Spiders & snakes

OH MY GAWD!!!!!! I would totally freak out....I can't even look at the tarantualas on Fear Factor. How do you avoid them? Are they just hanging around the house or outside?
I think I'm going to faint just talking about it. Well, I guess it's time to over come my arachnaphobia!!!!

Phyllis you are a brave brave woman!!!!

That is the only one I have seen in my 4 weekly visits I have made so far-Thank God!!

It was in the house so of course I started shaking out all my clothes & shoes before putting on anything after that-a practice that is probably wise at all times. Centipedes are the thing that really concern me as I know it does have a nasty sting. The little lizards I like-LOL-but still wouldn't want one in my clothes!!

Housing is so open and part of the outdoors in the Islands that these creatures have no problem coming inside so just keep your eyes open at all times. I am terrified of spiders too but it is a small price to pay to have the beauty of the Islands to look at everyday and call home.

And I have seen NO SNAKES and hope that what I have heard is correct-that the mongoose/mongeese ate them all!! Can I get confirmation on this-LOL!!
Thanks!!

Hello Phyllis and Maegan,

The Virgin Islands Tree Boa is endangered and next to never seen. I don't know that they are extinct in the USVI but it is true that they are very very rarely seen.

Here is an article about other endangered critters in the USVI:

http://vinow.com/news/aug03/animals.php

There are rats here and mice. There are tarantulas, scorpions, crickets, roaches, bees, mosquitos, flys, beetles, moths, butterflies... insects and spiders in general 🙂 The good news is you usually don't see the tarantulas or scorpions... and the beetles, crickets, bees, moths pretty much stay outside. Spiders get in the house and usually make a web in the corner of a room; they can be easily removed. The little lizards sometimes get in the house too.

You can read more on island fauna at

http://vinow.com/general_usvi/flora_fauna/

--Islander

Ya'll are all freaking me out - lol - I hate spiders. I swear, I am not scared of anything much EXCEPT sharks and spiders. I'm moving anyway. I'll be the one screaming alot from my bungalow. lol

From what I understand (having lived here a whole month), the wolf spiders can be huge and usually stay underground or hidden during the day. They come out at night. I have had only one experience with such a creature. We had parked under a tree to go to dinner at a restaurant. It was pouring rain while we were there (which I think contributed to the spider being out) and we left after the rain died down a bit. We had all got in the truck, I was driving, and after a few moments the biggest spider I had ever seen crawled across the hood of the truck. I was screaming, the kids were screaming, and my husband kept asking what was the matter. I pointed still screaming (no lie) and my husband told me to wait until it was on the windshield which it was heading too and then turn the windshield wipers on high. I did and the spider went flying off. I couldn't get out of the truck until my husband looked it over from the outside to assure me it was safe. I get goosebumps thinking about it. That being told, I have not seen another one since or before. I am okay with little spiders and usually do a catch and release program with them, but do they have to grow so big? We actually had tarantula holes in Oklahoma where they would shed their skins, just so I would freeze and not be able to tell if it was a real live tarantula or a skin. Not all spiders are poisonous, but from what I have been told they can bite.

Former Ohio Guy - do you know anything about said creatures? And what eats a wolf spider anyway? We have to keep them in the food chain.

Teresa (shiver)

Teresa - that is such a funny story!! My parents always lived near a lake in Indiana and we would get wolf spiders all the time in the house. You're story reminds me of a time when my sister and I stayed up late talking on the couch when we saw one move across the carpet. Our screams woke up our father, who had to come downstairs and kill it for us. Not sure what was scarier - seeing the spider or dad in his underware!!! =)

I'm a huge animal lover but if I never see that tree boa, I will die a happy woman. I told Stu that if there were as many snakes on this island as there are lizards, I would be on the next plane out of here. God save the mongoose!

As Queen of the Barefoot People, I've had to relinquish my crown now that I'm living on STX. At the top of the list during my first shopping trip to K-Mart was a pair of flip-flops that I could wear around the house. I just didn't relish the idea of stepping on one more millipede bare-soled. Never know when it might be a centipede instead.

The house where I'm living in STX sits on top of former cane fields. I've begun to wonder if that's one of the reasons why the insect life is so incredibly lush and diverse there. My landlady and I battled 3 flying, hissing roaches my first night here. Since then, I've experienced zillions of the aforementioned millipedes and centipedes, sugar ants out the wazoo, the ubiquitous sowbug, spiders, a few flies and mosquitos, and Lord knows what else.

Given all this, it still isn't as bad as Texas where flies, fleas, and mosquitos were taking over my neck of the woods, thanks to several warm winters in a row, and the crickets and cicadas (not the 17-year kind, thankfully) roared every night. We also experienced two swarms of "lovebugs" this past year, the second swarm so bad that they blanketed whole areas of town and left their sticky dead bodies on car hoods and grills.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot about the fireants back in Texas and the June bugs. While the June bugs are only irritating, the fireants can actually be deadly. I've heard of them taking over entire hay fields out west and killing all forms of protein within their domains (frogs, lizards, toads, earthworms, even fawns). If you are unlucky enough to be allergic to their stings, like my son is, you can't even visit your grandparents gravesite because of their virulent bites.

Frankly, I like snakes, and I personally would welcome a few harmless grass snakes back into the STX ecosystem. Between them, the frogs and toads, the lizards, and the birds, maybe the bug problem would settle down to a dull roar.

Just me and my two cents worth on bugs,
Kinsey

Teresa,
Was this wolf spider orange. We took a photo of the one that crawled up my leg on my orange plaid capri pants(after I removed them). Sick-huh!!LOL!! I just had to show my coworkers how big it was so they would believe me. HEEHEE!! I can email it to you so you can have nightmares like me.
This spider was out in the morning so he doesn't fit the nocturnal timing. The thought of those things coming out at night and walking over me in bed could cause severe sleep deprivation!!!!

Thanks Phyllis! I need more nightmares! 😉 LOL!

He was a grayish or brownish color...did I mention BIG! Honestly I swear I was staring at his beady eyes. (do they have beady eyes?) The streetlight was shining on him and he seemed to be a light color.

I can't even look at spiders in pet stores or behind glass. After a few minutes, my eyes play tricks on me and I imagine that they are on the same side of the glass that I am on. I have tried to get over the phobia, but to no success. I actually ate a spider once, by accident of course. I had bought a bunch of grapes and rinsed them in the sink. I was popping them in my mouth and ate one that tasted like it was moldy or something. I pulled a fuzzy leg out of my mouth. Worst moment of my life. On the stem or branch of the grapes was another little spider still alive - not missing a leg mind you. Why do I have these experiences and so many? Because I re-live them everytime I have another experience with spiders. Arg! Why can I not have a phobia of chocolate? Now that would be beneficial.

Teresa