Zoophobic? Might want to reconsider Vietnam as your expat destination

Got some of my pics approved.

Here is the 6cm trophy, from my bedroom in Saigon

And here's the MEATY BEATY BIG & BOUNCY beast I bagged in the bathroom at T.P. Thai Nguyen

(this guy was very, very fast and was able to jump from wall to ceiling like Peter Parker)

When I was younger living on a dairy farm I had a spider like pic 2 that used to sit on the ceiling  above my bed. It was an old timber farm house with no screens on the doors and windows, it used to freak out our friends from the city.

@Aidan in HCMC

Any idea what they are, i.e. type/name? Just curious.

Roger

@RTLisSB

I think the first one (6cm) is called a Brown Recluse.

The second one (10+cm), I believe, is called Goddamn Big and Scary!

And Colin, I think your spider and mine might be the same species. The home I lived in was a traditional VN home, 100% wood, with three front double-doors and an open concept. Brand new construction, all wood (mostly hardwoods), beautiful finish througout (shellac?).

This GDB&S spider was big enough to hunt small rats!

Most  references say that brown recluses are not found in Vietnam and I personally hope that is correct.  The narrow part of the violin mark on brown recluses points to the rear.  They have six eyes rather than the eight most spiders have.

@williamherron13

I am now quite leery of spiders. See the first post in this thread, wherein I wrote;

" I was bitten on the right forearm 2 years ago by a small spider (2 cm). It was essentially painless, but within 24 hours the flesh had necrotized, growing progressively worse over the next week. The wound/poison ate a hole in my forearm almost all the way to the bone. The wound was open, and had I wanted to I could have easily sunken the filter of a cigarette, and more, into the hole. I now have a permanent scar on my arm, white as the driven snow, and perfectly round."

Nasty critters.

Your spider Number 1 is a Male Huntsman  which is smaller than Spider #2 a Female Huntsman - they both hunt and eat other spiders, and the female like a black widow will eat the males after mating.   and your descripotion of them running and jumping wall to wall is right on.   They are harmless to humans.  but perfectly able to bit people if molested or hurt.

@Aiden  your bite may have came from a Yellow Sac Spider - the bite at night, and fangs are sharp, penetrate with no pain.   a Wiki says:  The yellow sac has fangs large enough to penetrate human skin, the yellow sac can draw on a venom that can lead to local necroses and tissue poisoning.  It liquifies the body so it can suck the juice and feed its young.

So my friend you were a smorgasborg for a family of Yellow Sac spiders...............Peace

A few moments ago, on the back deck I discovered this beauty.

Over 25cm length, and painfully poisonous.

My female cat (Harold's wife/sister) made short work of such a long critter.

R.I.P.

A few moments ago, on the back deck I discovered this beauty.
Over 25cm length, and painfully poisonous.
My female cat (Harold's wife/sister) made short work of such a long critter.
R.I.P.

-@Aidan in HCMC

WOW thats a big one

A few moments ago, on the back deck I discovered this beauty.
Over 25cm length, and painfully poisonous.
My female cat (Harold's wife/sister) made short work of such a long critter.
R.I.P.

-@Aidan in HCMC

WOW thats a big one
-@goodolboy

I've been told that many times.

A few moments ago, on the back deck I discovered this beauty.
Over 25cm length, and painfully poisonous.
My female cat (Harold's wife/sister) made short work of such a long critter.
R.I.P.

-@Aidan in HCMC

WOW thats a big one
-@goodolboy
I've been told that many times.
-@colinoscapee

Yeah that's what he said

I've been told that many times.
-@colinoscapee

Can't say I ever get that. Usually, it's something like, "Who 'ya gonna' satisfy with that?!"

My answer, as I point both thumbs at my chest, is    "Me!"

Scorpions. Two kinds (as far as I can tell), and unlike spiders, the scorpions do not take flight when approached. They stand their ground, waiting for any encounter thrown at them. The most usual kind I've encountered are the smaller reddish kind, sans pincers. I'm told the sting from the smaller ones is much more painful (injurious?) than their larger black cousins (the ones with powerful foreclaws).

(Link)

From this afternoon. Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy

(Link to closeup pic)

@Aidan in HCMC

Please tell me that monster isn't in the city! LOL

@Aidan in HCMC
Please tell me that monster isn't in the city! LOL
-@RTLisSB

In a village, only about 1 mile from Duong Dong, Phu Quoc.

It was scurrying around on my patio, when one of the cats made a bee-line for it. I could see what it was from afar, and rushed to shoo the cats away from it before they got stung.

These things are quite fast, too. They don't retreat at all, but turn to face any oncoming threat.

Heaviest I've seen to date.

Now deceased. RIP

-@goodolboy

You've started dating other women? 😉

-@goodolboy

You've started dating other women? 😉
-@OceanBeach92107

hahahahahahaha better watch she dont eat me after we mate then!!

