General Discussion Thread

[Róisín]

Rollo, that would be strange to have so few venomous spiders! I mean, I've lived and travelled in Europe, and had noticed few venomous creatures overall, but I guess I had just never thought about it. Here (South Australia, out in the country), it is just taken for granted that you shake out shoes before you put them on, and in summer shake out pockets too (I have several times found a dangerous spider in pockets, when bringing in laundry from the line, or in a coat that has been hanging up. Same in the garden or the woodshed, where it is simplly instinctive to watch where you step, and to be careful picking things up, lest there be a snake underneath.

[Helia]

Rollo, that would be strange to have so few venomous spiders! I mean, I've lived and travelled in Europe, and had noticed few venomous creatures overall, but I guess I had just never thought about it. Here (South Australia, out in the country), it is just taken for granted that you shake out shoes before you put them on, and in summer shake out pockets too (I have several times found a dangerous spider in pockets, when bringing in laundry from the line, or in a coat that has been hanging up. Same in the garden or the woodshed, where it is simplly instinctive to watch where you step, and to be careful picking things up, lest there be a snake underneath.

That's why Europeans are so freaked out every time they hear about the fauna of Australia 
Very few venormous creatures live here; allergic reactions to bites (wasps for example) or diseases spread by bites (those damn ticks) are more of concern.

[Róisín]

Yeah, we have a generous supply of the usual pests: mozzies, sandflies, noseeums, midges, ticks, leeches, mites, wasps, biting flies and ants and so forth - just with a few extras!

[Hrollo]

The one common venomous european animal we are taught to be warry of as child is the viper, or adder/asp, of which several dangerous species live in Europe; they're generally found in tall grass (but seldom invade houses — we did find a small one once in ours, but managed to put it outside safely).

Edit: and when I was a child we were warned about rabid animals (notably foxes), but rabies has since been extirpated from France.

[Yuuago]

I'm not sure if we even have any venomous animals in my part of Canada. There are rattlesnakes and scorpions in the southern half of my province, but you'd have to drive eight hours to see those. :Va

Up here, you mostly need to watch out for the charismatic megafauna.

[kjeks]

I think there is actually some small spiders with venom - but not enough to kill a human being or even make them sick. Except for people who hold exotic beasts and set them free. But survival in our climate is rare.

Today is especially rainy, I hope the swiming pool is opened nonetheless.

[urbicande]

Other than the brown recluse, I don't think we have anything particularly venomous on Long Island.

[Juniper]

I'm not sure if we even have any venomous animals in my part of Canada. There are rattlesnakes and scorpions in the southern half of my province, but you'd have to drive eight hours to see those. :Va

Up here, you mostly need to watch out for the charismatic megafauna.

Scorpions ? In Canada ?? What are they doing that far up north D: I always thought if I just stay living far north or far south enough I wouldn't have to deal with scorpions or anything else like that but apparently not if they can still be found further north than I am right now :c

Kind of reminds me with the talk on spiders in Europe, I remember when I was in France that even though they probably weren't dangerous, quite a few times I found some HUGE spiders in my home stay parents house. They weren't venomous or dangerous according to my home stay parents but I still didn't like them because dang they were big D: my homestay parents also said that apparently some very tiny and rather harmless scorpions (I was staying in the very South of France) but I never saw or came across one.

[Yuuago]

Scorpions ? In Canada ?? What are they doing that far up north D: I always thought if I just stay living far north or far south enough I wouldn't have to deal with scorpions or anything else like that but apparently not if they can still be found further north than I am right now :c

They're just going about their business, I'm assuming. ;p Some parts of southern Alberta are very desert-y (with cacti, even!). I've spent a lot of time in that area, but I've never seen one myself.

If you come up to Canada, just stay away from Alberta. You'll be fine. (Heck, creepy-crawlies aside, staying away from Alberta is always a good idea....)

[Juniper]

They're just going about their business, I'm assuming. ;p Some parts of southern Alberta are very desert-y (with cacti, even!). I've spent a lot of time in that area, but I've never seen one myself.

If you come up to Canada, just stay away from Alberta. You'll be fine. (Heck, creepy-crawlies aside, staying away from Alberta is always a good idea....)

Well, at least there's some of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta and those are gorgeous. A friend of mine actually just got back from vacationing in the Canadian Rockies and everything looks really pretty ~
Also, there's apparently quite a few Sasquatch sightings in Alberta and that's gotta count for something 

[Róisín]

We have some lovely scorpions here - not as large or as venomous as I have seen out in the desert, but very pretty black or silver-grey ones.

I kept some in a terrarium for awhile, but they made my husband nervous so I released them into the garden.

[JoB]

I think there is actually some small spiders with venom - but not enough to kill a human being or even make them sick.

When I look at what authorities think Germans should know of, and then substract all the "actually harmless", "doesn't occur naturally", "not really venom but a zoonosis" etc. etc. that they throw in so as not to wind up with a one-pager, I get two snake species (Vipera berus, "very painful", and Vipera aspis), one fish (Trachinus draco, again "very painful"), and one spider (Araneus diadematus, "equivalent to a wasp sting if it manages to penetrate the skin in the first place"). And for the wasps and bees, they're talking about possible allergic reactions, not the actual venom. Ho hum.

If I remember correctly, the last time a Vipera berus managed to kill - a small child, and it took place in Switzerland, if memory serves well - is almost 30 years back ...

[Laufey]

I'm trying to think of what bugs would actually be harmful here in Iceland but the only thing that comes to mind are hornets. At the moment their food is running out so they're getting more curious about entering houses, and sure enough our workplace with its lack of air conditioning and open doors looks inviting to them.

This would be ok if the place had even one person who wasn't afraid of hornets but alas, we all are. Today I found out that although I'm not great with them myself my poor workmate's even less ok with a hornet around. We're talking of instant, wide-eyed, self-hugging panic mode and extremely quick flinch reflex here which is kinda bad in a place full of glass. And of course the hornets loved him. They just always found him somehow and buzzed around him, leaving me wondering with can in hand which he'd hate more, the hornet or being bug-sprayed along with it.

In the end this turned into a weird toss-me-the-spray -game where the one nearer the hornet tried to get the spray at hand faster than it would fly away, but man they're quick. Still, we managed to get rid of them all: sorry and bye bye hornets, none of us can get any work done if you're hovering around us.

TL;DR it was an adventurous day at work.

[urbicande]

I'm trying to think of what bugs would actually be harmful here in Iceland but the only thing that comes to mind are hornets. At the moment their food is running out so they're getting more curious about entering houses, and sure enough our workplace with its lack of air conditioning and open doors looks inviting to them.

Ah, hornets.  As with all wasps, they're little balls of hatred with wings.

[Hrollo]

I find hornets easier to deal with than wasps actually; they're generally less agressive and their movements aren't as erratic. I often manage to "guide" them outside when they wind up inside (they're generally only looking for the exit once they realise they're in a human dwelling).