# What venomous creatures live around you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951 "2016-05-05T00:03:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/1 "2016-05-05T00:03:42Z")
This was inspired by a couple of other wildlife related threads. What venomous creatures live in your area that you would be best off avoiding? These can be any form of life, from mammals to spiders, snakes, insects, or water creatures. The degree of toxicity doesn’t matter. It can be any creature that can make you ill or kill through envenomation. I’ll start. I live in southern Arizona near the Sonoran Desert. We have 13 species of rattlesnakes- Coral snakes- Gila monsters- Scorpions- Black widow and brown spiders- Ants, bees, and wasps- ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/2 "2016-05-05T00:23:38Z")
rattlesnakes, black widows, and religious zealots. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/3 "2016-05-05T00:32:47Z")
Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders. There are [Massasauga Rattlesnakes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasauga) not far from here. Every couple years I read about someone finding one but I’ve never known anyone that’s actually seen one. They are too small to deliver enough venom to be very dangerous. Maybe to a small child. According to my book, they are not very aggressive either. Water moccasins, copperheads and timber rattlesnakes stop about a hundred miles south of here. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/4 "2016-05-05T00:43:44Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > rattlesnakes, black widows, and religious zealots. If people would be generous enough to share their location, it would be nice. If not, I’ll understand. It’s not compulsory by any means. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/5 "2016-05-05T00:55:52Z")
My wife. ZING! Seriously tho, rattlesnakes up in the hills. Brown recluse, black widows in my yard. Tarantula hawks up in the high desert areas. Plus whatever evil lives in the pacific. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/6 "2016-05-05T01:00:47Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders. > There are [Massasauga Rattlesnakes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasauga) not far from here. Every couple years I read about someone finding one but I’ve never known anyone that’s actually seen one. They are too small to deliver enough venom to be very dangerous. Maybe to a small child. According to my book, they are not very aggressive either. > Water moccasins, copperheads and timber rattlesnakes stop about a hundred miles south of here. NE Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/7 "2016-05-05T01:06:17Z")
SE Georgia - brown recluse and black widow spiders, several types of rattlesnakes, and most of my grandmother’s extended family. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/8 "2016-05-05T01:10:21Z")
There have been a few reports of Copperheads in Rhode Island. The state believes there is no native population though. Brown Recluse spiders are occasionally seen along with Black Widows. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/9 "2016-05-05T01:22:20Z")
Canberra, Australia. [ul] [li]Funnel-web spider [/li][li]Eastern or Common Brown Snake [/li][li]Red-Bellied Black Snake [/li][li]Tiger Snake [/li][li]Curl Snake [/li][li]Death Adder [/li][li]Southern Copperhead Snake [/li][li]Red-Back Spider [/li][li]politicians[/li][/ul] A few other spiders and lizards which will give you a nasty (though probably not fatal) bite which can get badly infected. ---
**Author:** ![Khaleesi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Khaleesi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaleesi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/10 "2016-05-05T01:44:41Z")
not much that I know of in NJ. Brown recluse, wolf spiders (don’t know if they are poisonous) deer ticks out the wazoo. I’m sure there’s more, but I live in the “sticks” so I’d rather not know!! ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/11 "2016-05-05T01:48:51Z")
DFW Metroplex here. Snakes: copperheads, cottonmouths, several varieties of rattlesnakes, coral snakes. Not many of the latter two, and the cottonmouths are usually found near water (hence their other name “water moccasin”). Spiders: Brown recluse, black widow, and the usual assortment of less-venomous species. The Texas recluse species doesn’t generally show up in northern Texas, I don’t think. Scorpions: Bark scorpions. Lots of other kinds in Texas, but we rarely see them here. For that matter, I don’t see much of any of the critters on this list. It’s a city, and most people around here don’t maintain habitats that attract the critters. I did work in a building that had a serious cottonmouth problem once, but that was a function of profoundly idiotic placement, design, and construction. (They managed to find pretty much the only patch of swamp in the area, made it swampier, then built a heavy, leaky, unfinished barn of an office building on it.) ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/12 "2016-05-05T03:03:23Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders … [snip] Western Oregon here … you’d have to go looking for these things and the same with timber rattlers … we do get occasional rabies outbreaks with the squirrels and bats … otherwise just need to watch out for big predators is all. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/13 "2016-05-05T03:27:24Z")
My neighbors in apartment 6. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/14 "2016-05-05T04:45:50Z")
Panama Fer-de-lance Bushmaster Eyelash viper Several other species of vipers Several species of coral snakes Yellow-bellied sea snake Spiders Scorpions Bullet ants, acacia ants, army ants, and a lot of other nasty ants Lots of caterpillars with stinging hairs Africanized bees and other bees Wasps Stingray They don’t inject venom, but there are several species of poison-dart frogs and toads that you don’t want to handle. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/15 "2016-05-05T04:49:39Z")
Hummingbirds. Those fuckers are mean. I have to refill the feeder at night or they will be all over me. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/16 "2016-05-05T05:18:42Z")
Only critters of concern in my immediate vicinity is one species of [rattlesnake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_oreganus) ( a usually pretty sedate species at that ) and one species of [black widow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_hesperus). Both a fairly ubiquitous and both cause very few issues. Now elsewhere in CA you can start adding in more rattlesnakes, a recluse and one medically significant scorpion. But in the Bay Area? Meh. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/17 "2016-05-05T05:43:39Z")
western Idaho rattle snakes, black widows (no need to go looking, the spiders live in my garage:eek:) 2nd the occasional rabies outbreak, just had one last year in this area and parts of Eastern Oregon. Geez **Colibri** , I thought it sucked dealing with the occasional jellyfish while living in coastal Georgia ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/18 "2016-05-05T05:50:58Z")
missed the edit window, to correct myself, not rabies, bubonic plague, had an outbreak last year in the local wild rodent population (mostly ground squirrels iirc):eek: ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/19 "2016-05-05T06:02:49Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > This was inspired by a couple of other wildlife related threads. What venomous creatures live in your area that you would be best off avoiding? These can be any form of life, from mammals to spiders, snakes, insects, or water creatures. The degree of toxicity doesn’t matter. It can be any creature that can make you ill or kill through envenomation. > > I’ll start. I live in southern Arizona near the Sonoran Desert. > > We have 13 species of rattlesnakes- > Coral snakes- > Gila monsters- > Scorpions- > Black widow and brown spiders- > Ants, bees, and wasps- I live in the antelope valley on the ass end of the Mojave desert (Mojave its self is maybe 20 minutes away)and we have all of those delightful things … ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951/20 "2016-05-05T06:07:46Z")
We have the: Taiwan Cobra Sharp-Nosed Pit Viper Bamboo Viper Taiwan Banded Krait Taiwan Habu Chain Snake and the Giant Asian Hornet plus some of our mosquitoes carry dengue fever my mother-in-law and me before I have my morning coffee [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-venomous-creatures-live-around-you/753951.md?page=2)