360 Spiders and Scorpions in Le Marche

We've just made the move too, this is my 2nd day here. As far as I am aware the scorpions bite is little more than a bee sting. I have been visiting many years and have never be even nearly bitten by one though.

Hi

Although I am in Umbria, nearer Tuscany than Le Marche, the insect population is much the same I think!

I have been stung by a scorpion, which was lurking under a stone I moved while gardening. I had heard all sorts of dire tales and so immediately sat down to await my grisly fate and ... niente! Nothing at all happened and it hardly hurt at all either, so I wouldn't worry.

The things you do have to be careful of are hornets, which can give a very nasty sting. They look like giant wasps and my husband was stung recently, but luckily we had two friends on site who gave him antihistamine and ibuprofen and cream within about 30 seconds and so apart from the pain and shock he was fine.

Trick with scorpions is the thicker the tail the more poisonous the scorpion (or so we were taught).

Some books on relocating to Italy suggest that you keep antivenom for vipers on site but I have not come across any recommendation for scorpions.

Other things we were taught as kids was to knock shoes against the ground before putting them on, and not to leave clothes on the floor - scorpions like dark places and will crawl into shoes or clothes if they are convenient.

Funnily enough I just got bitten by something much smaller this morning, A Tick (Or Zecca at there called here).

My Sardinian partner went a little nuts saying it was really bad as they can give you some sort of infection and insisted I go to the hospital.

The doctor basically said it was probably fine and just to look out for a rash and high temperature during the day and only then would they give me something for it.

Bloody hard bugs to kill though.

Errggg!

[QUOTE=WiredEyes]Funnily enough I just got bitten by something much smaller this morning, A Tick (Or Zecca at there called here).

My Sardinian partner went a little nuts saying it was really bad as they can give you some sort of infection and insisted I go to the hospital.

The doctor basically said it was probably fine and just to look out for a rash and high temperature during the day and only then would they give me something for it.

Bloody hard bugs to kill though.

Errggg![/QUOTE]

Tick fever! Only good thing about it is if you have it once you build up a degree of immunity.

Best way to encourage a tick to dislodge if it is attached to you is to light a fire under its backside - literally - use a match or a lighter and they detach pretty quickly. Rubbing alcohol also works. If you just pull them off you run the risk of detaching the head from the body and this can then prove much harder to get out.

Never thought Italy would have the same crawlies as we had back home...

Sano, what if the tick is biting your... NO, don't, my eyes are watering at the thought :eek:
a more gentle way of releasing them is to coat them with vaseline, petroleum jelly, they breathe through their rear ends, if you stop them breathing they back out quickly. if you have to remove them forcibly, a twist anti clockwise normally helps the head come out.
Errrrr, I've gone all itchy now..........

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]Sano, what if the tick is biting your... NO, don't, my eyes are watering at the thought :eek:
a more gentle way of releasing them is to coat them with vaseline, petroleum jelly, they breathe through their rear ends, if you stop them breathing they back out quickly. if you have to remove them forcibly, a twist anti clockwise normally helps the head come out.
Errrrr, I've gone all itchy now..........[/QUOTE]

I used to be scared half to death by the blighters, and as luck would have it our hometown seemed to be full of them thanks to all the horses and cattle on the surrounding farms. We used to get two types - the little brown ones that you had to treat as described above (though I much prefer your method) and big fat blue ones that were easily disposed of by dropping a brick on them - messy but very satisfying...

Anyone discovered cockroaches and crickets in Italy yet?

Baby scorpions I can deal with but those big black ones are so ugly and the sight of them gives me the shudders!Unless allergic, their bite is not fatal.

I am no lover of spiders tho' I tolerate those which look like 'daddy long legs' and I am constantly having to sweep away. In recent years though I have seen an influx of big, horrible (to me) juicy spiders in the UK.

We would notice hornets from time to time which Fiona mentioned with their yellow jackets and which look like big wasps.Their 'buzz' is a bit louder and is recognisable after a while.Their sting is not nice!As a child my Sister stood on a hornets' nest - ouch!!

