Well, that ain't the worst of it! There is a gator in Lewisville Lake......so swimming in there ain't recommended! Spotted and confirmed, in the Little Elm area. (Another offcast from a Florida vacation, I would guess.)

I thought someone killed that gator, didn't they? I remember hearing something about it, and they were going to charge the person with poaching. I'll be that was a first - poaching in Lewisville Lake.

Sally

Dena, said there are gators in Lake Conroe,

After the bad storm last year there were 2 leeches in our front yard.

Creepy, lol

I am fairly tolerant of most animals and bugs. Ants,spiders,scorpions,raccons,opossums..etc... However, Roaches,flies,chiggers and Leeches are too digusting! Ewwww about them washing up on your lawn! You have my sympathy! I wonder if they're in your pond?
Did you know there are medical leeches and maggots? They'd have to knock me out for that procedure!
I wouldn't mind having jellyfish around but gators are bit much! PJ

There is a man in our church that was loosing his foot because of an infection. They had tried everything to save it and as a last resort they went the maggot route. Took about 2 months of treatment but they saved his foot. Interesting procedure.
Patsy

Patsy, that is wonderful. We've seen stories on the Discovery Channel about that procedure and have read about using leeches in Medical procedures, it is very interesting.
My DS always says when I kill a grasshopper, " What if their spit is a cure for cancer?"
I do think everything has a use but until it is discovered, the grasshopers are history.

There have been sightings of 2 gators in Lake Conroe that I'm aware of..
But jonlana..me too..I was cleaning the bed closest to the like just last week..and I thought...eww slug...Nooo not a slug a leech...it was real rubbery (word?..lol)..
Since I've seen snakes in the lake a few years back I do NOT swim in it..Im one of them peoples petrified of snakes...So now a leech too??..Nope no swimmin in there for this girl..ever!!!..LOL
Dena

I know there are medical uses for maggots, but I'm sorry - I think I'd rather loose my foot. Eons ago when I worked for a veterinarian, I saw a dog die from a maggot infection. (very negletful owners that didn't bother cleaning up a messy bottom on their poor, matted, poodle.) They literally ate this poor dog to death. It was awful, sad, and, well, I'm out of words to describe it. No, I couldn't do maggots. Uh uh. No way.

Sally

Me too Sally! I helped clean the poor dog. He was a big animal and lived. I was a bit freaked out tho. I've also seen someone lose a foot to infection. They'd still have to give me something to make me unaware!
Grasshoppers are the cure for a hungry chicken at my house!LOl!
I love snakes. They can bite and if they're venomous can kill you. However, something sucking my blood is just too icky! Give me the heebs to think about it! I don't think I'd want to me lunch either.I've had a large lizard bite me and it was no fun.
Isn't life facinating tho? I'd really like some freshwater Jellyfish! That would be really neat! PJ

PJ, have you any experience with jellyfish? They are disgusting creatures. YUK!

As for snakes and alligators,I am never going to swim in a lake or a river again. Do you know that big sharks have been known to swim up the rivers for miles, and have killed many unsuspecting people? I expect alligators everywhere down here. They grow them big!

It seems like this rascal was caught over close to West Columbia, not far from here. Cute, ain't he? LOL

Janie

OMG!!! Look at the head and tail on that guy, ooooooh
Janie, I don't blame you for not going in the water, scary

There was an alligator pulled out of a pond near us in Bedias. I do seeing recall a BIG one in lake Conroe several years ago when we were in a stumpy area Bass fishing. We were grateful our boat was bigger then he was!

We had to golf around them at the City Park course in New Orleans. The babies were really cute! The d*** ducks would jack our golf balls and run off. They seemed to know we wouldn't go into Momma Gator territory!

Three of us sat in the creek on a friends ranch a couple of years ago. We were so excited because the creek is always dry. Rachel said "look at that weird bug", I said " I hope there aren't leeches in here." It was nice, cool, shady & all of a sudden Nancy leaped up & pulled off her underwear (did I mention we were about 3/4 naked?). She started yelling, the dog, thinking she wanted to play, started leaping about. Nancy stopped, bent over at the waist trying to get off her drawers & yelled "QUIT BITTING MY BUTT! I'M HAVING A CRISIS!!" to the dog.
Rachel & I went into new fits of laughter. All of a sudden Rachel jumped up, started screaming, whipped off her underwear & started beating Nancy with them. I was rolling in the mud, the dog was hysterical thinking what fun!
Nancy looked at me & said I don't know why you're laughing they are on you too. I still thought they were acting. When I looked down and saw this leech trying to screw itself into my leg!!

I jumped up, pulled off MY pants and started jumping and yelling. Then all three of us took off butt-naked running through the pasture with the dog leaping from person to person. Nancy put her pants over her shoulder & a leech crawled on her face which sent us into new waves of panic! We finally reached the house, screaming, yelling, naked & totally freaked out.

Then Rachel yelled to check the others & we went to new panic!