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AmXxixmqskv0g80tQnn … A?e=X6P11y

Highly unlikely that spider is a brown recluse.  They occur in only 16 states in the US.

Unless................

Highly unlikely that spider is a brown recluse. They occur in only 16 states in the US.
Unless................
-@williamherron13

Brown recluse are found all over the world, so, anything is possible.

@colinoscapeeWikipedia disagrees  They are also small - about 1/4 to 3/4 inches (6-20 millimeters).

@colinoscapeeWikipedia disagrees They are also small - about 1/4 to 3/4 inches (6-20 millimeters).
-@Travelfar

They occur in only 16 states in the US.

Unless................

I was replying to this, which seems to state they are only found in the USA. The one in the pic looks more like a huntsman.

@colinoscapeeWikipedia disagrees They are also small - about 1/4 to 3/4 inches (6-20 millimeters).
-@Travelfar
They occur in only 16 states in the US.

Unless................



I was replying to this, which seems to state they are only found in the USA. The one in the pic looks more like a huntsman.
-@colinoscapee

now this is a huntsman haha

@colinoscapeeWikipedia disagrees They are also small - about 1/4 to 3/4 inches (6-20 millimeters).
-@Travelfar
They occur in only 16 states in the US.

Unless................



I was replying to this, which seems to state they are only found in the USA. The one in the pic looks more like a huntsman.
-@colinoscapee
now this is a huntsman haha

-@AndyHCMC

Had one like that sit on the ceiling above my bed in country Australia. Always wondered if it would drop on my face during the night.

"Spiders. Lots of them, and not small....bitten on the right forearm 2 years ago...within 24 hours the flesh had necrotized...ate a hole in my forearm almost all the way to the bone...permanent scar on my arm, white as the driven snow..." (link to original post, "Spiders")

Found (and killed) today on the back patio.

Trimeresurus erythrurus or Red-tailed viper , a very venomous snake. The cat, dog and I walked past this thing twice before I spotted it. It was no more than 20cm from my leg on each pass. (Rắn lục đuôi đỏ)

Crickey!

Big, bold, and beautiful. Thankfully now dead.

Found (and killed) today on the back patio.
Trimeresurus erythrurus or Red-tailed viper , a very venomous snake. The cat, dog and I walked past this thing twice before I spotted it. It was no more than 20cm from my leg on each pass. (Rắn lục đuôi đỏ)
Crickey!




Big, bold, and beautiful. Thankfully now dead.
-@Aidan in HCMC

Wow that's scary. How did you kill it. Snakes are fast and can easily disappear. In the US I kill them with a BB gun. Obviously that's not an option there.

Wow that's scary. How did you kill it. Snakes are fast and can easily disappear. In the US I kill them with a BB gun. Obviously that's not an option there.
-@MikeTVN

Yes, I thought about how close I (we) were to it afterwards. Very scary.

And yes, they do disappear very quickly. Amazing how fast something with no arms or legs can "run" away! I come from one of the few places in Canada where we have absolutely no snakes, being an island (Newfoundland), and so I had no experience.

I learned how to dispatch them from the VN locals. A long stout stick, at least twice the length of the snake, brought down hard on the snake mid-body is the safest way. It doesn't kill them, but cripples them allowing for the death blow to be administered. Before learning how to do this correctly, I missed on a couple of occassions, and my holy God, the speed with which they flee and vanish is incredible!

Wow that's scary. How did you kill it. Snakes are fast and can easily disappear. In the US I kill them with a BB gun. Obviously that's not an option there.
-@MikeTVN

p.s. I'm told there are shops in Saigon which sell BB/pellet guns.

(there are times I wish I still had my Slazenger .177 calibre pellet rifle from boyhood)

Wow that's scary. How did you kill it. Snakes are fast and can easily disappear. In the US I kill them with a BB gun. Obviously that's not an option there.
-@MikeTVN

p.s. I'm told there are shops in Saigon which sell BB/pellet guns.
(there are times I wish I still had my Slazenger .177 calibre pellet rifle from boyhood)
-@Aidan in HCMC

Great description on the dispatching. Not sure if the 'stout stick' is a general term of a specific item. As a search only shows a stiff stick sort of like a walking cane. I don't see how that would work. Since the snakes are normally on the ground it seems it would need to be flexible and the length you describe too short. I can't even get close enough with a shovel length and it's too stiff. To crack something on the ground you would need to be laying on the ground or it would need to be bent. I've never been able to hit one that way. Only from farther away with a bb gun. As you say stun it in the body then come closer to finish it. This idea that they may be available in Saigon could be a game changer for me as to my living options. But perhaps with certain permits and much difficulty would make it most prohibitive however.

