irbgolfin
THANK YOU that was a fascinating post! this helps a lot even for arizona.....we have been there and luckily have not seen a scorpion
IN BAJA at cabo san lucas we had a scorpion in our room ...a very luxurious fancy resort...since the place is desert on the beach there are scorpions and the cleaning ladies leave those darn doors open when they clean so sometimes the little buggers walk right in...my husband almost stepped on it!!!!!! he wound up putting it in a glass...and he and our friend took it to the FRONT DESK...alive....they laughed and said oh it no hurt you only little sick!!!!!
i am not thrilled about this
so just in case i will cover myself in skin so soft when i go to st thomas in december JUST IN CASE! YOU NEVER KNOW

when we were there in sept we had no bugs in the room except for one night that some tiny red mosquito/flies invaded the room....once we got rid of them and duct taped the sliding doors we were fine and they never returned

no see ums at night and mosquitos but that was all

as for the iguanas i like them

Any solid word on whether the scorpoions are dangerous? Just found one under my toddler's pack and play this morning. It was a tannish brown color and was probably 3-4" long. It scared us because of the close proximity to the babies. Not sure if we brought it home from the beach or what.

Yes, there are scorpions, centipedes, all kinds of spiders, ground spiders, tarantula's, bee's, wasps, jacks-panniers and numerous other insects.
Encounters are rare with these types of critters and there isn't anything that can kill you UNLESS you have an allergic reaction.
You'll mostly be bothered by mosquitoes, sand fleas and thrushie birds that will eat your lunch if you leave it out on a picnic table.
We have no poisonous snakes, the mongoose and iguana's are shy as are the small island deer which have a small population and
are no longer seen day to day along the road due to ever increasing bullding.

One thing that should be mentioned is that we now have Lion-fish in our waters.
If you should see one, take note of the location and please report it.
The sting from their spines are venomous however I have not heard of anyone, locally, being stung.

tiffanyandjeremy wrote:
Any solid word on whether the scorpoions are dangerous? Just found one under my toddler's pack and play this morning. It was a tannish brown color and was probably 3-4" long. It scared us because of the close proximity to the babies. Not sure if we brought it home from the beach or what.

In 30 years here I've only encountered two scorpions, one of which bit me on my rear end and whose bite was quite painful. Their venom necrotizes soft tissue and the bite I sustained "wept" for a week or so and was rather uncomfortable before the body's defense army came to the rescue and started getting the healing process going. Dangerous? No, they're quite small (was the one you saw seriously 3-4" long?) and, like the the local wolf and recluse spiders they don't use their venomous defense mechanisms unless attacked (I sat on the one who bit me so he was quite justified!). The other one I encountered appeared in the shower stall and I simply swept him up and tossed him outside.

The most dangerous mammal I've ever seen in the VI are the dreaded boat people. They come in swarms and herds and attack without provocation! EEEEKKKK!! 🙂

suzyabbott wrote:
The most dangerous mammal I've ever seen in the VI are the dreaded boat people. They come in swarms and herds and attack without provocation! EEEEKKKK!! 🙂

I assume you are referring to cruise ship passengers. The cruise industry provides many Virgin Islanders with a livelyhood. Please treat our visitors with respect.

Blu4

I believe in treating all people with respect. Most cruise ship visitors act respectful and are responsible However some are not, some damage our reefs and beaches, some leave trash, and are extremely rude Those few poison the well. I hate to so see the cruise sheeple swarming in because of the actions of a few

Also, the sheer number of people when 3-4 cruise ships are in STT is a little overwhelming.

Alana33 wrote:
Yes, there are scorpions, centipedes, all kinds of spiders, ground spiders, tarantula's, bee's, wasps, jacks-panniers and numerous other insects.
Encounters are rare with these types of critters and there isn't anything that can kill you UNLESS you have an allergic reaction.
You'll mostly be bothered by mosquitoes, sand fleas and thrushie birds that will eat your lunch if you leave it out on a picnic table.
We have no poisonous snakes, the mongoose and iguana's are shy as are the small island deer which have a small population and
are no longer seen day to day along the road due to ever increasing bullding.

One thing that should be mentioned is that we now have Lion-fish in our waters.
If you should see one, take note of the location and please report it.
The sting from their spines are venomous however I have not heard of anyone, locally, being stung.