I must say I enjoy watching the lizards as they bask in the sunshine and they are so vigilant and crafty.

The lights given off by glowworms are a pretty sight on a dark evening too.

BUT - its only a few years ago that my Sister had the most unwelcome of guests--
The back door was open but Angela barefoot was in the dining room next door playing with Jolly the cat....an unfamiliar noise from the kitchen causes Angela rush in and check.At some point her eyes glance downwards and she spies nearby... a snake!
Angela who bolted back towards the door screaming at the same time, had the snake who sensed the vibrations attempting to follow.....maybe to give her a good thrashing with its tail for its quick action and movement certainly surprised her.
A short while later in answer to her distressed call my Brother arrived.The snake had curled itself into the sink beside water.Stick in hand to direct it and very calmly, David ushered it outside where.... not by him, it met its fate.
It was reckoned a mate was in the vicinity and in fact a week or so later another was seen in the garden where ...it joined the other!
I saw the latter which was thought to be the male and I can assure you it both big and long!
( THIS KIND OF SNAKE IS CALLED 'BIACCO' OR 'RAT SNAKE'

I only recall having to scream when a bat appeared in my bedroom--Dad to the rescue for both me and the trapped bat!

Have a nice day and I will be back in Italy in less than 2 weeks to re- aquaint myself anew with some of the.... creepy crawlies!
Rosemary

[QUOTE=Rosemary]Baby scorpions I can deal with but those big black ones are so ugly and the sight of them gives me the shudders!Unless allergic, their bite is not fatal.

I am no lover of spiders tho' I tolerate those which look like 'daddy long legs' and I am constantly having to sweep away. In recent years though I have seen an influx of big, horrible (to me) juicy spiders in the UK.

We would notice hornets from time to time which Fiona mentioned with their yellow jackets and which look like big wasps.Their 'buzz' is a bit louder and is recognisable after a while.Their sting is not nice!As a child my Sister stood on a hornets' nest - ouch!!

I must say I enjoy watching the lizards as they bask in the sunshine and they are so vigilant and crafty.

The lights given off by glowworms are a pretty sight on a dark evening too.

BUT - its only a few years ago that my Sister had the most unwelcome of guests--
The back door was open but Angela barefoot was in the dining room next door playing with Jolly the cat....an unfamiliar noise from the kitchen causes Angela rush in and check.At some point her eyes glance downwards and she spies nearby... a snake!
Angela who bolted back towards the door screaming at the same time, had the snake who sensed the vibrations attempting to follow.....maybe to give her a good thrashing with its tail for its quick action and movement certainly surprised her.
A short while later in answer to her distressed call my Brother arrived.The snake had curled itself into the sink beside water.Stick in hand to direct it and very calmly, David ushered it outside where.... not by him, it met its fate.
It was reckoned a mate was in the vicinity and in fact a week or so later another was seen in the garden where ...it joined the other!
I saw the latter which was thought to be the male and I can assure you it both big and long!
( THIS KIND OF SNAKE IS CALLED 'BIACCO' OR 'RAT SNAKE'

I only recall having to scream when a bat appeared in my bedroom--Dad to the rescue for both me and the trapped bat!

Have a nice day and I will be back in Italy in less than 2 weeks to re- aquaint myself anew with some of the.... creepy crawlies!
Rosemary[/QUOTE]

I am sure you will love every minute you spend in Italy - creepy crawlies or not!

With the snakes - if they happen to pay you a visit again - don't kill them, just relocate them - they do you a great service by keeping the rodent population under control.

Another useful tip - especially if you are a keen gardener - when lifting stones or wood in the garden (or any other object that is resting on the ground), lift it away from you - that way if anything undesirable is resting underneath it will jump away from you rather than at you.

