Hacker News Reader

Comment by alsetmusic | Hacker News Reader

My sis-in-law had a necrotic bite from a brown recluse that nearly required surgery to stop the decay. This was in the Midwest. One of the happiest points of moving to CA is not finding them on my pillow. Creepy little creatures. I haven’t met anyone in 16y of life in CA that has heard of them.

View on HN

> One of the happiest points of moving to CA is not finding them on my pillow.

Christ this thread is seriously nightmare fuel for someone who grew up in a country where literally no dangerous wildlife exists. I cannot imagine dealing with deadly animals on my pillow.

Where is the place with no dangerous wildlife?

The UK?

What about the Hounds of the Baskervilles?

Uncommon although might run into a speckled band here or there.

We have bees and wasps, which cause several deaths per year:

"Estimates of the prevalence of anaphylaxis vary widely. In 2000, it was estimated that 25% of all UK deaths from anaphylaxis were due to reactions to hymenoptera stings. Every year in the UK there are 2–9 deaths due to anaphylaxis from bee or wasp stings."

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta246/documents/venom-anaph...

UK is not entirely safe to people with arachnophobia, as a lad in Sommerset could explain you when in 2005 had a brief but painful encounter with the so called most venomous species of Spider in the world, inside his kitchen.

Ladies, Gentlemen, specially for you, vegan organic food lovers: the wonderful, strong and always elegant Brazilian Wandering Spider.

Peekaboo!: https://www.visitemosmisiones.com/noticias/wp-content/upload...

The mid-Atlantic is pretty good about nature not killing you. I grew up in suburban Philly — the only wildlife really to worry about were deer (and deer ticks). Every few years there would be a bear sighting, or a tree branch falling on someone’s head while out for a run, but if you’re inland, hurricanes aren’t a problem, you don’t really get snow that can’t be dealt with, no earthquakes, volcanos, wildfires, etc.

Central Minnesota is basicaly dangerous wildlife free if you except disease-carrying ticks (and now maybe the mosquitos?) and don't consider non-predators dangerous. I imagine vast swaths of Iowa and eastern Nebraska are similar. Maybe the Dakotas too although I suspect there are a ton of coyotes there. Minnesota has two venomous snakes, black beers, grey wolves, coyotes, and the northern black widow, but none of these were part of my experience growing up. The snakes are confined to the south-eastern tip of the state. Most of the other predators are found in the north. Only one person I knew had ever even claimed to see a black widow, and it was a child and it was at her parents cabin in who-knows-where. Even when we went camping, Dad warned us about 'kitties' (read: skunks), not dangerous predators.

(Northern) Minnesotan here. Don't forget moose! I'd much rather see a black bear in the woods (and I have, several times, even a mama with her cub) than a moose. They will stomp you to death, sometimes just for fun.

Oh yeah. I forgot the smaller wild cats too. I think moose are probably the scariest animal Minnesota has outside the zoos. Maybe deer or cows if you're driving...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com