The untold dangers of gardening ....

[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/allg...shabitaten.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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mystang52 .......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.

[harley]

Going to the doctor because you find a tick seems to be an over reaction to me. I've had ticks on me approximately a zillion times. I just pull them off and if they were latched on I keep an eye on the spot for a few days. I don't like them and don't understand why God needed them or leeches here, but they're just part of the world.

[MissMolly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

Why would he kill the poor little lizards? They eat the bugs. Lizards are cute.

[always_learning]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley 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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed B 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.

It took me three times of getting the rash before I realized it was the Creeper and not the Ivy that I was allergic to. It's not that I'm a slow learner (or so I tell myself), it's just that the first two times, it *could* have been the Poison Ivy but last summer, I ONLY pulled the pretty vine and the next day both my forearms were covered in blisters from my wrists to above my elbow. It turned out to be the Virginia Creeper as that was the only thing I touched.

It's not reassuring when doctors don't believe me when I say it wasn't Poison Ivy but Virginia Creeper.

My research led to interesting tidbits, though. The "new school of thought" is that more people are allergic to Creeper than previously thought and most rashes are blamed on Poison Ivy because they usually grow in close proximity to each other and most doctors don't think it's possible to be allergic to Virginia Creeper so P.I. gets the blame.

Also, it seems that those of us who are allergic to Virginia Creeper are not allergic to Poison Ivy and vice versa (which coincides with my childhood of running through Poison Ivy without issue) and that one folk remedy for Virginia Creeper is to grab Poison Ivy leaves since they grow close by, crush them to activate the urishol oils, and rub them over where you think you were exposed to Virginia Creeper. Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather not try that theory. Each of my run ins with Virginia Creeper required a week of meds AND a shot in the hiney so I can only imagine what medical intervention rubbing Poison Ivy all over myself would lead to!

At least now that I know I'm allergic to it, I'm very careful in watching where I step. Now, if I could only stop the yard critters (chipmunks? rabbits?) from eating the stuff and spreading it around, I'd be happy.

[always_learning]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMolly Why would he kill the poor little lizards? They eat the bugs. Lizards are cute.

I'm also confused as to why one would kill lizards. I love lizards. It's one thing I'm looking forward to when we retire back to Florida. I miss the little things.


Skinks, however.... *shudder* Me no likey. I wouldn't harm them, but they've always given me the creeps.

[Red Badger]

We have mostly assorted lizards, frogs, and toads lurking in our ~10 raised bed gardens. When DW comes across the occasional black snake, it takes me a couple of hours to get her down from the second story roof.

[Bruceski44]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg In Florida our bugs look like small pets .

In most places, when you turn the lights on, the cockroaches scurry away. In Florida, when you turn the lights on, the cockroaches all yell, in unison, "TURN THAT LIGHT OFF!"

[Dash man]

A couple of years ago we found a copperhead snake in our vegetable garden. No one was bitten, fortunately. We’ve been very careful going out there since then.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

+1000.

I'm dealing with a few tick bites from earlier this spring. No symptoms after a month. I'm probably in the clear. Just really scary stuff. Lyme is uncommon here. Instead, we get a few cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, which is no joke.

[always_learning]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruceski44 In most places, when you turn the lights on, the cockroaches scurry away. In Florida, when you turn the lights on, the cockroaches all yell, in unison, "TURN THAT LIGHT OFF!"

Word.

Last fall, we were at the beach in FL, six stories high, enjoying the balcony well after dark and close to bed time. Not a tree to be found anywhere--- just the sea oats on the dunes six floors below. I came in from the balcony, flipped on the kitchen light, and saw the biggest Palmetto bug I had ever seen. It had to have been four inches end to end, and then the antennae added to that. It just stared me down, as if it owned the counter it was on. My size 8 1/2 shoe almost wasn't big enough to kill it. It required three furious whacks to do it in. Yes, I kept the lights on that night so I could sleep. Hey, I'm a girl. Don't judge. Dh took one look at my face as I said I was leaving the lights on and said "OK. Good night".

I hate Palmetto Bugs with every bone in my body. I am not looking forward to those again when we head back to FL. Ugh.

