What bugs, BUG you?
 

Having spent time in various countries and seeing what kind of spiders etc..... there are that like to make themselves known here and there in your home, it got me thinking what kind of bugs are there in Canada? I've had trouble in the past with cockroaches and mozzies and ants so was wondering if all or parts of canada have anything worth noting. I've been in the cold seasons so never noticed anything and of course when you havnt lived somewhere its hard to know what is lurking. Anyone care to share if there are any creepy crawlies out there?

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Mozzies in the summer months. We get through gallons of bug spray!

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

All three of the ones listed have been an issue for us, and not just the bugs -there is the racoon in your garbage, the skunk in the driveway (just waiting for the dog), the chipmunk in the dryer vent and the squirrel down the chimney. Compared to those critters - I don't worry overmuch about the bugs.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Mozzies and black flies. Better with the skeetervac, but still a pain as the suns going down.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...k/DSC00745.jpg

Got these stupid black and red beetles all over everything at the moment too, altough they dont seem to do anything.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Elder_Bug.jpg

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Blackflies, but only from May til June when they seem to disappear.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

The unusually damp spring and early summer meant skeeters were a nuisance this year. More concerning though was the frequency of finding black widow spiders - had to remember to exercise caution fereting around for things in the workshop and barn.

If you have a snake phobia, you might find this part of BC a little challenging. Most are harmless and only grow a couple of feet long like the gopher snake, but rattlers make you stop and think.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

:eek:Are black widow spiders indigenous to Canada? One of the reasons we never considered Oz was because of the BIG and sometimes poisinous spiders, oh and the heat of course. I don't do heat, makes me all flustered and grumpy:lol:

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

The very southern bit of Canada is just about warm enough for them. They are more common in the hotter, more arid, areas like the Thompson Okanagan district where RICH lives. They are also found on the west coast but are rare in this climate. Comb foot spiders are quite common, and although most of then are quite harmless I tend to apply squashing treatment on sight and it is quite hard to tell if the squished remains on the bottom of your shoe really was a rare black widow or just another poor spider going innocently about its business.

There is also another little nasty on the west coast called a Hobo spider. Their bites can cause necrotic arachnidism, like a mild version of a brown recluse bite (we are far too far north for brown recluses).

Don't worry too much. I hate spiders but apart from taking simple precautions, like wearing gloves and long sleeves if you moving a wood pile or clearing out the garden shed, they are not an issue in day to day life.

Edit: I see you are heading to Nova Scotia. I am pretty sure the climate there will not support a population of black widows.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

They are to this part of Canada. Oh, and 40 degrees isn't uncommon here in the summer. No humidity to speak of though.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Then you'll be fine as long as you don't eat them.

It's the venomous ones you want to watch out for. ;)

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Horseflies, they come at you aggressively, won't leave you alone, and when they do bite you, it bloody hurts and gives you a really nasty cut because they use those slicer things to slice up your skin. :thumbdown:

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Please excuse my naivety but how do you deal with black windows? Leave them alone, squash them, spray bug spray on them to kill them or do you need to get an exterminator in so they don't breed?? Especially if in your house, not massively afraid of spiders and will quite happily catch them in a glass and through them outside, but I have never come across any that could potentially kill you!!

Also if you saw a rattle snake near your house, again do you leave it be or get someone in to remove it, especially if close to your house?

What about the dog, I am guessing if they were to eat or get bitten by a black window it would not end well for them?

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Spiders get squished, snakes get left alone, the dogs seem to ignore them too. The grass is too short near the house for snakes, but they're common in the roadside verge and the other side of the creek at the bottom of my property where the crown land starts.

Maybe it's just fortuitous, but where the snakes like to bask in the sun on the hillside opposite (rocky, steep terrain), there are lots of cacti, and the dogs have learned through painful experience it's not a fun place to explore. If the dogs got bitten it'd be a dash to the vets.

Oh, and black windows get washed ;)

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Doh!! wrong spelling there :rofl:

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

I prefer squashing, but I guess that 99% of the time leaving them alone is just as good a policy.

The best defense against nasty spiders is a healthy population of nice ones. They compete for the same food sources and house spiders are apparently very protective of their territory and will attack and kill invading nasties.

The problem with insecticides is that they kill the good spiders as well as the bad ones and can leave your house defenseless.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Yup, learned that in our last rental. Being squeamish and new to Aus, we had the garden of the rental house sprayed. It killed off everything, and then the next summer, we had twice to three times as many redbacks (our black widows) as ever before. We should have just left it alone.

Our current house seems to have well defined territories. The redbacks prefer the fence on the west side of the house, the regular black house and garden spiders prefer the east fence and the north one. Weird.

Canadian bugs...mozzies for sure and we used to get those pillbugs/sowbugs all around our house...their favorite place was under the stones by the fence and they'd always be coming into the basement on a regular basis and we'd find them all dried out and dead a few days later. Other than that, nothing. Mmm...maybe tent caterpillars. Yuck.

Seriously, in terms of insects, Canada has got it good. It's a whole new level of creepy crawliness here.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Black Widows can also be found in the extreme SW part of Ontario that we are in, a friend has seen them in their garden.

Snakes are also very common around here, just today I saw one in the back garden of the house we are having built. It didn't seem bothered by me at all, I could have easily picked it up if I had wanted (Garter Snake I think). Have probably seen 40+ snakes in various places in the 3 years we have been here.

