El Paso Monsoon Brings Out Terrifying Looking Acid Squirting Creature

As if swarms of flies and mosquitoes and the threat of communicable diseases each can transmit isn’t enough, now we have to worry about acid squirting creatures.

Blame it on the rain.

This year’s active monsoon is responsible for more than just flooding and jacked up streets; it’s brought out the critters, too. And that includes vinegaroons, a unique order of arachnid that, according to a post on the Big Bend National Park Facebook, “can shoot a well-aimed spray of 85% acetic acid (vinegar) to protect themselves.”

Oh, and they can also pinch with their mouth parts if the vinegar mist isn’t enough to keep you from annoying them. Yikes!

And if you think you don’t have to worry about the nightmare inducing critter since you don’t have any plans to hike Big Bend National Park anytime soon, think again. Per the Texas A&M Field Guide to Common Texas Insects, they’re found primarily in the West Texas desert, especially in the Trans-Pecos region of which El Paso is a part of.

In fact, a member of the Hiking El Paso Facebook group recently posted a photo of one he spotted on his porch. "Jacek Ch" wrote that he wasn't familiar with the scorpion-like insect, and other members of the group were quick to point out the many benefits of the harmless non-venomous critter.

Mostly that it likes to hunt millipedes, scorpions, crickets, cockroaches, and other pesky bugs you would have to either run away from or kill yourself. And I don't know about you, but the crunchy sound they make when I step on them oogs me out. I'd much rather the vinegaroon handle them.

All in all, they're more terrifying looking than they really are. Unless you insist on messing with them.