In case any of you were concerned you'll be happy to know I didn't get Tick Fever. :)

[QUOTE=WiredEyes]In case any of you were concerned you'll be happy to know I didn't get Tick Fever. :)[/QUOTE]

Good to know!

our italian dog eats the scorpions ... our english dog leaves them alone.... must be in the genes.... we have hundreds running around...especially where we stack old bricks and roofing tiles.... generally i wear gloves this time of year when going to pick them up.... just to avoid the bites....

snakes are also lying around in odd places.... i think in general you will find that the bigger they are the safer they are... ie the big ones are grass snakes and wont bite you... the vipers tend to be a bit smaller and will if they are cornered..... we also have a mountain viper here... very small and the venom from that is supposed to be painful.... luckily it does stay in the mountain forests..... but we have been told to be careful with the dogs if we go walking up there

this time of year as things poisonous wake up their venom is supposed to be mor potent ....its been brewing all winter inside their bodies and as they start to eat and use it for kils it becomes less potent....thats according to the natives

another thing here is that all wildlife is protected and there are big fines for anyone caught or admitting to killing any of it.... so its ok to be scared but dont go smashing everything that moves to pieces..... wild life thought of as vermin ...eg rats and mice... can be disposed of....and hornets... but not bees

the same applies to plants..... wild flowers are protected here and should also not be picked or dug up.....

in all things here seem to have a nice balance.... i admit to being petrified of snakes..... but have got used to them... and now do not quite react with that initial desire to smash what i am scared of.... because they are part of what makes rural life here so different to england..... or many other places.... there is a balance of nature which allows you here to see so much of the natural world that is all but dissapearing....

so back to the initial question... i think the chemists hold serums for bites from snakes in areas where the snakes are poisonous.... the scorpions will just hurt a bit.... the hornets as others have said will hurt a lot...

but to tell you the honest truth the worst animal here for me is the mosquito... i hate that droning sound they make .... would much rather have the deeper hum of the hornet or the gentle buzz of the bee

Spiders I love, snakes and scorpions I find fascinating (although my husband hates spiders and is terrified of snakes, so I won't mention them to him before we move), I hate mossies (although they love me), but I seriously don't like the sound of the hornets! They sound like mossies with attitude. Ticks? I'm not even going there.....

I read in a previous "thread" that vitamin B6 complex works well against mossies - and I'm willing to try anything. And obviously the usual citronella stuff presumably. Anything for hornets - armour plating perhaps?

J.

The best way of dealing with the Hornets is to leave them alone, gently move them if you have to, but live and let live, they really DO hurt. :eek:

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]The best way of dealing with the Hornets is to leave them alone, gently move them if you have to, but live and let live, they really DO hurt. :eek:[/QUOTE]

I had heard that they have a tendency to divebomb people?

The wasps here in Ireland and previously in the UK seem to find me irresistible. Very annoying - I usually have to undress as they love crawling up shirt sleeves and behind collars. Having been stung so many times now though at least I know that I'm not allergic to the critters.

I asked a group of locals how many scorpion bites they had received.their combined ages -150 years-not one bite.
We have zillions in the village!!

[QUOTE=apples]I asked a group of locals how many scorpion bites they had received.their combined ages -150 years-not one bite.
We have zillions in the village!![/QUOTE]

Sorry, can't hold back any longer - scorpions don't bite, they sting!

ROFLOL, a group of locals with a combined age of 150 would be about 1.5 people here in Downtown Francavilla...
And, they only seem to divebomb (the hornets) if you bother them while they're doing hornetty things (Also, if they're being filmed for a cartoon aparently ;) )

[QUOTE=Rosie]Having just move to Le Marche from North Carolina we have come across our first scorpion. It was huge, I know we saw some pretty weird stuff in NC, but this thing looked scary.
What is the situation with scorpions in Le Marche. Do we need to store any venoms, or serums etc. What happens if one of us are bitten etc.etc. Has anyone else in the forum been bitten by scorpions.[/QUOTE]
hi, my husband was bitten 3 times from scorpions in a few months in Tuscany. First tme we rushed to hospital and they gave him an injection of antitetanus. They claimed that scorpions are not fatal in Italy. My husband is still alive so it must be true!