Once when I was a kid in AZ our handyman killed a rattlesnake in front of our barn by decapitating it with a shovel. I kept the rattle for years and it was always a big hit at show and tell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Now we do encounter snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, pack rats, etc. in our yard on a weekly basis.

NP but could you elaborate on this? Like you actually see tarantulas scuttling about ONCE A WEEK?!?

PP. tarantulas have a season, and when they are in season we do see them frequently. Sometimes they climb on our windowscreens.

I swear there was a time when this would have killed me but it’s not a big deal anymore.

We get dead pack rats in our pool at least twice a month

As an Arizona resident the things I hate to see the most are the Sonoran/Desert centipedes. Ugh shudder. Not sure if they are in New Mexico.

Anonymous wrote:

Now we do encounter snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, pack rats, etc. in our yard on a weekly basis.

NP but could you elaborate on this? Like you actually see tarantulas scuttling about ONCE A WEEK?!?

Live in AZ and see scorpions frequently but a pest service keeps them at bay. Often fish them out of the pool. Rarely see snakes, saw a tarantula in the pool skimmer once. It can depend on the specific area but this isn't really a problem in the home, maybe just the yard. Used to live in TX and scorpions and snakes were there too but not really in the house either.

We live in Arizona and we’ve never had any of those inside our house. We live in a newish, custom build home out in the desert.

Now we do encounter snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, pack rats, etc. in our yard on a weekly basis.

We have also had small lizards inside our house on occasion.

We had a giant black snake on our back patio a week ago….it freaked me out but our snake guy said it was a king snake and that we should roll out the red carpet for him because he eats rodents.

Rattlesnakes scare me and we’ve had those in our backyard from time to time.
The weird thing is I used to be the biggest baby about all of these things and the desert has been wonderful exposure therapy for me. After 2 years here, I’m not really bothered by these things at all anymore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes this is a real possibility. My IL's used to live in Tucson and had issues with all 3 getting into the house. I live in SoCal and we have snake issues.

No, you have mice issues.

Not true. You clearly don't know southern California, where snakes are prevalent.

Maybe PP meant the mouse in Anaheim?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes this is a real possibility. My IL's used to live in Tucson and had issues with all 3 getting into the house. I live in SoCal and we have snake issues.

No, you have mice issues.

Not true. You clearly don't know southern California, where snakes are prevalent.

Anonymous wrote:Looking at a vacation home in New Mexico. How serious is the possibility of encountering a snake, scorpion or tarantula in one’s home there? How do people live with this?

OP--do you know that DC, MD and VA all have native copperheads, cottonmouths and timber rattlers? That we have native black widow spiders? All of these are native and poisonous enough to seriously sicken or kill humans.

How do you live with these around?

Anonymous wrote:Yes this is a real possibility. My IL's used to live in Tucson and had issues with all 3 getting into the house. I live in SoCal and we have snake issues.

No, you have mice issues.

Lived in Scottsdale for 12 years, never saw snakes scorpions or tarantulas. But there were these huuuuuge ugly cockroaches. 😬

I'll take the occasional scorpion over cave crickets any day.

Yes this is a real possibility. My IL's used to live in Tucson and had issues with all 3 getting into the house. I live in SoCal and we have snake issues.

Scorpions are not uncommon. Not sure about the others.

“How do people live with this?” 😂😂

Looking at a vacation home in New Mexico. How serious is the possibility of encountering a snake, scorpion or tarantula in one’s home there? How do people live with this?