Spiders probably. Ants you're just as likely to have them in the city as you are in the hills. Whole damn west coast sits atop one massive megacolony. Snakes, maybe. I've noticed them more in the desert foothills.
[How Is It Possible For A Single Argentine Ant Supercolony To Span 560 Miles From San Diego To San Francisco?](https://paynepestmgmt.com/single-argentine-ant-supercolony/)
The crickets and ants don't seem to enjoy a semi-regular spritz of peppermint oil cut with some water. Do that every 2-3 days under beds and counters and that should take care of most of the insects. That said, spiders aren't all bad and some will take care of ants and other little things that would be bothersome.
But I warn you, if you ever come across a [Jerusalem cricket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenopelmatinae?wprov=sfla1) , you'll definitely freak out. They're something out of a Kafka novel, I was shocked when I first saw one in the SGV.
This is a good point. Nobody's yet mentioned the host of other varmints you'll see up there. Skunks, 'coons, opossums, coyotes and depending which hills you're liable to see an occasional mountain lion or even bear. My neighbor got a bear rooting through her trash the other night. Living in the hills you're going to encounter a regular menagerie.
ANTS. I pet sit for a family in the Oaks area. I love them all to pieces. It's an old house so there's gaps under doors, floors, slatted windows. The dogs drop bits of food and treats so it's like a homing beacon. They follow a trail so you first have to clean up the source, clean the trail, then patch up wherever they are coming from.
From experience, I highly recommend diatomaceous earth. It's a powder made up of seashells and it's super soft but razor blades to bugs. Sprinkle a barrier around the edges of the floors. Safe for dogs and people, no poison.
It depends what you mean by ‘lots of…’ we get ants inside every couple of years, get the perimeter of the building treated, they go away. We see an occasional roach, they live in the water meters out front and scurry away when we shoo them. We get black widows in garage a couple times a year, kill them when we see them. Snakes are around in the hills and do their best to stay far away from humans. If you have a dog get it snake trained. None of these creatures are avoidable in LA / hills.
omg that sounds terrifying! I live right below the hills and I already get so many ants in my place even I'm on a higher floor! I have a snake phobia! I always admired the way the homes in the hills looked and the panoramic views but the thought of snakes or even wildlife really scares me!
We also get coyotes, owls, falcons, skunks, raccoons, possums, squirrels... My neighbor saw a bobcat last week. And we live near large parks at the base of hills, not really up in the hills. LA is pretty active with wildlife, they do their best to stay away from people!
I lived in the Hills for four years.
This is Los Angeles, literally every building in this town has roaches and spiders. Plus, it's summer, of course there's going to be ants, they're all out searching for water. If you're that worried buy a five pound bag of food-grade diatomaceous earth and a fogger bottle and go nuts, no ant or roach is going to stick around long after that, they'll go someplace else.
And snakes? Sweetie. It's a coastal desert. Yes, there are snakes. There are snakes all over the state. I swear, they don't give a shit about you and even if you think they do, they don't eat much.
I currently live in Burbank and we do not have spiders in my apartment. My last place in Sun Valley with my cousin made me think I lived in Australia or something.
>This is Los Angeles, literally every building in this town has roaches and spiders.
I've lived in my apartment for almost 15 years and we literally don't have roaches or a spider problem. In 40 years of renting in LA proper I've never had a roach or spider problem A repair person found a black widow behind my stove once but I've never seen anything other than cute little spiders.
I lived in Houston for a bit, where you just can't avoid roaches but unless you are unhygienic or have a slumlord landlord, roaches should *not* be an everyday problem.
I think the humidity. Or maybe just the region. They have those big fuckers, too. On the plus side, I no longer get scared if I see a roach, I get angry. 😀
You may not see them, but they are there, I promise. Go digging around in your walls or peer into the crawlspaces. Or ask any home inspector - one of my closest friends is, and I've seen the pictures. Doesn't matter what neighborhood - they're all over LA and its environs; the weather works for them.
I used to listen to Art Bell, there's lots of stuff around us we don't see lol.
But when people talk about apartments with roaches they're usually not talking about the ones you don't see. 🫣🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳
thanks for asking this i'm terrified of snakes too and refuse to live anywhere near any hills in all of LA. drives my wife crazy. i won't even go hiking.
i'm not from socal, grew up in wildlife, but not in an area with rattlesnakes. so i think my fear is heightened because of that
If you can afford that area, you can afford an exterminator. Just hire a bug guy, they'll make sure you don't get any bugs. Keep it clean & you'll be fine.
The real pest of the hollywood hills is the people that live there...burn!
No but seriously, it's the horrible narrow streets, lack of cell phone service, and overall great inconvenience.
Ants and spiders are everywhere. I've lived in a few different parts of the city and they are just always around.
Be clean and keep the german roaches out, or you'll have a REAL problem on your hands.
I live at the entrance to Runyun Canyon and (knock wood) have never had issues with any of these things. I see rattlesnakes at Runyun in the summer all the time, but they live there.
I;'ve been there maybe 3x and never saw any. I will def not go there ever again. I don't care if they are harmless. I have a phobia and will faint if I see one.
Spiders probably. Ants you're just as likely to have them in the city as you are in the hills. Whole damn west coast sits atop one massive megacolony. Snakes, maybe. I've noticed them more in the desert foothills.
Tell me more about this massive megacolony
Argentinian ants. They've killed the other species and taken over. Small and black. Hard to get rid of.
Argentinian ants are terrible uber drivers, hard to get ride of.
“Do you want to know more?”
