny backhoes to create new ways into your house. Our ductwork is incomplete, and the mice use the leftovers to serve as convenient access conduits to the house. Block the vents, of course we have. The freakin’ mice called in the Mouse National Guard, then banded together en masse to PUSH the vent upward, so they could dance right in. We don’t have the common field mice, either. No, we have the alien-looking, big-eyed deer mice. For thorns, we got tumbleweeds. Sure, there are cactus, but cactus tend to stay put. Tumbleweeds chase after you. And the thorns are like jacks, they are stickery on all sides. We’ve had tumbleweed thorns wedge in the tire treads, and stay there for the entire 549-mile drive to SCal. If you want to see my 6’2" husband jump and dance and wriggle and scream like a girl, just MENTION centipedes! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/28 "2019-05-10T15:01:01Z")
One of my favorite things about living in the desert is no fleas. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/29 "2019-05-10T15:54:15Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > I present to you the [honey locust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_locust), one reason why my swampy childhood home should never be anyone’s stomping grounds. The [thorns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HoneyLocustThorn.JPG) grow in clusters all over the tree’s trunk and branches and may reach as much as 8 inches long (though they tend to split into barbs before they get much over 4 inches). The mature thorns can puncture a tire (to say nothing of a shoe and foot). . . Good lord, that looks like it should be growing in Mordor. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/30 "2019-05-10T21:20:09Z")
"Round here it’s [pyracantha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyracantha): > [@](#): > > The thorns are easily able to puncture human skin, and when successful, the piercing causes a slight inflammation and severe pain. The prior owner had planted some at the edge of the property as a dense hedge. My wife didn’t want them, so I agreed to bush hog the whole line. The thorns ended up puncturing both front tires on my tractor… ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/31 "2019-05-10T22:31:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Black widows. Those live everywhere, don’t they? I see them all the time in our yard in Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2019, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/32 "2019-05-11T07:52:54Z")
But it’s a **dry** thorn! (popularized in the program _Game of Thorns_) ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/33 "2019-05-11T13:28:56Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Anyway, I’m from the UK and we’ve got…errrr…errrr…[nettles?](https://www.google.com/search?q=nettles&rlz=1CASHAN_enGB827&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJh8r4no_iAhUEPq0KHR8vBCwQ_AUIDigB&biw=1366&bih=665#imgrc=ULaBp4zJfEkgkM:) they are a bit tingly? > > OK, I got nothing. I’m sure you have hawthorn as do we in Denmark. half inch thorns and they can easily staple your shoe to the foot as I have tried. Still that thorn is really something. Is it poisonous too? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/34 "2019-05-11T13:37:26Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > This, we had a nest in the corner of our garage:eek: I had a black widow on my hand once. (She didn’t live long.) My dad was bitten on his leg. It caused an ulcerated sore that took weeks to heal. I don’t like black widows. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2019, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/35 "2019-05-11T13:43:18Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Those live everywhere, don’t they? I see them all the time in our yard in Alabama. As a child in San Diego, I never saw one; neither in or around the house, nor in the wild. I never saw any in L.A. I’m sure they do live ‘everywhere’, but I only saw them – _everywhere_ – in the desert. FWIW, I haven’t seen any here in the PNW. (We do have ‘false black widows’, which are harmless. I’m probably sitting above several right now.) ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/36 "2019-05-11T18:31:16Z")
Pyracantha are MEAN! We fantasize about constructing/growing an impermeable barrier around our AZ property. We do have a lot of natural cactus, but the are the low-growing variety. Beaver-tail or paddle cactus will grow there, but it’s slow growing. Cacti are independent creatures. You can “suggest” where to grow, and they will take it under advisement. Pyracantha only desire the opportunity to grow. They are essentially an evergreen, and part of the year they boast little red berries that look like Barbie doll sized apples. They develop a hard woody trunk that can bend and twist and interweave itself into anything nearby. I’ve seen pyracantha intertwine thoroughly with chainlink fences. Lovely little dark green leaves, little red berries, and hidden deep within the foliage are nasty two-to-three inch thorns, skinny ones shaped like needles. You need a suit of armor to prune the plant, because the thorns will penetrate anything. They laugh out loud at leather! When you get stabbed, and it’s inevitable that you will be stabbed, the thorns are coated with a resin that makes the deep puncture turn angry red and then infected. Deliciously evil, a wonderful border barrier plant, pyracantha! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/37 "2019-05-12T14:51:18Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When I lived in the desert, I had to watch out for [goatheads](https://forums.mtbr.com/attachments/general-discussion/538890d1272255494-goat-head-thorns-dealing-natures-tire-spikes-goat_head_thorns.jpg). The spines were long enough to go through my flip-flops. We call that bur clover, and I spray pre-emergent every year to keep it away, vicious stuff, those thorns travel into the house in the soles of shoes, and then come loose where you’re sure to step on it barefoot. Not that I can go barefoot, because, you know, scorpions. VOW, ocotillo “branches” put just slightly in the ground against like a temporary fence will grow into a thick fence that keeps things out, or in, as the case may be. Here in PX we don’t see much Pyracantha as we used to, silly shrub has a tendency to choke itself with its own roots. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/38 "2019-05-12T20:09:42Z")
I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. The Honey Locust and Russian Olive are _landscaping_ at my house. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/39 "2019-05-12T21:54:07Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > One of my favorite things about living in the desert is no fleas. but scorpions in your boots… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2019, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740/40 "2019-05-13T03:31:08Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > but scorpions in your boots… Ha! I got that covered! No boots! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-downsides-to-living-in-the-desert/833740.md?page=3)