I know this shouldn't be a big issue in the scheme of things but I am PETRIFIED to put it mildly of spiders,

British ones still make me cry, they can be so big bodied, hairy and quick.

In Pennsylvania the bodies were so small that they didn't bother me much, I was a bit shocked to discover though brown recluse spiders now in PA, and I hate the dreaded house centipede YUCK!

Please someone tell me Canadas house spiders are ok?

If it was a mouse, a lizard, a snake ok but spiders and bugs noooooooooo!

Though I hope they don't have too many poisenous snakes as I love to take the dogs in the woods.

I guess you wouldn't want to go to Australia then

the spiders here aren't any bigger than in the UK .


As for snakes, we walk our dogs in forests and have never come across any

I do want to visit Ozzie some day but as far as living, the birds and the bugs would drive me insane. There are HUGE spiders over there *shiver*

I wish there was a spider spray to get rid of them.

I see less spiders here (Winnipeg) than in the UK, perhaps they don't like our winters.

Would the South Okanagon Valley have more spiders, I've read they have Rattle Snakes there?

I don't find a lot of spiders in the house, but there are a lot around the pool, including some that are obviously water spiders.

There are all sorts of colourful bugs, I have no idea what most of them are. Lots of fireflies here at the moment, and some kind of metallic-looking beetle.

We have a rattlesnake around here, the eastern massassauga or something it's called, but it's pretty much only here and somewhere near where that Howard1944 lives... OH and child saw a fox snake for the first time last night, they see garter snakes often.

Daft question from me;

Are the snakes mostly poisonous? What about bugs? Are they nasty little critters like in oz?

There seem to be loads more bugs, ants etc here than in the UK - well in the five weeks we have been here!

It depends on your skin I think - I have had blackfly bites, mossie bites and an ant bite so far and each one has swelled up, itched for days and the blackfly ones I still have little cuts even now four weeks on. At first, I had sixteen insect bites on me before I got some spray.
Hubby must have been the same, but he has not really reacted at all to the bites, apart from scratching the blackfly ones.

Spiders - seem pretty much the same as in the UK. A friend of mine was hypnotised for her fear and is fine now, might be worth a try?

I guess there will be less bugs when it gets really cold though?

Rachel

We were expecting way more spiders, bugs and such in the house than we have actually experienced so far. A few small spiders in the basement. Very occasional beetle like fellows. The insect screening at the windows contributes heavily to the fairly bug free environment in the house. There are, however, many spiders outside the house, none too large though. As previous poster has said, there are lots of biting insects of course, something that has been covered extensively on other threads. On the whole though, less frightening than we anticipated...so far!

Eamonn & Janet

Gopher, Western Rattlesnake and Racer Snakes here, plus black widow and brown recluse spiders. Very few mosquitoes or other nuisance insects.

uuummmm Black Widow Spiders or Mozzies - its a close call - NOT

If you go down to the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise
If you go down to the woods today
You'd better go in disguise
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic
x

Sounds like crawlies I will have to deal with. Scary that they have brown recluse spiders.

Lightning bugs though YAYYYYY! I have missed them so.
Hummingbirds? I am missing them as well in the UK.

I have a big german shep and a licky lab but I think carrying some bear mace may be a good idea as well? I wonder if it works on moose?

What about rabies? Raccoons can be scary.

To some extent it depends where in canada you want to talk about...all the nasty spiders seem to be out west, but they are not a major epedemic or anything

The few snakes here are nearly without exception totally harmless. Some might bite, but without venom, and then only if you step on them. The missisagua rattler has venom, but its virtually extinct, very localised and the chances of coming across one slim. The chances it taking offence and biting even lower.

Most of the things that can harm you here are big, and run away if you startle them. Like Bears, or crashing your car into a Moose.

Mosquitos with west nile are still fairly rare, but increasing in frequency, but the short answer is that unless you go jogging in bear country with a rasher of bacon on you back, you will be pretty safe. Ticks in the woods and Lyme disease might be worth looking into too.

There is some rabies in the racoon and fox population, but I dont know of any cases of transmission to humans...

Had a huge stick insect crawling around on the house a couple of times, but I think they are harmless (but didnt take any chances!), and I did nearly lose an eye to a hummingbird, but thats another story....

Stop it