The untold dangers of gardening ....

[rayinpenn]

There’s no doubt about it at nearly 64 my tolerance for heat has diminished; so i do a couple hours work and call it quits. Nothing wrong with that as its supposed to be enjoyable-right? Yesterday afternoon i started on what we call the hosta shade garden. Lets just say the spring got ahead of me. I made a decent dent in the mess but it got warm, hot really and i called it quits around 5. Well today i got out there for an early start on weeding. . First I went to work with my the weeding hoe and slowly but surely section by section i got it done. Nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after tilling up a bed. Then off to Lowes for some shade plants and flowers $60 bucks later I am planting away and i get to the second to last plant. It was then that something latched onto my finger and i had the sensation it was doing something. Do you know what brave people do when a large bug has their finger -doing something? No I am asking because i sure don’t. Well i didn’t scream like a little girl because I’m to baritone for that. More like Yeoooow, oh and more then loud. Lots of people outside still i may have gotten lucky with no actual eye witnesses. Being a scientist fiction fan i immediately slapped/slip the monster off all kids of horrors running through my head and checked the finger to see if the skin had been broken. (Did you ever hear about those tarantulas in the bannas) Because if it had broken the skin thats real real bad ...right? Next being a pacifist i beat the offending critter to death with the shovel. I’ve seen lots of bugs but never in Pennsylvania. I believe I’ve seen this one on tv because its pretty ferocious looking. Ive had a tuff day.

 

[Dash man]

I’ve never seen those in PA either!

 

[Scrapr]

That's not a South African Near Death Beetle is it? ;-))

 

[Walt34]

That's not a South African Near Death Beetle is it? ;-))

No, it's an Amazonian slow-tortured-death poison beetle.

 

[Amethyst]

You need some of these: https://www.americangloveco.com/pro...RLO_78Fe0Hw_ZfcGJCAWVwK4JJBjz_1BoCzIAQAvD_BwE

There are lots worse things in your garden than scratchy death beetles. (Not to mention, if you squash them with a shovel, they can come back to life and invade your toilet via the house drain!)

 

[aja8888]

That's too small to be a Texas variety. I suppose our Texas bugs eat little critters like that for a snack.

 

[rayinpenn]

I’ve never seen those in PA either!

Sweet Moses you dont think it’s the first wave of an invasion do you?

 

[Moemg]

In Florida our bugs look like small pets .

 

[harley]

Cool! A stag beetle. I know they are in MD, so I suppose they are in PA too. Did it bite you? I didn't think they had enough power in their pincers to hurt a human, but I could be wrong, as it's been 40 years since my Bio degree. But they are definitely scary looking, so the girly scream would be completely understandable (if it had happened).

 

[rayinpenn]

harley thanks. I knew someone out there would know; I researched further below. I don’t believe PA is in there normal range.

“Stag beetles: They are black to dark-brown and have large mandibles. The male does not have enough strength in his jaws to bite, however, the female does. A bite from the female can be painful, but does not normally require any medical treatment.”

so the girly scream would be completely understandable (if it had happened).

Actually didnt see the critter when it latched on because it was hidden by the plant i was holding.. I sure felt it and those legs were moving so I knew something living had me. Yeah I screamed - death by beetle is a hell of a way to go.

Thank god it didn’t get under my shirt....

 

[CRLLS]

Ahhhh. Someone else repeated my encounter almost to a tee. I was picking weeds from my lawn. I too, let out a single exclamation of both pain and surprise. I shook, and shook my hand probably 10 times and brushed at it with the other before it finally released. I never saw one here in N. Illinois before my encounter. I haven't seen one in the last couple of years.

Thank god it didn’t get under my shirt....

OR fall into your pants

 

[rayinpenn]

Ahhhh. Someone else repeated my encounter almost to a tee. I was picking weeds from my lawn. I too, let out a single exclamation of both pain and surprise. I shook, and shook my hand probably 10 times and brushed at it with the other before it finally released. I never saw one here in N. Illinois before my encounter. I haven't seen one in the last couple of years.[emoji5]

That does it .. I’m convinced it is a quiet invasion!

OR fall into your pants [emoji5]

Thanks now I’m thinking about how bad that would have been.

 

[Rianne]

Nothing scares me more than ticks. I received the lovely bullseye rash from a walk in the woods in WI. Went to ER and was on antibiotics for a month. I'm not afraid of spiders, ants, bees, wasps...but a tick is another story.

By the way, the one animal that kills more people than any animal on earth is the mosquito. I'm not even afraid of a tarantula, for the most part they are harmless. I work in the forest preserves so bugs are my friends. Spiders eat mosquitos and decomposers turn dead vegetation back to dirt. It's all good, except for those ticks and mosquitoes.

 

[audreyh1]

Was out gardening today. Wearing boots and heavy gloves. Poking the garden beds to make sure no rattlers were lying in wait. Out to do it super early at it was 85 degrees by 10am. Picked a windy day so at least some relief. And into the shower as soon as I was done.

