Creepy Crawlers
There was a shriek from the living room that made me bolt down the three stairs, grabbing a towel along the way for a certain clean-up of something. Thankfully, it was only my big, strong husband coming face to face with a spider. While we disagree on the size of the arachnid, as it grows an inch or two in each retelling, that spider reminded me of all the “nature” we have encountered along our journey so far. Most have been serene reminders of creation’s beauty. Peaceful deer grazing in the meadow, songbirds sharing a tune as they flitter from tree to tree, and squirrels, lots, and lots of squirrels, making use of the warm weather to gather their winter stores. (These are definitely Kaia’s favorite.) What we hadn’t thought about is all the different creepy crawlers that make their homes in other parts of the United States.
When we were back home in Minnesota, we knew all the bugs, snakes, spiders, and various wildlife as well as the seasons in which they graced us with their presence. We are getting used to ticks being perpetually present pests on our travels. On the road, there are also new critters that we are learning about. And these critters can be very dangerous. Part of my research now as we hop campground to campground is what kind of nature we could encounter in the camper or out on our walks and hikes. Locals love to regale us with tales of this venomous spider, or that venomous snake. I don’t even want to get into tales about scorpions. While fascinating, I would rather not hang out with one. In the conversation there is usually a line of “just don’t… walk in tall grass, reach in any dark area, park near a mound, look in any area that is cool, dark, and damp… etc.” So many new rules to consider. One that I am still grappling with is checking my toilet seat for spiders at public restrooms or campgrounds.
A new enemy that marched into our lives are roaches. They can be huge as we found out when we shook hands with one in the pool area of a campground. So far, they haven’t tracked us down in the camper and we haven’t left our forwarding address for them either. The advice not to have anything cardboard in our camper has been slowly heeded.
At one of our campsites, a seasonal camper came over and offered us ant killer for the red ants in the area. He had unknowingly parked his camper on a mound and found himself cohabitating for many weeks with the obnoxiously painful squatters. At another site, we were told that they found some venomous brown recluse in the lodge house. While fine if not bothered, the name still strikes fear in me. Shortly after being warned about drain flies, they decided to make a home in our camper too. My phone was overheated as I frantically searched for “the best cure for getting rid of drain flies” and worked my way through all the advice. Unfortunately, they have proved challenging to evict. Also challenging to evict are those pesky Asian Beetles! I thought we were done with them when we left Minnesota. At the end of the day, we share our totals of how many we have vacuumed up. I am sure they are marching out of hiding and crawling across our ceiling in pairs just to drive us insane.
Of course, all of these well-meaning warnings from fellow campers led me to learn more about creepy crawlers of the East Coast and South. A topic that I am not thrilled to study nor am I thrilled that my social feeds consist of lots of crazy snake and spider videos. I also realize that I am not protected by my big, strong husband as he was certain a garter snake was eyeing him hungerly on a trail and made sure I walked between him and the snake. I’m guessing James was willing to sacrifice the slow one as he glanced down to evaluate my footwear.
On the topic of snakes, there has been much talk about being vigilant for copperheads in Virginia and North Carolina, especially the babies, when we are out for hikes as they can hide really well in the leaves. Similar warnings are here in Florida about not feeding the gators or snakes. No worries there. One article I read said it was important to know how to identify a venomous snake. Let me share what I learned- you’re welcome. Venomous snakes have triangular shaped heads and elliptical pupils like cat’s eyes. Um- I am not intending to get close enough to ANY snake to gaze into its eyes. Don’t get me wrong, snakes are great for our ecosystem and have an important place in our world. I just don’t want to bump knucks with one.
It is amazing what you get use to wherever you live. We have talked to people that said they would never live in Minnesota because the mosquitoes and biting flies are so bad. I said they go away from late November to April-ish without mentioning why. For some odd reason, outdoor insects don’t care for sub-freezing temps. I guess I have that in common with them. I’ll take mosquitoes over no-see-ums any day! At least with mosquitoes you can see your target and you get satisfaction when swatting them with the electrified tennis racquet.
As we travel and spend time in other spots around this country, we will start getting used to the creepy crawlers too. I am hoping my concern for running into something venomous lowers to at least a panic state. So far so good in not getting bit by anything that could send us or Kaia to the hospital. We are doing our best to stay critter aware, prevent hitchhikers, and enjoy nature without becoming one with it. Now, where is our bug repellent
