Rain brings out critters
By Elizabeth Maybank
After waking up early one morning, Vesely Murray headed downstairs to the kitchen and was shocked by what she found. Spread throughout her kitchen floor was over three dozen dead shrimp-like creatures. The coppery-colored critters were discovered in every corner of the room as Murray frantically tried to clean them all up before her 1-year-old baby could get hold of one.
Mark Lohr
Hanahan Police and Animal Control capture an alligator that appeared in a Hanahan neighborhood Monday.
"I vacuumed and sanitized everything because I was scared of my baby picking one up and putting it in her mouth. Even after all this cleaning, I still couldn't find out where they were coming from," Murray said.
So what are these mysterious creatures? They are terrestrial amphipods, or more commonly termed, lawn shrimp, according to Dr. Dwight Williams, director of Cypress Gardens. Even though they aren't true shrimp, they are related. They are about half-inch long, and live in moist terrestrial environments.
"After a lot of rainfall, like what we have recently been experiencing, they come up out of the grass in search of drier spots and wind up in houses or on porches. However, they often become trapped and die. They require a moist environment, so they will quickly die if the new environment is too dry," Williams said.
James Castner/University of Florida
Terrestrial amphipod or lawn shrimp.
The rainy end to the drought means an increase in aquatic creatures that now have more area to occupy. The recent storms that have hit South Carolina might explain the appearance of these lawn shrimp and increased alligator sightings throughout the Lowcountry.
As he was returning home from work Monday afternoon, Mark Lohr was surprised to see several police cars outside his neighbor's house in Hanahan. Looking closely, he saw a 6-to-7-foot alligator in the corner of his neighbor's yard against a fence.
"My neighbor's dog started to bark strangely, so she looked outside to see what was upsetting the dog and saw an alligator crossing the street into my other neighbor's backyard, where it got trapped against the fence," Lohr said. The alligator was caught and taken away by Hanahan police and Animal Control.
"The recent storms have opened up more avenues of travel for alligators in search of new territory by providing, for example, water-filled ditches," said Dean Harrigal, wildlife biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
About 100,000 alligators are in South Carolina, but Harrigal assures there is nothing to be alarmed about. "With more people out and about, there are bound to be more eyes to sight the alligators."
Reach Elizabeth Maybank at 937-5743 or emaybank@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
babeegurl (anonymous) says...
Those shrimp things look like overgrown flees, I would have freaked out after seeing something like that in my house! I am terrified of any kind of bugs!
June 18, 2009 at 8:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joker79 (anonymous) says...
These things appeared overnight in our sunroom. We also cleaned and sanitized the room as best as possible. I used Ortho spray for outside pests on all the exterior doors and windows. Since then, the number has greatly decreased. Now we see maybe one or two. It's great to finally know what they are because no one I talked to had heard of them before!
June 18, 2009 at 9:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eyfigueroa (anonymous) says...
I've never noticed such things around our house. I would have been just as freaked out.
However, I have a weird dog and cat, I doubt there would have been any left on the floor by the time I woke up.
But my vet bill would have been HUGE!!!
June 18, 2009 at 11:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Lovely_One (anonymous) says...
I passed by an alligator in 526 yesterday morning. Some had run over the poor thing....
June 18, 2009 at 11:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
YankeeLady (anonymous) says...
It always saddens me to read that an alligator, just trying to get back to its habitat, is "taken away", because that means it has been killed.
Of course, no one wants to see an alligator or other wild creature injure a person or pet, but there must be a way to relocate these animals safely to avoid killing them. Unfortunately, it seems to be the acceptable solution to eliminate creatures deemed a nuisance when development encroaches onto their territory.
June 18, 2009 at 12:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
UrGatorbait (anonymous) says...
We are the intruders on their turf.
June 18, 2009 at 3:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Kingjackabobo (anonymous) says...
"It always saddens me to read that an alligator, just trying to get back to its habitat, is "taken away", because that means it has been killed." - YankeeLady
Relocated means relocated. I've seen it done several times. However, if relocation occurs more than once, there is a possibility that the animal will be put down. Why do we always assume the worst of people trying to do their job??
June 18, 2009 at 5:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
membermike (anonymous) says...
Exterminate All SC Alligators.
June 19, 2009 at 2:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
QueenOfDaTrap (anonymous) says...
member mike- where did you come from, you are always on here posting the DUMBEST comments!!! Matter of fact you comments trump the racial ones, please refrain from posting unless you have something logical to say about the matter, thanks in advance.
June 20, 2009 at 5:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
flatpickit (anonymous) says...
Kingjack, when is relocation tried for alligators? I'm wondering what the guidelines are for private animal control firms to relocate alligators if that's what they want to do. SCDNR policy is to euthanize all nuisance alligators. Relocation is not tried first. Hence the slogan that is posted all over the state, "A fed gator is a dead gator". Were the relocated alligators not considered a nuisance? In all of my dealings with animal control/alligator situations, whether the agent was sponsored by SCDNR or not, the alligator was killed. Perhaps that is why YankeeLady thought this alligator was euthanized. Why must you assume the worst of people as well? The public is told over and over that these animals are killed without relocation.
June 21, 2009 at 7:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TRODI (anonymous) says...
A lot of gator problems wouldnt happen if people stopped feeding them in neighborhood ponds.i have seen parents and there children doing this.then wonder why the gators are now following them freaking dumb............
June 22, 2009 at 12:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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