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| *Travel Tips>>>Phoenix Travel Tips |
What are some of dangerous animals, insects, in Arizona? |
Travel Info My family and I would love to move to the northern part of AZ. Just curious to find out what are some "creatures" I should expect. I heard they are a lot of scorpions. What else...? Travel Tips I live in Phoenix, but I grew up in Flagstaff in Northern Arizona and still go there frequently. Because Flagstaff (and Prescott) are at high elevations and cool much of the year, there are generally much fewer insects that in the desert regions. You do find Black Window and Brown Recluse spiders and bees and hornets everywhere in the state, but they are no more common than elsewhere in the country. Scorpions are very rare in the north. Rattlesnakes generally prefer warmer regions and are rare in the high country of the north. Mountain lions and bobcats generally stay away from people and prefer more rocky terrain. There are bears in northern Arizona and on a few occasions (when food is scare) one has come into the edge of town in Flagstaff or Prescott and sometimes has to be captured and relocated, but this is also very rare. In fact, I never saw a single bear, mountain lion, bobcat or rattlesnake around town in over 15 years of living there. Despite being an avid hiker and camper, I have only seen mountain lions twice and a bear once in all of Arizona. Coyotes are all over the state, but there is no record of them ever attacking anyone. In the lower desert regions (Phoenix and Tucson), rattlesnakes and scorpions are fairly common in any open desert area (especially rock areas or dry washes). Gila Monsters (large colorful poisonous lizards) also live in the desert areas, but they are very rare creatures that live most of their lives underground and being very slow are not much of a danger unless you try to pick it up. In the Phoenix area, there are some sections of town where scorpions can be a problem in residential areas (ie: people sometimes find them in their house). However, I have lived in my current house near South Mountain for 3 years and have never found one. Overall, northern Arizona is pretty safe from an animal standpoint. Non-dangerous animals that you ARE likely to see in the Flagstaff/Prescott/Payson area include horned lizards (aka 'horny toads'), deer, elk, the previously mentioned garter snakes, some bull snakes, coyotes, bats, jack-rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks. You also sometimes see tarantula spiders (especially in the fall when the male migration), but these are slow and harmless to people (despite the scary appearance). Animal-wise northern Arizona is pretty safe - don't even really have many mosquitos or ticks. The AZ Fish and Game Dept website has good info on some AZ species and recommendations about dealing with the ones that most people are concerned about. Source(s): Life-long Arizona resident and frequent hiker and camper. Grew up in Flagstaff and now live in Phoenix. Good books on AZ wildlife: "Venomous Animals of Arizona" by Robert Smith "The Nature of Arizona" (Waterford Field Guides) "Birds of Arizona" by Stan Tekiela "Animal Tracks of Arizona and New Mexico" by Ian Sheldon Arizona Fish and Game website: http://www.azgfd.gov/ Other Travel Tips One creature to expect is drive-by shooters. No joke. go to a bookstore and check it out, you know look at it, take notes and/or buy the book- Tread Lightly: Venomous and Poisonous Animals of the Southwest Northern AZ has bears, bobcats, cougars (mountain lions), but you don't see those very often. There are dozens of varieties of rattlesnakes. Black widows and brown recluse spiders, same as just about anywhere else. Scorpions are more in the desert areas. They like to hide under wood, so just be careful. You can find them with a blacklight if you're worried. They glow - it's kinda cool. Scorpions,black widows,rattle snakes and illegals. I am actually leaving Az. after living here for many years due to the invasion of the border jumpers. We are now the 3rd most dangerous state to live in. Don't worry about bug spray,just buy a gun. Rarely are there any Scorpions in Northern areas of Arizona due to colder weather. However, beware of rattle snakes especially when the weather gets warmer. Bears can be a problem, but usually not around Prescott or Flagstaff (within the city). Bobcats and maybe even some occasional Coyotes are often sighted. |
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