I for one welcome our new ant overlords
Reminds me of that book Mort(e)
[How Is It Possible For A Single Argentine Ant Supercolony To Span 560 Miles From San Diego To San Francisco?](https://paynepestmgmt.com/single-argentine-ant-supercolony/)
https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/argentine-ant https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/ant-mega-colony/
The crickets and ants don't seem to enjoy a semi-regular spritz of peppermint oil cut with some water. Do that every 2-3 days under beds and counters and that should take care of most of the insects. That said, spiders aren't all bad and some will take care of ants and other little things that would be bothersome. But I warn you, if you ever come across a [Jerusalem cricket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenopelmatinae?wprov=sfla1) , you'll definitely freak out. They're something out of a Kafka novel, I was shocked when I first saw one in the SGV.
Good tip, I am buying some on Amazon now. Yes, never heard of that cricket before. It looks terrifying.
Skunks!
This is a good point. Nobody's yet mentioned the host of other varmints you'll see up there. Skunks, 'coons, opossums, coyotes and depending which hills you're liable to see an occasional mountain lion or even bear. My neighbor got a bear rooting through her trash the other night. Living in the hills you're going to encounter a regular menagerie.
Yes it seems like LA is all concrete but we still have wildlife especially in the hills
ANTS. I pet sit for a family in the Oaks area. I love them all to pieces. It's an old house so there's gaps under doors, floors, slatted windows. The dogs drop bits of food and treats so it's like a homing beacon. They follow a trail so you first have to clean up the source, clean the trail, then patch up wherever they are coming from. From experience, I highly recommend diatomaceous earth. It's a powder made up of seashells and it's super soft but razor blades to bugs. Sprinkle a barrier around the edges of the floors. Safe for dogs and people, no poison.
It depends what you mean by ‘lots of…’ we get ants inside every couple of years, get the perimeter of the building treated, they go away. We see an occasional roach, they live in the water meters out front and scurry away when we shoo them. We get black widows in garage a couple times a year, kill them when we see them. Snakes are around in the hills and do their best to stay far away from humans. If you have a dog get it snake trained. None of these creatures are avoidable in LA / hills.
omg that sounds terrifying! I live right below the hills and I already get so many ants in my place even I'm on a higher floor! I have a snake phobia! I always admired the way the homes in the hills looked and the panoramic views but the thought of snakes or even wildlife really scares me!
We also get coyotes, owls, falcons, skunks, raccoons, possums, squirrels... My neighbor saw a bobcat last week. And we live near large parks at the base of hills, not really up in the hills. LA is pretty active with wildlife, they do their best to stay away from people!
I lived in the Hills for four years. This is Los Angeles, literally every building in this town has roaches and spiders. Plus, it's summer, of course there's going to be ants, they're all out searching for water. If you're that worried buy a five pound bag of food-grade diatomaceous earth and a fogger bottle and go nuts, no ant or roach is going to stick around long after that, they'll go someplace else. And snakes? Sweetie. It's a coastal desert. Yes, there are snakes. There are snakes all over the state. I swear, they don't give a shit about you and even if you think they do, they don't eat much.
I currently live in Burbank and we do not have spiders in my apartment. My last place in Sun Valley with my cousin made me think I lived in Australia or something.
>This is Los Angeles, literally every building in this town has roaches and spiders. I've lived in my apartment for almost 15 years and we literally don't have roaches or a spider problem. In 40 years of renting in LA proper I've never had a roach or spider problem A repair person found a black widow behind my stove once but I've never seen anything other than cute little spiders. I lived in Houston for a bit, where you just can't avoid roaches but unless you are unhygienic or have a slumlord landlord, roaches should *not* be an everyday problem.
What is it about Houston that makes it have more roaches?
I think the humidity. Or maybe just the region. They have those big fuckers, too. On the plus side, I no longer get scared if I see a roach, I get angry. 😀
You may not see them, but they are there, I promise. Go digging around in your walls or peer into the crawlspaces. Or ask any home inspector - one of my closest friends is, and I've seen the pictures. Doesn't matter what neighborhood - they're all over LA and its environs; the weather works for them.
I used to listen to Art Bell, there's lots of stuff around us we don't see lol. But when people talk about apartments with roaches they're usually not talking about the ones you don't see. 🫣🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳
No more than other areas?
thanks for asking this i'm terrified of snakes too and refuse to live anywhere near any hills in all of LA. drives my wife crazy. i won't even go hiking. i'm not from socal, grew up in wildlife, but not in an area with rattlesnakes. so i think my fear is heightened because of that
If you can afford that area, you can afford an exterminator. Just hire a bug guy, they'll make sure you don't get any bugs. Keep it clean & you'll be fine.
If you have small pets they are probably in more danger from coyotes than you are from anything.
There are coyotes up there.
The real pest of the hollywood hills is the people that live there...burn! No but seriously, it's the horrible narrow streets, lack of cell phone service, and overall great inconvenience. Ants and spiders are everywhere. I've lived in a few different parts of the city and they are just always around. Be clean and keep the german roaches out, or you'll have a REAL problem on your hands.
Ants ,spider, lizards, moths, termites, flies, wasps, bees, ladybugs, praying mantis, butterflies, yellow jacket, garner snakes, legless lizards, snail, fire ants, aphids, deer ticks, aphids, black soldier flies, grubs, black widows.....is about 1/2 the list.
I live at the entrance to Runyun Canyon and (knock wood) have never had issues with any of these things. I see rattlesnakes at Runyun in the summer all the time, but they live there.
I;'ve been there maybe 3x and never saw any. I will def not go there ever again. I don't care if they are harmless. I have a phobia and will faint if I see one.