5 Critters In West Texas That Can Make You Really Miserable And Possibly Kill You
Let's get over the crazy headline, most of these can kill you only if you leave them unattended. Even then, you could be in for a lot of pain and/or medical treatments.
With most of these critters and creatures, your biggest problems come if you're allergic. You could experience shortness of breath (anaphylaxis), hives and other skin reactions. If you don't get treatment, things could go from bad to worse.
These are in no certain order as it appears no one tracks these statistics publically. So let's get underway with this list of natures worse in West Texas.
- 1
Brown Recluse Spider
Have you seen the movie Alien? You know how it's saliva is acid and eats away at you? An untreated brown recluse bite can eat away at skin and muscle. It's called necrosis and it kicks in about a week after the bite. You could end up needing to have that skin removed and may also need skin grafts.
- 2
FIre Ants
Fire Ants suck. One bite will make you uncomfortable, but I've never had just one bite. You are liable to have a dozen or so at a time. These little punks love to gang up on you and just sting the heck out of you. You'll get little white pustules and if you scratch them too much you could get a serious infection.
- 3
Rattlesnakes
You kind of have to go out of your way to get bitten by a rattlesnake, but accidents happen. You're pretty much safe inside of the city limits but things can get a tiny bit dicey in the more remote areas. Notice how I wrote, "pretty much". If you remember, one West Texas family actually found a rattlesnake in their toilet.
- 4
Black Widow Spiders
In Lubbock we have the "Western Black Widow" which is known for it's gun belt and cowboy hat. Okay, that's not true. I think everyone here has seen a black widow with it's trademark shiny black body and red hourglass marking. Watch out for these suckers in woodpiles, slightly shaded and mostly dry areas.
- 5
Yellowjackets
I have been stung by Yellowjackets 12 times in Lubbock and once in Austin. I was stung so many times in such a short period of time that I got a tattoo of one. After I paid tribute with that tattoo, I have not been stung again. Yes, it's a strange story, but it's true.
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