What kinds of dangerous/parasite animals are in your area?

[Jonathan Scott]

In the part of Sweden where I grew up there are ... lots and lots of mosquitoes

Those Swedish mosquitoes are much more vicious than the UK version. I worked in Sweden for a few years. Camped out one night near a lake on a canoe trip, and the mosquitoes attacked my hands during the night. They were like blown-up rubber gloves in the morning, nearly spherical with fat fingers sticking out. Couldn't hold the paddle like that, even after taking antihistamines; had to be a passenger for the rest of the trip.

So after that I carefully avoided any risk of mosquitoes as long as I remained in Sweden (but later capsized a sailing dinghy into a mass of jellyfish, which was even more unpleasant).

 

[1oldman2]

The buffalo are especially scary if they have calves,

You got that right!

 

[Megaquark]

Wanna know a neat thing about combining? While helping a farmer in Alberta harvest his wheat fields one summer, I realized that thousands of grasshoppers get sucked into the combine along with all the wheat stalks they sit on. I also noticed that grasshopper heads are almost exactly the same size as a wheat kernel. Combines are designed to separate out wheat kernels after they're done dismembering the wheat (and the grasshoppers). So guess what also comes rolling out into the wheat bin along with the kernels of wheat? Mmmmm... extra protein.

I saw the exact same thing with grasshoppers and peas! Nobody tell the vegetarians.

 

[davenn]

to name a few

several very poisonous spiders
several very poisonous snakes
great white sharks, stone fish, stingrays, stinging jellyfish

Dave

 

[Psinter]

...and lots and lots of mosquitoes

Mosquitoes carry several diseases, as do ticks.

For parasites, mainly just ticks and mosquitoes.

I live in a large city in Canada (Toronto), so as far as parasites are concerned, the worst are ticks, mosquitoes, and the occasional black flies (out in the country in Ontario, I would expect there would be more black flies and mosquitoes, as well as ticks).

I live in an area with ticks, mosquitoes (which are one of the most disease spreading and therefore deadliest animals to man), mountain lions, badgers, rattlesnakes, and buffalo.

Those Swedish mosquitoes are much more vicious than the UK version. I worked in Sweden for a few years. Camped out one night near a lake on a canoe trip, and the mosquitoes attacked my hands during the night. They were like blown-up rubber gloves in the morning, nearly spherical with fat fingers sticking out. Couldn't hold the paddle like that, even after taking antihistamines; had to be a passenger for the rest of the trip.

So after that I carefully avoided any risk of mosquitoes as long as I remained in Sweden (but later capsized a sailing dinghy into a mass of jellyfish, which was even more unpleasant).

to name a few

several very poisonous spiders
several very poisonous snakes
great white sharks, stone fish, stingrays, stinging jellyfish

View attachment 101463

Dave

With these I guess we can all agree that mosquitoes are not only dangerous, but very annoying as well. Very annoying. I'm glad I'm not alone in the mosquito subject and how annoying they are... and dangerous to certain degree.

 

[1oldman2]

I'm assured there aren't any dangerous animals here.

 

[zoobyshoe]

to name a few

several very poisonous spiders
several very poisonous snakes
great white sharks, stone fish, stingrays, stinging jellyfish

Yes, according to Jeremy Wade, the northern coast of Australia is the most dangerous coast in the world, with more people getting killed and injured by critters than anywhere else.

 

[ebos]

Avon's Skin So Soft works well for mosquitoes. Plus it makes your skin so soft...

 

[ebos]

You know what I discovered about mosquitoes? When I was young I played outside a lot. I was also bitten by many many mosquitoes. Nowadays, at 62, I find that although they still bite me once in awhile I rarely get a red mark anymore. So I am not that tasty anymore plus I think my body finally developed enough resistance to their venom. So if they are still bugging you, go out and get swarmed a few times and see if you get the same results as I did (that last sentence wasn't meant to be taken seriously though).

 

[rootone]

Known around here in summertime are 'midges', sort of a mosquito but not dangerous, just irritating.
Best also to avoid fields in springtime when somebody has their prize bull out for some rest and relaxation.

 

[Hoophy]

Not a plug I promise. Does anybody remember this? :)

 

[ebos]

Not a plug I promise. Does anybody remember this? :)

Whoa... that's got to suck. You win...

