Hi any BC'ers or people in the know on these matters.

Is it true that there are Deadly Spiders and RattleSnakes in BC ?.
If so, are they in the Vancouver Suburbs (Fraser Valley) ?.

My wife is a total whimp where spiders are concerned :scared: and if she knows there are deadly ones in our intended area, then I'd better book her in now for some Hypnotherapy with Paul Mc'kenna now before we leave.

Is there any more killer animals or beasts in that area I should know about, appart from the Bears that is!!!.

Thanks,

SS

Let me introduce you to the Brown Recluse - it has an extremely nasty bite and hides behind furniture.

Over here in Alberta we have the Black Widow too, which doesn't have a lethal bite.

Apart from bears (BC has most of north america's Grizzly population) there are cougars, wolves and coyotes.

Rattlesnakes usually stay around the drier areas in the interior - I don't know if they make it as far as Vancouver.

Biggest pests for me has been a rather large wasp population, and I am a magnet for mosquitoes.

Give me a snake or big spider any day!

Well, in the desert (yep, there is desert in BC!) you will find snakes and black widow spiders. I did hear of a black widow spider found in Coquitlam last year.

I'm a spider wimp too - but the skunks upset me more!!

There is lots of wonderful wildlife here, this weekend my son saw a deer, last weekend a bear cub (whilst out walking and cycling) let alone all the birds!! (In fact he was more excited about the woodpeckers than the bear cub...!)

I asked in the office and apparently the rattlers are in the desert bit again (eg Osoyoos area)

Clare

Originally posted by SunnySussex
    > Hi any BC'ers or
people in the know on these matters.
    >
    > Is it true that there are
Deadly Spiders and RattleSnakes in BC ?.
    > If so, are they in the
Vancouver Suburbs (Fraser Valley) ?.
    >
    > My wife is a total whimp
where spiders are concerned :scared: and if she knows there are
deadly ones in our intended area, then I'd better book her in now for
some Hypnotherapy :zzz: with Paul Mc'kenna now before we leave.
    >
Is there any more killer animals or beasts in that area I should know
about, appart from the Bears that is!!!.
    >
    > Thanks,
    >
    > SS
    > ;)



Well, in the desert (yep, there is desert in BC!) you will
find snakes and black widow spiders. I did hear of a black widow
spider found in Coquitlam last year.

I'm a spider wimp too - but the
skunks upset me more!!

There is lots of wonderful wildlife here,
this weekend my son saw a deer, last weekend a bear cub (whilst out
walking and cycling) let alone all the birds!! (In fact he was more
excited about the woodpeckers than the bear cub...!)

I asked in the
office and apparently the rattlers are in the desert bit again (eg
Osoyoos area)

Clare


--
Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Hi again,
So how common is the 'Brown Recluse' spider ?.
Do loads of people get bitten by them each year or are they no problem at all ?.

My misses has just read the replies above and is shreaking with the thought of Nasty Spiders. She's just recently recovering from a spider crawling over her shoulder the other night (and this is in the UK where none of them can harm you).

Better Get the Hypnotist booked now.....

Thanks,

SS

The problem with the Brown Recluse is that it's small, brown and reclusive ..... experts can't seem to agree what it's range is.

The venom is more toxic than rattlesnake - it doesn't usually kill, but it can cause necrosis (tissue death) around the bite wound.

Experts are out as whether most of the reported bites are actually from the Brown Recluse or not.

I've camped out in a tent in the Alberta badlands where there are rattlesnakes, scorpions and black widows and I've never seen any of them. But then again, I didn't stick my hands down any abandoned gopher holes. The worst thing that happened was that I got barked at by some idiot woman's dog.

Even rattlesnakes bites are allegedly not that bad - they don't inject venom unless you look like lunch. I haven't tested that one out.

Most wildlife in Canada tries its hardest to stay away from people.

Yes, there are snakes and spiders here in the Okanagan. We have LOTS of rattlers but to be honest it does not effect life on a day to day basis. We come into contact more frequently with bears. Our children often get warnings at school that one has been seen. We have had them several times in our garden (oophs, sorry yard). I still think you have more chance of being run over by a bus!

JJ