Great description on the dispatching. Not sure if the 'stout stick' is a general term of a specific item. As a search only shows a stiff stick sort of like a walking cane. I don't see how that would work.

Thank you, and yes, you are correct. "Stout", as in heavy/strong, and as I said at least twice as long as the snake.

Since the snakes are normally on the ground it seems it would need to be flexible and the length you describe too short. I can't even get close enough with a shovel length and it's too stiff. To crack something on the ground you would need to be laying on the ground or it would need to be bent. I've never been able to hit one that way. Only from farther away with a bb gun.

It was a bit of a steep learning curve for me. Best analogy I can think of would be something like hitting a golf ball with a golf club, or croquet ball with the mallet, except of course your swing would be downward. I certainly agree that a BB/pellet gun would be ideal. My boyhood friends and I used pellet guns so often we were able to kill flies from 5 meters (or more) away! (later we graduated to 12 gauge shotguns, .22 and .303 rifles)

As you say stun it in the body then come closer to finish it. This idea that they may be available in Saigon could be a game changer for me as to my living options. But perhaps with certain permits and much difficulty would make it most prohibitive however.
-@MikeTVN

The shops which sell the airguns in Saigon, I'm sure, do so under the radar (i.e. illegally). I haven't sought them out yet. I do know that at least three of my neighbours up north in T.P. Thai Nguyen purchased theirs in Hanoi. I'm not condoning nor recommending such a purchase, as to do so would be in violation of the terms and conditions of expat.com, but yeah, owning one would be a real advantage over using a stick

Yes. So I better learn how to golf . Or perhaps make one a bit longer and with a flexible end of about a foot or so but still heavy. I know the idea is to stun them in the body and they will curl up to protect itself yet unknowingly giving you a chance for the final blow or two.

@MikeTVN

Being Canadian, might I suggest a hockey stick?

Chop Chop!

@MikeTVN
Being Canadian, might I suggest a hockey stick?
Chop Chop!
-@Aidan in HCMC

Good one.

But I'm thinking a 6' long piece of schedule 30 pvc might do the trick and won't break any laws.

@Aidan in HCMC I always enjoyed the geckos on the walls of my apartment. They make q cool sound, and rat mosquo

@Aidan in HCMC I always enjoyed the geckos on the walls of my apartment. They make q cool sound, and rat mosquo
-@ebxebx2

They're all cute, when they're babies

Once they've grown, they leave quite a mess! (Link)

(R.I.P. Harold, gone before you reached your first b'day. A fine cat)

When I am out in da bush, I carried a bamboo walking cane, but it was 5' long.......I don't kill snakes but chase them away.   Yes, they come back but if you get rid of their food source, mice, frogs, rats, and lizards they will look for another place to live.  A friend of mine in Udon, Thailand has two dogs that work in pairs and dispatch any animal that dares to come on their turf......he regularly sends videos of their killing techniques. the little rat terrier chases the snake then the big one comes in, grabs it, and shakes it to death.

@aiden, your Phu Quoc Ridgeback is a natural hunter, I had to give mine away as a pup because he developed a taste for chickens, nothing we did would stop him from hunting them down and killing them........not to eat, just to kill them.   Beware.     Peace

When I am out in da bush, I carried a bamboo walking cane, but it was 5' long.......I don't kill snakes but chase them away. 

Mine's a little taller, at about 5'5", and she kills 'em deader than the proverbial doornail.

@aiden, your Phu Quoc Ridgeback is a natural hunter, I had to give mine away as a pup because he developed a taste for chickens, nothing we did would stop him from hunting them down and killing them........not to eat, just to kill them.  Beware.   Peace
-@tunnelrat69

Truer words have never been said about the Phu Quoc Ridgeback! One of the neighbours here had his dog poisoned by another of the neighbours. The dog owner had been warned that if his dog continued to kill the other neighbours chickens that the dog would be poisoned. The owner tried his best but couldn't curb the killer instincts in his dog... so, curtains it was.

There's another neighbour who owns a beautiful reddish coloured ridgeback that's a bit more discerning. I didn't witness it, but my better half saw it leap almost two meters into the air and snatch a wild bird, in midflight, right out of the air! Luckily for that dog, it hasn't the slightest interests in chickens (yet).

Whitmore's Disease in Vietnam(Link)

"People contract the disease after coming into contact with soil or water contaminated with the bacteria and have open injuries on their skin.

The disease was first spotted in Vietnam in 1925.

There are around 10,000 cases worldwide every year, mostly during the rainy season, around half of which prove fatal. There is currently no vaccine against it." (Link here to VN Express)

Always, always wash up well after gardening, or after riding your bike through the oft flooded streets of Vietnam.

Stay vigilant. Be proactive. Stay alive.

(prior post regarding Whitmore's Disease, here)