Luckily the men who were supposed to mow the fields that day had been delayed. They probably would have run for the hills when 3 naked old ladies came screaming out of the woods pursued by a crazed dog!!

We've never been back to the creek.

Tally HO!

Of course I do, dude! LOL. I was a surfer back in my teens and twenties. I think they're really neat! Bizzilions of wee animal thingies floating under a big ole umbrella. The freshwater ones don't sting people either.
Bullsharks swim way upstream from the Atlantic Ocean. Usually during heavy rainfall. They've been seen in the Mississippi about 1500 miles upstream. I'd be more worried about the alligators myself. Shark VS Alligator! I'd put money on the Gator. They're more adapted to fresh water.
Ewwww...... Leeches in the underwear would totally freak me out! Blahheehehheheheheha! Crawling on my face I'd hebegeebie to death!
Golfball stealing ducks. Who've thought? Those ducks were either really stupid(Is this my egg?)Or really smart and funny(let's throw all their golf balls in the lake and confuse that d*mn alligator!) pj

I don't even want to think about when I was young and used to swim in lakes and rivers. Must've been crazy!!!

Isn't that a scary gator?

After a lifetime of camping-avoidance, a conversation got my DH going again on the subject. I'm going to print out this post, and hang it on the fridge.

I don't sleep on the ground, I don't walk under trees without a hat, and I don't turn my back on the creek - there is always something out there to get you.

I certainly wouldn't lay down in my undies like a big pink buffet.

Before I married DH, he wanted me to swim in a lake in Oklahoma. I said NO - the fish will bite me. He thinks I'm a lunatic. So, I got in briefly before a perch swam up and bit me on a freckle, bringing blood. He never questioned me on that again.

LOL! "big pink buffet!" You're so funny! PJ

I don't know, when we go camping in Colorado, there are bears, I think I would rather deal with fish and leeches, LOL

Not to burst your bubble missy but TX is full of deer. Deer are bear food. There are bear here too!Ok so they're in East TX but it still counts! PJ

LOL, I don't camp in East Texas, lol

What East Texas bears aren't good enough for ya?
First it's Arizona sweet tea now it's Colorado Bears! Sheesh! PJ

Well, if East TX got down to the 30's or 40's at night in August I would go camping there, lol

I like camping in a cabin with showers and clean sheets.

There are a couple of "Bares" inside the cabin that'll scare ya pretty good, lol

BRRRR!!! Are you collecting ice to bring back? I actually miss the moutains around my house in the desert. They were created by a huge fault line(San Andreas fault),full of cats and bears but it was perfect at night. 70's,light breeze,very few mosquitos, and hardly any humidity.
Carolann might have the right idea. Bears and cats have a much harder time with cabins than yummy human burrito tents and bags. I like campers with a fridge and stove myself. PJ

We have 2 neighbors up there that would argue that, lol
When they first built their cabin, a bear got in.
It was weird, all of our neighbors with dogs, they haven't bothered them, eventhough that wouldn't be a fight with a hungry bear, I think they know there are other places, why bother.
The drought years are the worst up there.
It's so dry, you can work on the property all day and not break one bead of sweat.

If I didn't love Texas so much I would move there but DH couldn't/wouldn't take the winters, lol

When I'm up in MN visiting I always bring salt with, just in case we get leeches while swimming. Pour the salt on them and they shrivel up and fall off & die.
Leeches scare me, but not as much as TX water snakes do. I've only seen 1 this year. At my old house I'd see several every week.I think my part of the lake has too much activity, so they go somewhere else.
I know they are probably harmless, but they look like water moccasins and some might be water moccasins.

Dogs can antagonize a bear enough to run it off. I'm totally guessing (theory or speculation for scientists)dogs are decendants of Wolves and smell like them. If an animal,even a bear,threatens the pack they will attack it from all sides. Wolves use a flanking strategy to hamstring animals while the others keep it fighting in front. I don't think I'd camp without a full sized dog. Even if I had to borrow one! I don't think a tea cup poodle would work. Colorado is beautiful. All that prime skiing. I wouldn't mind living close to the mountain but not on it. Your DH is right. That is too cold! Then again, ask me in a week when my shoes melt to the sidewalk. LOL!
No leeches! I-C-K-Y!!!!!
Everyone has snakes but me! I'm cursed! What? Do they like to scare people and I'm not afraid of them? Waaa. PJ

If they are in the water, they stand a good chance of being a water moccasin. They are all poisonus, just the Cottonmouth is more so, and also more aggressive. I think they just run around looking for someone to bite.

I am with Txgardenlady. I don't like to camp, nor get in water that is not my bathtub. I even check the hottub, to be sure there are no creatures there. It is outside, after all!

We used to go to Ink's Lake and camp. Cabins, hot showers, electricity. It was great, as camping goes. My kind of camping.

Those alligators are everywhere. Even as big as he is/was, he is not uncommon. The record was taked from an irrigation ditch behind my house when I lived outside Port Lavaca. They love those rice fields.

And the place at Muldoon has 2 big cats on it. Also coyotes. And LOTS of water moccaisns!

