Are There Poisonous Animals in the Dominican Republic?

The most dangerous animal you need to be worried about on the island is the Tarantula Hawk Wasp.  The second-most painful sting behind the Bullet Ant.  And as Tarantulas are only a very minor concern for a human adult, I have a hard time believing they would kill a cow or a goat.  The Cane Toad though?  Even when dead, it's toxin is a real concern.  Animals drinking from a pond with a dead one in it can be in serious trouble.

Ants are a pain. I like to use sandals when I do a bit of maintenance on my finca. Bad idea in reality and more than often I have to run back to house to wash off the attackers. Blisters next day follow. Now it is socks and shoes and anti ant spray.

I'm keeping bees now and they are certainly of minimal concern compared to these big wasps.

For mosquitos, I've planted citronella grass around my house and the oil from that plant is used as a very effective mosquito repellant. Mosquitos are not a problem here now with all the infections they carry.

As for other bugs and vermin I have guineo fowl and they are proven bug eaters along with being a deterrant for mice and rats. Maybe they will deal with spiders too?

I was thinking about Rocky and Denise and their new home in Coson hills and their cistern and frogs when I posted this thread.

I lived nearby for 6 months and apart from frogs had a resident non venemous green snake in the front hedge who liked to bask on the entrance gate. But also bats who loved nestling in the techo de cana roofing and they carry weird stuff.

DR is tame compared to some places. Even the running snake has its venom in fangs so far back in its mouth it wont hurt you.

'uncle buck' is this the wasp?

Kill Wasp or Cacata?
Apparely they use tarantulas as hosts for their eggs.

Not venemous but discovered in DR very recently..

A newfound boa sports big eyes and a square nose

The snake is the first boa species discovered in the Dominican Republic in more than a century

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/boa … an-vineboa

That's the one Lennox.  I saw one hunting, and they have a distinctive hopping motion along the ground.  As for the  Hispaniola boa, a farmer brought a large 4 foot snake into my factory one day, showing off his prize.  I thought it was a boa by the way it curled around his arm, but didn't get a good look before he took off with his trophy.  I think it was still alive, which is good, as they would help keep the rats and mice in check.

I agree with you, the animals here are nothing to worry about at all.

Thanks Lennox!

I'm fine with bats since they eat mosquitos! I've found that they typically leave you alone as long as you don't mess with them.

I'm not a big fan of snakes, but I conditioned myself not to worry too much when we were traipsing through overgrown lots looking for our land by repeating that the snakes here are not venomous!

Fortunately, I haven't encountered any tarantulas yet! Dave encouraged the one he found on our terrace to move along before I saw it.

Here was the bad boy/girl I scooted off our patio. About the size of my hand. There was another one a few meters away. I refer to them affectionately as the Tarantula Twins. I have not seen them since.
So, they're around. I fear the centipedes much more.

Our neighbor spotted a mongoose last week. A mongoose may fix some of your critter problems   

The mongoose are a nuisance. They eat the eggs and kill any young chicks. So locals bait them with poisoned eggs.

Called a 'huron' here... my dogs killed one

The locals had never had a chance to examine one closely....
very, very elusive those little rascals

The snakes of DR:

Green snake - common and non venemous up to 1500mm long





Evergreen snake - non venemous shorter at about 800mm





Pointed snake - non venemous and under 1000mm similar in appearance to other above but found in south west.



Running snake - posonous but fangs are way back in its mouth nd only found in exterme south west.



Dominican Mountain Boa - larger and non venemous



and the newly found small boa



Are there are more?

And to add, DR has saltwater crocodiles or caymans as they are known locally living in Lago Enriquillo.



https://ecotourbarahona.com/en/dominica … dile-lake/

Just looking at those tarantula pics makes my arm hairs stand on end.

I believe they are deadly. I believe this because if one got close to me, I would have a heart attack or stroke and die. If one was actually on me, this would happen instantaneous. Jeje

Actually I was quite fascinated by the tarantulas. The weird thing is when I was scooting him off the porch you could hear his "feet" clicking on the tile! That's a big spider.

I have only seen one centipede and it was dead. Those things are nasty.