What bugs, BUG you?
 

oh god, snakes???? I had no idea.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Years (and years) ago, hubby and I went to Writing-on-Stone provincial park in southern Alberta.

In the parking lot and at odd intervals throughout the trails were these huge signs, "WARNING: RATTLESNAKES!" Hubby wanted to stay in the car. I tried to cheer him up, "well, at least you get the rattle first."

Irony, then he moves to Perth and works out in countryside, surrounded by dugites and tiger snakes.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Black flies. When I lived in far northern Ontario the back of my neck would be caked with blood from them. For some reason they liked to get under my hair and bite the back of my neck.

When we lived north of Vancouver we used to get cougars in the village and skunks in our yard.

What bugs, BUG you?
 

So getting the house sprayed is not a normal event then! yikes, I had no idea there was so many bugs and the like in canada. Those pictures are gross!!!

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Have to add my two cents' worth from NW Ontario:

Mosquitoes & blackflies - can be a real pain if the weather's particularly wet, the mozzies have brought up new concern in recent years as they can carry the West Nile virus.
"No-see-em's" - Not sure of the correct term for this little rascal but are called as such because they're so small you can barely see them & don't know they're there until you get bitten. They are more or less harmless as far as I know in the grand scheme of things but are more a nuisance than anything as they can pack quite a wallop and before you know it you've got a huge red bump around the site of the bite. The biggest problem is their size - small enough to get through the holes in fly screen.
Wood ticks - I think they've become an increasing problem over the years. They are a small round crab-like bug that bites and burrows into the skin feeding on blood, when they are satisfied (about 3 or 4 times original size) they will "fall off". Problem is they can carry disease and they are not to be merely "pulled off" the skin as they "leave parts behind" that can cause infection. I've heard numerous methods of removing them some of which are not advised ie burning them with a lit cigarette, covering their bodies with something like vaseline so that they can't breathe & have to withdraw etc. I've heard covering them in dish detergent is supposed to work best but have never had to try it. They are a problem for pets, especially those with long or dark hair & are attracted to the animal's ears, you really have to keep an eye on your pets in hot summer months though I've seen our dogs fall prey before the snow was gone early in the year. They're commonly found in long grass & wooded areas.
Army worms - OMG don't even get me started. They are these ugly looking caterpillars that run in cycles (every 6 or 7 years you'll get an infestation). They will move through an area & completely strip the trees bare, again found in wooded areas. In extreme cases I've seen them cause road hazards because they make the pavement slippery if they are moving across them.
In the category of larger livestock, skunks can be a problem because of the obvious horrible smell - usually someone's unfortunate cat or dog who runs afoul of them & has to pay the price of being ostracized temporarily til the odour's dealt with. Where I lived in a remote community we had bear problems, by the time I left there were certain times of year when I just wouldn't walk outside at night because the bears would come into the town in search of food. Not unusual to see them in the back garden in the middle of the day either in my neck of the woods.

Generally these are things you learn to live with & you learn how to avoid problems with these things just like anywhere else.

If moving to Canada's what you want to do don't let it deter you, you'll just learn to take it all in stride.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

the thing I hate most is June bugs, like flying cockroaches :scaredhair: thankfully there aren't around for long. The mozzies and blackflies have been particularly unbearable this year too. We also have LOTS of bitey housefly type things, don't know what they are called. The hanging fly killer bags are great for those though ;)

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

dunno wot these are but we get them around the house ocassionally.....they are fast and very scary!!!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...2/IMG_0916.jpg

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

It's a house centipede, we get lots of them too, they can bite/sting you, so don't pick them up!

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

I have absolutely no intention...they freak me out, altho I can't bring myself to squishing em, they go crunch....cats like playing wiff em tho!!

What bugs, BUG you?
 

What an eye opener eh! I remember my aunts back garden used to get some visits from bears at night. Thank you all for contributing what you have seen/experienced. This really does help me make a more informed decision and see if Canada really is the place for me. Funny I feel less scared of the thoughts of a bear in my garden than I do about a tiny bug that can bite.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

On a (sort of) related note, I see loads and loads of slugs, but I don't think I've ever seen a snail (on land) does Canada not have them?

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

i've seen snails here in southwest Ont....but not so many...so I guess cos of the current economic climate, the snails have had their houses foreclosed!!!

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

:rofl:

Happens to the best of them!

Here in nz we use a robocan which lets off a harmless spray every 30 mins and anything that comes in doesnt last long. Only harmfull spiders we have are whitetails, but I've only ever seen a few of them. Usually when i see daddylonglegs I know we dont have any whitetails.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Until you have one in your garden. Then you'll never feel the same.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

I'd echo the above about the mossies / black flies / horse flies and no see ums here in Central Ab.

As for other things, maple bugs (red and black like the ones in Iains pic) are somewhat annoying and descend when they come in their hundreds - but they just hang out, chat swap phone numbers and go on their merry way. Harmless really.

As for spiders daddy long legs, and some random penny sized ones of differing colour are about all i've seen since living here.

Can't remember seeing ones the size that you would find in yer bath back in the UK.

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Thanks for reply. Another reason not to move west, apart from long plane journey and expensive housing:lol: Must amit I love BC though, so beautiful. I will take extra care re spiders on my next holiday to the west coast now I am aware of what may be lurking:eek:

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

Mosquito

Re: What bugs, BUG you?
 

what about earwigs? Does anyone else get them too? Some summers we have tons of them around the house, mainly under cracks in the siding and around the porch and some come into the kitchen :thumbdown: