🕷️Main Myth: Black Widow?
The dangerous karakurt spider lives in Georgia's dry steppes — but not in Boshuri. At over 1,100 m altitude, the climate is cool and humid — too wet and cold for those spiders.
⚠️ Real Hazards
- 🐍Vipers (nose-horned & Kaznakov's) — hide in tall grass, raspberry bushes, under rocks. They only strike if stepped on.
- 🦂Scorpions (Mingrelian, variegated) — may shelter in basements or firewood. Painful sting, not fatal for adults.
- 🕷️Ticks — active in tall grass in spring and early summer.
- 🐗Wild animals — wild boar may approach village edges; rarely foxes, wolves or bears.
🏡 Protecting Your Cottage
- ·Mow tall grass around the house. Remove piles of stones and old boards.
- ·Check the foundation; fit fine mesh screens on windows.
- ·Never leave shoes on the porch overnight — always shake them out before wearing.
- ·Keep food waste in tightly sealed containers.
🚑 First Aid for Viper Bite
Do:
- Immobilise the victim, splint the bitten limb.
- Remove rings and bracelets before swelling develops.
- Clean the wound with antiseptic (chlorhexidine, miramistin).
- Give plenty of water. Give antihistamine (loratadine, cetirizine).
- Get to a doctor immediately.
Don't:
- ❌ No tourniquet — causes tissue necrosis.
- ❌ Do not burn or cut the wound.
- ❌ No alcohol — spreads venom rapidly.
- ❌ Do not suck out venom if more than 5 min have passed.
🦟 Tick Removal
- ·Use a tick removal tool or tweezers. Grasp as close to the skin as possible and twist out — do not pull straight.
- ·Disinfect the wound with alcohol, iodine or chlorhexidine. Wash hands thoroughly.
- ·❌ Do not coat the tick in oil or alcohol — suffocation causes it to release more toxins into your blood.
🐝 Wasps & Hornets: Allergy Warning
- ·For allergy sufferers a wasp/hornet sting is life-threatening (anaphylaxis, angioedema).
- ·Always carry an EpiPen. At first sign of throat swelling or facial oedema — inject into the thigh immediately.
- ·If a stinger remains (only bees leave stingers) — scrape it off with a fingernail. Apply cold and take a high-dose antihistamine.
📞 Emergency Contacts
112
Georgian Emergency Service. Operators speak Russian & English. State: 'Gori municipality, Tana gorge, village Boshuri'.
1505
Ministry of Health hotline — will locate nearest hospital with antivenom.
+995 32 212 12 01
Gori Military Hospital (56 Chavchavadze St.) — 24/7 emergency. ~40–50 min from Boshuri.