Unaffected by Crisco & Chilli Powder, the striped lizards have returned, to sun themselves on the fence wall early in the morning. Had I let the pest control guys spray last year, all (or most) of these cool fauna would not be visiting / residing in / feasting within the bounty that is my yard this year. I've seen lizards in my front yard as well, amongst the cacti and rocks and milkweed.Sometimes I wish I could walk up, and cling directly to sheer faced walls as easily as these critters do!
No scorpions observed yet, but there's no shortage of giant mutant crickets (their main food source). Consultations with the Orkin pest control guy who was spraying a neighbor's home 2 doors down last year indicated that he'd seen one scorpion in the neighborhood, the year the subdivision was built (from former farm land), and none thereafter. You get some of the best information from pest control guys - as I did in October 2006, after Katrina hit New Orleans in the abandoned northern quadrant of the city (post coming tomorrow on that).
In Reno we have many creatures that roam the house and yard.
ReplyDeleteLots of different types of lizards are found in the yard during the warm months. Audrey used to like catching them.
I found a scorpion in my bathroom sink a couple years ago. It fell in during the night and couldn't climb out. Also cleaning out my closet last year I came across a small one dead under a heap of clothes. These were small non-lethal fellas, but I bet their sting is like a wasp's. During the summer if you walk the nearby paths with a flashlight at night you will see many of them.
Snakes of course too. Mostly harmless but dead rattlers are found on the road every once in a while. Haven't seen one alive yet. I worry about Brodie wandering through the sagebrush sometimes.
Black widows are common, even in the garage.
The weirdest thing I saw one night walking was a big-ass "vinagaroon". Google that and see what it is - yikes.
The damn rabbits are the most destructive. They breed like... well, rabbits and eat my grass incessantly and shit everywhere. Brodie could do a better job of deterrent.