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A Dangerous Place?
Yes, it can be. There are many things in the desert that demand respect to include reptiles, insects, animals and the desert itself. You and your family need to know about these dangers, how to live with them and how to avoid them.
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Quite frankly there are a ton of bugs here! The good news is that there are very few mosquitoes. But, there is just about everything else. Beetles, ants, flies, you name it. We need to identify the ones that can be a danger to you and children. There are four critters we'll cover here: black widow and desert recluse spiders, the scorpion and the tarantula.
The above picture is a female black widow spider found living right outside our garage inside a dark, cool Coleman camp stove. The "hour-glass" on her belly is an easy way to teach children about the danger. A view from above will show a very shiny black spider, up to about an inch and a half long. The male of the species is significantly smaller than the female, has stripes and/or spots on his back and is completely harmless. Males are rarely seen as they are eaten by the female after mating. Immature black widows, both male and female, are also harmless.
Identifying a black widow's web is fairly simple. It has no symmetry at all and is spun erratically. The strands are much stronger than other arachnids, noticeably stronger. A good thing to remember is the stronger the web the more dangerous the spider might be.
They choose poorly lit but relatively open places to live. Under the garage workbench, under rocks and ledges, in and under debris and the like are areas they prefer. Winter can force the spider to migrate in-doors to find heat and food.
Female black widows are many times more venomous than are rattlesnakes. But luckily very little venom is injected during a bite. Consequently black widow bites are very rarely fatal. The bite is often painless and can go unnoticed by the victim. Symptoms include alternating dry-mouth and salivation, abdominal pain, abnormal sweating and swelling of the eye lids. Children and elderly adults are susceptible to more serious bites for obvious reasons. If a black widow bite is even suspected wash the area with soap and water, apply a cool compress to slow spreading and get medical attention.
The best defense against the black widow, and all spiders for that matter, is to understand that they are here, they want nothing to do with you and that they are harmless if left alone. By maintaining a clean house, garage and yard you will greatly reduce the spider population as there will be fewer places for them to live. Be alert when working around areas where they may be, make sure your children know to keep away from them and you won't have any problems. They're a wonderful insect control feature built naturally into the desert environment.
Should you encounter this spider in an area where you need access to, capture it in a jar or coffee can and re-locate it to a more remote location where it won't be disturbed again. There is no need to kill the creature! Move her out of your way and let her go do her thing. In the unlikely event that someone does get bit ensure you have emergency medical and Poison Center telephone numbers readily available. After the bite is not the time to dig through a phone book.
If you have lived in the midwest you'll undoubtedly recognize the name. The recluse native to
our California desert is the desert recluse and is rare. Incorrectly identified by most
as the "brown" recluse, this spider is burdened with an unfortunate and unwarranted reputation as
being active and gravely dangerous. You won't be here a week and you'll hear a "horror story" about someone
who was bitten by the recluse spider. The vast majority of recluse encounter "stories" are just
that. As their name implies these spider are very reclusive and are very rarely seen.
The spider is nocturnal and stays hidden under rocks and in dark places during the day.
At night the spider becomes active to hunt. The recluse does
not spin a web like many arachnoids. Rather, it uses its silk to build a concealed daytime
home. Should the spider find itself "in the open" when the sun begins coming up it will search
out a dark area to hide in. This may be a pair of shoes or a wad of clothes on the floor.
Avoiding the recluse is similar to avoiding the black widow. If you fail to give them an environment
to live in they will move on. Keeping the home, the yard and the garage/storage rooms clean
is the key.
Of course the spider is venomous and you should always have emergency phone numbers in the open,
just in case. If you would like more information about the desert recluse spider please visit this
University of California
website.
Like everything else, the scorpion is afraid of us and will not track you down. By accidentally
intruding in his space is the only way to get stung by this guy. And while all scorpions are
venomous, getting stung by one does not necessarily mean that you'll be injected. Often times
a scorpion will inflict a "dry-sting," meaning that no venom is inserted during the sting. This
doesn't mean that it won't hurt--it will! And generally speaking a scorpion's sting is not
deadly to humans nor even close. This does not mean that you could skip a visit to some
medical attention should you get stung. Most times it will just hurt and you will react much
like getting stung by a bee.
Scorpions are interesting as they are easily seen at night, when they're active. Well, they're
easily seen provided you have a blacklight. All scorpions are fluoresce under ultraviolet light,
meaning they glow green. In the open desert here, especially near Desert Hot Springs in the
sand dunes, you can often see plenty of them scurrying around at night.
But like everything else here just be aware and be prepared. They won't find you unless you
find them!
Many people keep tarantulas as pets. Yes, it is a "big hairy spider" but it
really doesn't go any further than that. They are relatively gentle creatures. The ones
that you may experience here are about 3" across and usually dark in color. They will avoid
contact with people.
The tarantula is not venomous--they use their fangs
to inject a digestive fluid into their captured prey. They are not aggressive towards
humans so getting bit by one in the wild would mean that it was either cornered and threatened
or was in danger of you crushing it. Should you get bit you'll have two painful little
puncture wounds.
Tarantulas can be absolutely terrifying to small children. Chances are very good that
they will see at least one during your tour. I'd recommend a
visit to one of our desert zoos or museums so that your family can see one up close.
Seeing a tarantula behind glass will allow them to safely
get over the initial shock.
Like more information or want to see some great tarantula photos? Please