Thank you for the information, yes it was 3-4" long. We aren't as concerned as we were when we saw it. We think we may have brought it home from Coki Beach in our beach bag, because that was right where we left our bag. Hopefully we will not see any more. The worse thing we have been bothered with so far has been sand fleas.

We never bring beach bags/ beach towels inside the house. I have hooks out side the door. I also leave my cover-up out side, too. Plopping a beachbag/sandy towel on the bed is certain way of starting a sand flea infestation. Sandy flor mats in the car are another hot spot.

Was it one of these guys... Or girls to be correct.

http://walnut.smugmug.com/Vacation/Carib2008/4482083_dtk9BF/263675169_TPdSGHg

I hope the link works.

We caught this one on tortolla, but I've seen them on JVD, St Thomas, and st John as well. They get to be about 4 inches. When they fall on you , you'll think they're a gecko at first. They're really creepy looking and walk like they're drunk. I always find the spiders (they alqays find me) because I'm scared to death of them. I didn't kill it to catch it. After it dried out it got up and ran away.

On a similar message board someone id'd it as a puerto rician crab spider. He was from PR though so I'm sure it has another name in USVI. He said it has a medically significant bite, whatever that means. It can't be that bad or you would have already heard about it. It's no Brazilian wandering spider. It's fangs are pretty big so they probably hurt quite a bit.

Looks very much like a brown recluse spider to me.
I am not a fan.

Not a brown recluse. It's waaaay too big, the body shape is wrong, and it has wrong number of eyes.

Here's a link to check for spider identifications:

http://www.spiderzrule.com/recluse.htm

I've tried that link. He said t was some sort of huntsman. Hunstman are often called giant crab spiders because they kind of walk like crabs. I'm sure it has a local name, I liked what the guy from Puerto Rico called it. The huntsman I've seen move differently than this spider though. So I don't know.

The one thing I know for sure is that it's not a brown recluse you can tell by the eyes (among other things). Put a picture of any spider on the Internet and everyone says its a black widow, brown recluse or hobo even if its sitting in an orb web.

If anyone knows the local name I'd love to hear it.

Another photo

http://walnut.smugmug.com/Vacation/Carib2008/4482083_dtk9BF/263674607_Fxsn5kd

I'd be very interested to learn what it is as well so please do share, if you find out.

Check this youtube link out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oefjE36e_Y&list=PLC15B902FA8A322D3

I would be a basket case!

Could your spider be a huntsman spider?
Brown Recluse have a little violin shape on their back.

The link didn't work for me.

Like I said before its probably some sort of huntsman. Not dangerous but creepy with big fangs. Not fun when it falls on you while you're sleeping. When you shake the sheets in the dark and it doesn't let go, you know it's not a gecko.

I'm still curious what the locals call it. In st kitts there is a similar spider called the donkey spider. Same shape but much more hairy.

In any case, The people are more dangerous than the animals in st Thomas.. We got robbed by a cab driver in 2005. I've never had a spider take my money. 🙂

A friend who is a reptile biologist had this to say:

"Giant Crab Spider, Olios spp. Great at eating bugs, and at scaring you out of your skin when she comes round the corner.
They are impressive."

Dr. Renata Platenberg
Reptile Ecologist
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

I sent her your pics from your link.

On another link I found the following info on Huntsman Spiders:
They do look very similar.
http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html

Huntsman Spiders ...low risk - non-aggressive
Venom toxicity - the bite of Huntsman Spiders is of low risk (non toxic) to humans. They are a non-aggressive group of spiders. However, a large individual can give a painful bite. Beware in summer when the female Huntsman Spider is guarding her egg sacs or young.
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Spider Identification - an adult varies greatly around 1/2" in body length - has long legs - the diameter of an adult including legs may reach 2" - the first 2 pairs of legs are longer than rear two - it is hairy - buff to beige brown in color, with dark patches on the body.
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Habitat - a hunter that prefers to live under the flaking bark of trees, under flat rocks and under eaves or within roof spaces of buildings. The Huntsman Spider often wanders into homes and is found perched on a wall. It is a shy, timid spider that can move sideways at lighting-fast speed when disturbed.
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CLICK HERE - FIRST AID - Huntsman Spider Bite

I too watched some dangerous species like animals, insects in my life..
But i don't get afraid of it..