Creepies and Crawlies....

Alright, boys and girls.  Get ready for a horrifying blog post about bugs and plants of Larp.  This is mainly focused on the Ohio region and some things to watch out for.  As I was researching and googling, I had to stop because I felt all creepy crawly.  ICK.


But, it's always good to know what to look out for.  I was surprised on the information I found regarding spiders and ticks.  I didn't do snakes.  Why? Because if you see one, avoid it.  If you mess with one and you get bit, I'll laugh at you. Seriously.  If you don't see one and get bit, go to a hospital. Seriously.  That's the section on snakes. :-) 
 
Note: I am not a doctor.  I got this information from various (seemingly) legitimate websites from the state and various organizations.  


So, if you want to get some tips for the creepy crawlies and itchies, read on, brave adventurer!First, let's start with something not completely and utterly horrifying.  The itchy stuff - Poison Oak, Poison Ivy, and Poison Sumac. 

Poison Ivy
The best way to avoid poison ivy is the old adage "Leaves of three...let them be! Dumbass."  I added that last bit.  It can be most easily identified by the cluster of three leaves located on a long steam.   The leaves can sometimes be shiny, sometimes not, and sometimes they can appear red, and sometimes not.  Makes identification super easy, right? They can grow close to the ground, but also vine their way up trees and buildings.  They can even grow like a bush, so watch out!


I also totally did not realize that poison ivy can grow in winter and even when it appears to be dead, you can still catch poison ivy.  We're dooooomed!  To the right is a picture of poison ivy how it can appear in the winter.  Harmless looking little bugger.



Poison Oak  
Poison oak can appear in much the same manner of poison ivy.  It also can have shiny leaves or not.  It is also still potent even once it has turned red, same as poison ivy.   Note that it can grow pretty little flowers that entice you to pick and touch it.  Don't.  It is so named because the leaves can look like the leaves of an oak tree.


Poison Sumac
Poison Sumac comes in last today, as it is the least common of the three.  In fact, it is apparently sorta rare to be able to find one (there are regular, non-poisonous sumacs floating about in more normalized climates).  It also tends to grow in very wet and moist areas.  It can be identified by its smooth leaves
and "hairless" stems, which has 7-9 leaves per steam. 
 
 

Now, let's move on to something a bit more (okay a lot more) icky and nasty.  Spiders.  These spiders are def a "watch the hell out for" in the Ohio area.

David B. this is for you.

Black Widow

Hi Dave. I want to hang out in yourz shoe.

Interesting note, only the female's bit is poisonous.  She's the one with the red, hourglass-like mark on her fat ass.  It isn't typically fatal.  Yay.  But it is horrendously painful and you get fever, tremors, labored breathing, nausea.  Fun!
 

"I'm here, biznatches!"

Mediterranean Recluse
This little baby got a letter from its Aunt in the U.S. who was like "Come to the U.S., we've got all kinds of stuffage to bit on here! It's the land of plenty."  Medi was like, "Sure, Auntie, sounds like fun and biscuits."  So it caught a ride on the fruit delivery express, moving from fruit carton to fruit carton, making its way here to Ohio.  Good news, bit isn't fatal.  Bad news, hurts like *&&^.  Worse news, you can get a fever, nausea, chills, or shock.



Brown Recluse
Yep, another hitchhiker.  Imagine that.  Ohio is particularly friendly to them.  They have the nickname of "fiddleback" because of the violin-shaped mark on them.  My nickname for them is "A&^hole."  Again, not deadly typically, but people can experience a mild skin irritation.  Or a massive necrotic lesion that could require surgery, and the nausea, fever, chills, shock, etc. mentioned before. Fun fun!  Ignore the numbers.  After 40 minutes I said forget it. You, good reader, can deal. 

1. 

   "I am an '83 Honda.  How DARE you!"

   
   
2. 
   
   • 
     

    

    

    

   Golden Silk
   Yep, another hitchhiker.  Imagine that.  Ohio is particularly friendly to them.  They have the nicknamI had never heard of this one before.  Again, it hitched its way in.  I see a pattern here.  It isn't deadly.  Bite supposedly feels much like a bee string. 
3.  

   

   I'm a pretty pretty princess.

And finally, I'm going to mention ticks.  My friends totally freak out about them (some of them anyway).  Growing up on a farm, I'm not super bothered by them, but it is worthwhile to know how to properly remove them. 

First, keep in mind that even if a tick has attached itself and fed, AND is carrying an infectious agent, the chances of getting sick are STILL low.  Don't hypochondriac out.  There are a lot of factors that go in to raising the chance of you getting sick - the season, the location, the type of tick, how long the tick was suckin' on ya.  A tick, for example, has to feed upwards of 36 hours for you to even really have any % of getting sick :-)  Also, Deer Tick's carry Lyme Disease.  Handy pic for you over to the right. 

For all you city-slickers that haven't dealt as much with ticks, remove them as soon as possible.  Try to avoid touching them, use a paper towel or preferably tweezers.  Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.  Use STEADY pressure and pull that sucker straight up. Do NOT crush the tick.  If you do, you will die.  Not really, but everything I read said to avoid this.   Do NOT use "grandma's recipes" for removing ticks, including burning them off with various fire things, use nail polish, or petroleum jelly (do people actually use this??!!).  Then wash and disinfect.  Easy.  

Ticks can be found anywhere on your body, so check thoroughly.  Pay special attention to hairy areas and moist areas.  Ladies and gents, be sure to check yo special parts, too.  

Now that you are all horrified and ssatisfactorily grossed out, what other things should you watch for at Larp events?