Fire Ants

Fire Ants look very much like ordinary house or garden ants but are serious pests.  They inflict a fiery sting, which causes a small blister to form at the site of each sting after several hours. The blisters become itchy while healing and are prone to infection if broken.

Their nests can appear as dome-shaped mounds, or can also be found underneath other objects
found on the ground, such as timber, logs, rocks, bricks, etc.  If you find a nest, do not touch it!!

If they get on you, brush them off as quickly as possible:

• Apply a cold compress to relieve the swelling and pain.

• Gently wash the affected area with soap and water and leave the blister intact.

• People who are allergic to insect stings should seek medical attention immediately. On rare occasions, fire ant stings can cause severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

Asp Caterpillars

These caterpillars grow to about 1 inch long, are furry in appearance, and completely covered by thick
tan to grayish-white hairs that taper toward the back end. Among the long body hairs are shorter spines that discharge venom upon contact. The head and legs are not visible from above. The night-active adults, known as flannel moths, are rarely encountered.

Many hairy or spiny caterpillars may irritate the skin on contact, and care should be taken to avoid touching them.  The Asp Caterpillar (called the puss caterpillar outside of Texas) is especially painful.  Any contact with the Asp Caterpillar produces a painful skin rash because the spines contain venom. Hypersensitive individuals may experience a generalized systemic reaction requiring medical
attention.

Warning:  Do not handle caterpillars (larvae) with bare hands

Bobcats

Bobcats are resident in the area, and there have been numerous sightings in the ILC and along Camp Wisdom Road. The Bobcat is bigger than a domestic cat. It has small ear tufts and cheek ruffs, a dark tip covering only the top of its ‘stumpy’ tail, and a patterned and varied coat coloration. Ground fur color ranges from light grey to yellowish brown to reddish brown, and markings vary from ‘tabby’ stripes to heavy spotting. Bobcats are bold but not normally aggressive towards humans. Their preferred prey is rabbits, but they also hunt squirrels, chipmunks, rodents, and birds. Occasionally they have attacked domestic cats. They hunt both by night and day, usually at times corresponding to peak periods
of activity of rabbits.

Rat Snakes
(non-venomous)

They can be left undisturbed.  If threatened (i.e., poked or touched) they will readily defend themselves by coiling up, raising the head, opening their mouths, and striking out repeatedly at anything that gets too close. They may also vibrate their tail, which causes them to be mistaken for a rattlesnake; however, the tail is slender with no rattles.

Rat snakes can grow to several feet long. The background color of an adult Texas Rat Snake will range from shades of brown to yellow and even orange, and the blotches are much less distinguishable in adult specimens. The top of an adult’s head is slate gray to black on top and white underneath and a lighter colored body that has dark saddle-shaped blotches on the back. As the name implies, the Texas Rat Snake's primary diet is mice and rats, causing them to be commonly seen in any place inhabited by rodents - including human homes. However, if rodent prey is not readily available, they can climb quite high in a tree to get to a bird nest.

Cottonmouths (venomous)

Cottonmouths are one of Texas's largest (average 4 feet long) and most heavy-bodied snake. Markings and color of this snake are quite variable, but their color is basically dark brown with 10-15 wide, dark cross bands. The Cottonmouth is semi aquatic but may be found up to a mile from water.

Coral Snakes (venomous)

Coral snakes are generally small and slender. They are marked by a pattern of black, yellow, and red adjacent bands.  A Boy Scout rhyme helps differentiate the coral snake from a colorful non venomous snake also found in this area: “Red and yellow, kills a
fellow! Red and black, friendly Jacks!”

Brown Recluse

Adult brown recluse spiders are soft-bodied, yellowish-tan to dark brown, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long and have long, delicate grayish to dark brown legs covered with short dark hairs. The leg span is about the size of a half dollar. Distinguishing characteristics are the presence of three pairs of eyes arranged in a semicircle on the forepart of the head and a violin-shaped, dark marking immediately behind the semicircle of eyes with the neck of the violin pointing towards the abdomen. This spider is most active at night when it comes out in search of food consisting of cockroaches and other small insects.

Outdoors, the spider may be found in sheltered corners among debris, in wood piles, under loose bark and stones, in old barns, storage sheds, and garages.  Indoors, they may be in undisturbed places under furniture, appliances and carpets, or in corners and crevices. Some have been found in stored clothing and towels, old shoes, and on the undersides of tables and chairs.

A Brown Recluse bite may go unnoticed for 6-8 hours, before a reddening, swelling, and blistering of
the wound starts to appear. The occurrence of additional symptoms of a recluse bite will depend upon the amount of venom injected by the spider. A severe bite can produce an area of dead skin tissue that may require surgery.

Black Widow

Black widows are found in every state except Alaska. They are found in grass, under stones, beneath pieces of wood, in rodent burrows, or in any protected cavities: females are 1-2" in diameter (males much smaller). The female black widow is shiny black with a red hourglass on abdomen;    however this does not always have to be the case. The red hourglass could take the form of a red dot or many variations of shapes.

The black widow is common in fields, woodpiles, and unoccupied dwellings. The initial bite may be very painful, but might go unnoticed. The surface of the skin may display two red bite wounds, one, or none. The worst pain is in the first 8-12 hours; symptoms may continue for several days.  It may produce muscle spasm and often mimics that of a severe abdominal problem (i.e., acute appendicitis, or ruptured
ovarian cyst).

To identify the bite, look for two small red spots and local swelling. Individual may develop abdominal pain, a rise in blood pressure, nausea, profuse sweating, leg cramps, tremors, loss of muscle tone, vomiting, and difficulty in breathing and lying down.