Oh the hazards of gardening!

 

[Dawg52]

Mowed my grass yesterday morning and it was not too bad. But played 9 holes a little bit ago and it was just too hot. I can't take the heat anymore. I truly have turned into a full time wuss......

 

[Plantman]

The offending creature probably came in on the plant material you purchased at Lowe's. It's anyone's guess as to where those plants were actually grown before being shipped to Lowe's.

 

[travelover]

.........By the way, the one animal that kills more people than any animal on earth is the mosquito. ..........

That may be true, but running a lawn mower over a yellow jacket nest gets your attention.

 

[always_learning]

The biggest danger I have faced while doing yardwork is, unfortunately, myself. I've been bitten (fire ants), stung (bees & wasps), covered in Poison Ivy and Virginia Creeper rashes, and eaten alive (mosquitoes and biting flies).

The worst thing that has happened to me was when I was pruning shrubs about 10 years ago. I *thought* my fingers were out of the way, but alas, they weren't. I cut the meaty pad/fingerprint portion of my ring finger 3/4 of the way off. Through the gloves. Being the stubborn person I am, I went in the house, washed it off, and held the flopping flap in place while holding my arm up as high as I could, hoping the bleeding would stop. It did, and I refused medical treatment (I was a good girl, though ~~ my tetanus shot needed updating so I went and got that done the next day).

Someone will have to start a thread on "The untold dangers of cooking" to hear my other horror story.

Suffice it to say that dh is very nervous about my well-being when I'm around sharp implements.

OP, had that bug bitten me and I saw it on my finger, I'm afraid I would have 'girl screamed' at a pitch that would have set the neighborhood dogs barking!!

 

[harley]

covered in Poison Ivy and Virginia Creeper rashes,

I had to look that one up. I'm very allergic to poison ivy (hospitalized by it twice as a kid), but always "knew" that Virginia creeper wasn't poisonous. I've pulled hundreds of vines of it over the years, no reaction. But it does appear that some people can get a rash from it. I learn something new here nearly every day.

 

[Mdlerth]

Diddly doodily

Do you know what brave people do when a large bug has their finger -doing something?

Once again, Calvin and Hobbes shows us the way.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Beetles seem to have gotten bigger since I lived in Pennsylvania. Here in southern Switzerland (canton Ticino) we have these guys in gardens and sometimes country houses.

http://www.panarthropoda.de/sub/allgemeines/euscorpiushabitaten.php

Also, vipers/asps in the woodlands; but they tend to be shy. I think my scream would be a cross between a terrified bellow and an alpine yodel.

-BB

 

[W2R]

I hardly ever see bugs. I guess I am lucky that my vision is not good enough to see most of them! Besides, growing up in Hawaii and overseas, I'm used to sharing my living space with bugs and having them crawl on me, I suppose. My termite guy sprayed outside for other bugs while he was here, for free, so that helps to keep them down. F sometimes kills bugs and lizards with his cane when he sees them, but I never even notice them so they are totally safe when I'm around.

As for gardening, it is hard, hot work, and I don't like doing it one bit. That was why I had that big re-landscaping project done immediately after moving in here. I have nothing in my yard but grass, and in the New Orleans climate all it needs is mowing (and my lawn guy does that for me). So, I haven't spent even 5 minutes gardening in the past 3 years since I bought this house.

I do have a small planter (maybe 3' in diameter and 3' high) that I could grow something in if I wanted to garden, but so far I have not been inspired to plant anything in it.

 

[Ed B]

I had to look that one up. I'm very allergic to poison ivy (hospitalized by it twice as a kid), but always "knew" that Virginia creeper wasn't poisonous. I've pulled hundreds of vines of it over the years, no reaction. But it does appear that some people can get a rash from it. I learn something new here nearly every day.

Same here. I have lots of Virginia creeper and some poison ivy. No one here has any reaction to the Virginia creeper but I have read that some people are allergic to it.

 

[mystang52]

I always wear gardening gloves. A few weeks ago, though, I decided to clear off a few dead twigs from my bushes. I duly donned my gloves and began. I was in a groove so did more than planned. Oh, forgot to mention I was wearing a short sleeved T shirt. About an hour later I noticed a nice-sized tick on my arm.
I was able to remove it, went straight to the doctor, and fortunately no residuals. Never again will I forget to wear long sleeved shirt.

P.S. I was alone when this happened, but I'm pretty sure my scream was also girly sounding.

 

[travelover]

.......Oh, forgot to mention I was wearing a short sleeved T shirt. About an hour later I noticed a nice-sized tick on my arm.
I was able to remove it, went straight to the doctor, and fortunately no residuals. Never again will I forget to wear long sleeved shirt............

The ticks here crawl up your pant leg. They like to latch onto embarrassing places.