 

[Lonnie Klein]

My area is much infected with the ticks and the bugs. And I am suffering from the bed bugs bite from a week, really afraid of the spread of the infection in my body. Next weekend will be going to consult the http://pinnaclepest.com/elk-grove-pest-control-service-center/http://pinnaclepest.com/elk-grove-pest-control-service-center/ team, suggested by my friend, for exterminating these creepy insects. I can't tolerate them now.

 

[256bits]

That bed bug thing is spreading all over NA.

http://static.bedbugregistry.com/img/usbugs.png
And they aren't discriminatory.

 

[Ken Fabos]

I live in Eastern Australia and yes, we have venomous snakes - yet bites aren't that common, mostly of people attempting to kill or catch them, and deaths are even less common. We hear of dogs being attacked, but these are almost always snakes defending themselves against attacks by dogs. I suspect the "porcupines are dangerous to dogs" claim earlier in the discussion is similar; ie dogs attacking them can and do get injured but porcupines do not attack dogs.

Mosquitoes probably do the most harm - carrying Ross River Fever and Barmah Forest Virus. Debilitating but not usually fatal, they affect a few thousand people each year.

Australian Paralysis Ticks are one I'm very familiar with - not nice. About 20 deaths attributed to toxicity, others to allergic reaction, but more rarely with greater awareness; the tick has to stay attached for several days for paralysis to develop. Some tick borne diseases like tick typhus and Ricksettia and a peculiar immune response that makes some people allergic to red meat have been attributed to them. (Ticks were one of the triggers for an ongoing interest in the sensory function of body hair; often considered functionless, it is in fact very significant; they provide the means to feel the presence of biting bugs and I've managed to pick off many paralysis ticks before they dug in because I felt them disturbing tiny hairs during their travels across my skin. Just missing out on one of those bites makes me appreciate the presence of hairs on my body).

We get biting flies, leeches etc. We get some of the globally significant parasites plus some local ones - Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Toxoplasmodosis, Trichinosis - but mostly not widespread. Animals, domestic and native, are subject to various parasites.

 

[wukunlin]

Human beings are much more dangerous than the creatures mentioned in the thread so far. I guess that means the most dangerous animals in my area are my neighbours.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

My father got Lyme disease from a tick a few years ago. Thankfully treated early.

 

[jim mcnamara]

We have amoebas that literally eat your brain. Yum, yum.
Foir example, the hot springs in Jemez Springs NM has them, and every year one or two people become infected. And die usually.
Naegleria fowleri is the beastie's Latin name.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/brain-eating-amoeba#1

 

[S.G. Janssens]

We have amoebas that literally eat your brain. Yum, yum.
Foir example, the hot springs in Jemez Springs NM has them, and every year one or two people become infected. And die usually.

So, either one suffers a heat stroke or has one's brain eaten. On bad days both may happen, and the lucky amoebas have their food cooked.
Meanwhile, how is the weather in New Mexico these days?

 

[jim mcnamara]

We are back down to a bearable average of about 92°F high. Amoebas notwithstanding, a lot of people bathe in hot springs which are found all over the state. Really remote ones do not have warning signs.

 

[DS2C]

Well I had a Lynx in my house a couple years ago. Came in through the dog door. Would have taken a pic but honestly went for my gun just in case it went after my dog. Luckily I scared it off with the vacuum cleaner...

 

[cosmik debris]

Here in New Zealand, people are the only real problem. We don't have many poisonous things, a couple of spiders that aren't usually fatal. There are some wild pigs in the bush, introduced by the Europeans, they can be mean but you don't usually come across them unless you look for them, the only native mammal is a little bat. Oh and Earth quakes.

Cheers

 

[Phillipmatos]

There are many parasitic animals near to my area. But luckily our area head had called a professional exterminator to terminate them fully.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Mostly deer ticks

 

[strangerep]

The most dangerous animal near me is Golfus Obesus Ignoramus.

I need be quite wary when I step outside my back door, lest I get hit by the hard little white spherical projectiles that it can spit over surprisingly long distances.

 

[kyphysics]

Mostly deer ticks

Opossums are great for "cleaning" the local pests like ticks and even some snakes (as they are immune to some poisons).

We had one live in our garage - unbeknownst to my parents and us "kids" - about eight years ago. He/she seemed to live there for about 7-12 days we surmised. When I saw it late one night, I freaked out and thought I had seen the world's largest rat. I opened to door and it ran away. Then, I researched them online and found that they were great for residential neighborhoods, because they'll eat all the bugs we hate, while not harming us.