4 Hidden Hiking Dangers – Dangerous Creatures

Nothing can put a damper on your outdoor adventure like an unexpected bite from one of mother nature’s most dangerous creatures. Here are four nasty little creatures that you should know about before starting out on your next outdoor adventure.

Brown Recluse Spider
Just like their name suggests, Recluse spiders are reclusive and are only a threat if bothered. They like to hide beneath rocks, woodpiles, dead leaves and bark. Recluse spiders are most active at night when they come out to hunt.

The Recluse Spider has a pale brown to reddish color, with long slender legs and is around ¼ in and ¾ in in length. They are also known as a violin spider, because of  its violin shape markings.

While bites are extremely rare, if bitten the venom can cause organ damage, and sometimes even death.

Black Widow Spider

Black widow spiders are also highly venomous spiders that can be found in the western regions of the United States. They can be found beneath rocks, dead wood, dead leaves and bark and in thick undergrowth. You can easily identify this spider by its shiny black body and red hourglass marking under the belly.

The bite actually causes little pain when first attacked. Within the first hour, expect severe cramping in the abdomen and back, anxiety, headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and heavy sweating are common. It is actually very rare for a Black widow bite to cause death, but the symptoms are still nothing to take lightly. Watch where you are putting your hands, and try to wear thick gloves when picking up wood for a campfire.

Rattlesnakes

There are over 30 different types of Rattlesnakes in the United States.

Bites are serious and can cause swelling that moves up toward the heart, creating numbness, swollen lymph nodes, increased heart rate, blurred vision, headache, light-headedness, sweating and chills. Bites often occur when someone scares the snake, steps on it or provokes it.

If you come across a rattlesnake while out on the trail, keep your distance and allow the snake a good amount of room to move away. Keep your hands and feet away from any areas that you cannot see.

Scorpions

Scorpions can be found in the desert regions o the southwest United States: Arizona, New Mexico, California, Utah and Nevada.

There are a number of different types of scorpions, in fact experts say there are are around 2,000 different species of scorpions.  Of all the scorpions in the United States there is only one that you need to worry about, the Bark Scorpion.

The Arizona bark scorpion is the only scorpion capable of causing a deadly reaction in humans. They are about 1-3 inches in length and are actually one of the most commonly encountered house scorpions in the Southwest.

When hiking, make sure to shake out your boots and sleeping bags before use. It is not uncommon for a scorpion to take up residents in an empty boot outside your tent.