Nope, I like it at home best.

Janie

Dogs are not descended from wolves. While that is a rather nice theory, it has been disproven. Wolves are a separate breed of canine. The wolf is almost as social a creature as humans, and behave much differently than dogs.

On the upside, there has never been a recorded account of an actual attack on humans by wolves, anywhere in the world, in spite of the fear of them by humans.....and I assure you that is NOT the case with dogs!!!

There are animals that can be dangerous to humans, of which, bears, cougars, and the larger brutes such as bison (buffalo) or moose, who can be rather cantankerous, when provoked, are good examples.

Naturally, the bears are most dangerous, and you should give them wide berth whenever possible, although in some areas of the country, cohabitating with black bears, has been found feasible.

Cougars are most dangerous to children, rather than adults. An adult human with arms outstretched, looks to be too formidable a size creature, for cougars, and they will usually run off, if you make yourself appear larger and potentially dangerous. Of course, that doesn't mean you should put yourself in harm's way.

Snakes, and other poisonous critters, like gila monsters, are most dangerous to man, because man tends to not be aware of his surroundings, very much, in today's world, and blunders into contact, which might have been avoided.

There are some snakes that will actually chase humans, when encountered, so while most snakes are not actually dangerous, it is advisable to avoid them, if you are not well versed on species, as some can give you a painful bite, even when not poisonous. Those can also be infectious.

Some tiny spiders are generally most dangerous, with Black Widows, and Brown Recluse, being the most dangerous of those, in the US.

The next most dangerous thing to humans in the US, is probably the alligator and / or crocodile, with the alligator most common. These are almost always going to be around bodies of water, so it is good to be cautious around any bodies of water, whether they exist in known gator country or not. (They have been turning up in very odd places.)

Obviously, rainforest countries have the most species of things dangerous to man, including some pretty nasty snakes, and some rather exotic spiders, and other insects, in addition to larger predators.

Of course there are many animals in Africa, that are dangerous to man, either through sheer size, or as predators.

The easiest way to avoid problems in the wild, is to know the other inhabitants of the planet, especially those indigenous to the area you will be in, very well. You should know their habits and temperaments, so that you can avoid unpleasant confrontations with them.

I have lived in many places, and perhaps the most dangerous of those has been the wilds of American cities, where the most dangerous of all predators....humans....live.

Other than that, my sojourns into the Everglades, and Big Cypress Swamp, were probably the most dangerous, and after that, the deserts of the Southwest and California.

Those dangers were primarily gators, and snakes. I did have an 11 foot gator cross the path behind me, near Royal Palm Ranger Station, in the Everglades, once. However, he was not too interested in me, and I gave him a wide berth.

I also have had gators come out of canals, around Miami, near me, but I always made sure I stayed away from the edges of the canals, so I had some safety space, there. It can be a little disconcerting to have a gator hissing at you, from a few feet away. You would be hard pressed to outrun one, but they usually feed in the water, so keeping away from the edge of the water, will usually give you a safety margin.

Yet, I have been ten miles in, on foot, in the dry season, without any incidents.

When going into the wild, anywhere, you need to understand the creatures there, and take the necessary measures to stay safe. Be aware that many of the predatory creatures hunt at night, so it is much more dangerous to move about in darkness. Naturally, food needs to be stored well out of reach and well away from your encampments, in bear country.

Don't let your fears of the wild keep you from being one with nature, though. The other creatures of the world have equal rights, to be there, and if you conduct yourself properly, you can enjoy their company, and still remain safe. If you think more in terms of sharing space, rather than demanding it all for yourself, you will find you will get along well with the other inhabitants of the wild.

Remember.....the most dangerous predator on the planet.....is the human.....and one to be very cautious with.

Moose, way scary to me, when DH was younger he moved to Alaska to work in an art museum for college credit and a few friends decided to follow him there. After moving back and our marriage we have been to visit the friends that stayed there. We have run into moose in just about situation, lol
Humans DO NOT scare them, it doesn't matter how large you try to make your appearance, lol
Bear on the other hand we have had them roam somewhat close to us but not bother us because we always try our best NOT to make ourselves appetizing, lol
That includes, unscented everything while camping and I don't even brush my teeth with toothpaste, just baking soda while camping.
I think it was about 20 yrs ago we used our regular shampoos and such and kept them locked up in our hard shell car top carrier and a bear broke into it, last time we had sweet smelling anything out there. lol

Janie....you make me feel better, I check out in and around the hot tub before getting in. I've never seen a snake at this house or the last one near my hot tub, so why do I need to do this? I have snake be gone even sprinkled under my hot tub. Snakes are one of the few critters that really scare me. My puppy Harley guards me from the big toads I see at night! He gets between me & the toad and barks his head off till I get out of the hot tub & move the toad to a flower bed.

I'm sure glad we don't have leeches or jelly fish in our lake. The snakes and the Gar are scarey enough. I was on a jet ski last year and a big gar swam along side me next to my foot for a few seconds, thats when I learned how fast that jet ski could really go!