I was traumatized by one when I was about eight years old and still have flashbacks about it. *shudder*

Growing up in the 70s, my dad used to swear that he could see them just licking their lips after he drenched them in Raid.

Snakes, gators, and hurricanes don't scare me about living in FL, but those Palmetto bugs.... ugh. Not looking forward to that at all.

[GravitySucks]

Did you gain any super powers?

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by always_learning Word. Last fall, we were at the beach in FL, six stories high, enjoying the balcony well after dark and close to bed time. Not a tree to be found anywhere--- just the sea oats on the dunes six floors below. I came in from the balcony, flipped on the kitchen light, and saw the biggest Palmetto bug I had ever seen. It had to have been four inches end to end, and then the antennae added to that. It just stared me down, as if it owned the counter it was on. My size 8 1/2 shoe almost wasn't big enough to kill it. It required three furious whacks to do it in. Yes, I kept the lights on that night so I could sleep. Hey, I'm a girl. Don't judge. Dh took one look at my face as I said I was leaving the lights on and said "OK. Good night". I hate Palmetto Bugs with every bone in my body. I am not looking forward to those again when we head back to FL. Ugh. I was traumatized by one when I was about eight years old and still have flashbacks about it. *shudder* Growing up in the 70s, my dad used to swear that he could see them just licking their lips after he drenched them in Raid. Snakes, gators, and hurricanes don't scare me about living in FL, but those Palmetto bugs.... ugh. Not looking forward to that at all.

You know they can fly ... sort of. Seriously! I hate to say it, but I "got used to them" while living in FL. I couldn't believe that one time while entering the house, one decided to lift off and fly (drunkenly) into the house. For pete's sake, I'm trying to keep them out and keep a clean house and now they fly into the house? You gotta be kidding me!

They don't resort to flight often, but when they do, they just add to the nightmare.

[MissMolly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by always_learning Word. Last fall, we were at the beach in FL, six stories high, enjoying the balcony well after dark and close to bed time. Not a tree to be found anywhere--- just the sea oats on the dunes six floors below. I came in from the balcony, flipped on the kitchen light, and saw the biggest Palmetto bug I had ever seen. It had to have been four inches end to end, and then the antennae added to that. It just stared me down, as if it owned the counter it was on. My size 8 1/2 shoe almost wasn't big enough to kill it. It required three furious whacks to do it in. Yes, I kept the lights on that night so I could sleep. Hey, I'm a girl. Don't judge. Dh took one look at my face as I said I was leaving the lights on and said "OK. Good night". I hate Palmetto Bugs with every bone in my body. I am not looking forward to those again when we head back to FL. Ugh. I was traumatized by one when I was about eight years old and still have flashbacks about it. *shudder* Growing up in the 70s, my dad used to swear that he could see them just licking their lips after he drenched them in Raid. Snakes, gators, and hurricanes don't scare me about living in FL, but those Palmetto bugs.... ugh. Not looking forward to that at all.

This is the main reason I won't vacation in Florida.

[mystang52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley Going to the doctor because you find a tick seems to be an over reaction to me. I've had ticks on me approximately a zillion times. I just pull them off and if they were latched on I keep an eye on the spot for a few days. I don't like them and don't understand why God needed them or leeches here, but they're just part of the world.

Never had a tick on me before, and I'm immuno compromised, so I wasn't taking any chances.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley Going to the doctor because you find a tick seems to be an over reaction to me. I've had ticks on me approximately a zillion times. I just pull them off and if they were latched on I keep an eye on the spot for a few days.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've found ticks under my skin only twice and removed them promptly. The first time was years ago, the second time only a week ago. I also watch the area and if there are no bizarre rashes, especially of the bulls-eye kind, I figure no harm done.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've found ticks under my skin only twice and removed them promptly. The first time was years ago, the second time only a week ago. I also watch the area and if there are no bizarre rashes, especially of the bulls-eye kind, I figure no harm done.

I get temporary or permanent granulomas from tick bites. My skin just doesn't like them.

I monitor my temperature for a month after any bite too.

All of this is just a pain. We must be vigilant just in case something more serious is about.

Finally, what I really don't like about ticks is they like your groin, navel and armpit. That just lacks class, man.