Snakes, The Good, The Bad, and the ugly

[sendero]

I take the middle ground. I only kill snakes that I believe are poisonous.

I've killed 3 cottonmouths - saw a small rattler (under my mobile home) but couldn't get to it.

The nice thing is that cottonmouths, rattlers and copperheads are really pretty easy to identify. I don't feel too bad about taking them out /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[getut]

This was an extraordinary year in NC from everything I have seen. I killed 2 copperheads and 2 other snakes that closely resembled a juvenile copperhead. I later looked them up and found that they were a type of garter snake that I didn't even know existed. It had nearly the same markings as a copperhead with the exception of a faint tan stripe lengthways down each side. Close enough that he bought it. One of the copperheads that I decapitated was just inside of our garage underneath my 4 year olds battery powered jeep. I saw him move out of the corner of my eye while I was standing in the driveway feeding the dog.

I am MUCH MUCH more scared of spiders than I am snakes... as long as I see them from a distance and have a chance to move closer on my own terms. A snake that is in real close before you spot him is enough to make even snake LOVERS wet their drawers until you get a chance to properly identify it.

Spiders on the other hand... they should all die. They get on you and disappear. I've stripped on many an occasion. Even once while in high school was walking out to my car talking over my shoulder to my mom as I walked through the driveway. Turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of at least a 4 pound writing spider (who was sitting still right in the middle of his web that was strung across the driveway to get me) landed right in the middle of my forehead. The last thing I remember is the feel of the infernal thing galloping over the top of my head and down the back of my shirt. I couldn't tell if it was inside or outside of the clothing... so the stripping commenced.

Spiders are evil. All of them. Everywhere. Period.

 

[getut]

Oh I blathered off on spiders and forgot my snake story (it is long but quite funny):

My wife has a friend originally from the Boston area. She is deathly afraid of anything "country". So a snake is orders of magnitude higher than anything she had encountered yet. Anyway, my wife and I were going over to watch a movie with them one friday night. It is approaching late autumn but not cold enough that snakes had completely gone away, and as we were leaving, we encountered about a 1 1/2 foot long black snake crossing the road. My fun meter pegged and I got out and grabbed the snake and held it until we got to their house. She opened the door to me standing there with the snake held at face level. She screams, I have my fun, and I think it is all over with. Wrong.

She refuses to let me even turn it loose on their property. So I put it in the back of my truck (knowing that it would climb out and go on its way. This appeases her and we go watch the movie, say our goodbyes and we go back home and go to bed. The next morning I get up and go out to the garage to change oil in the truck. While the oil is draining, I turn my attention to cleaning a kerosene heater to get it ready for winter should the power go out. While I was pre-occupied with the heater, the oil starts missing the pan, and a huge puddle forms under the truck. I walk over to my bag of oil-sorb granules, reach in for the cup that I keep in there to scoop it out with and feel something. I take my hand out of the bag and there is the blasted black snake dangling from my thumb by his mouth. I scream bloody murder, neighbors run over to see my white as a sheet.

My wife tells me that for once in my life, I got what I deserve. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[chucko]

Funny this is this looks like a spider

 

[bczoom]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I am MUCH MUCH more scared of spiders than I am snakes... )</font>

getut

Good stories.
You know, I've always wondered why you have a spider in a web as your profile picture. After posting the aforementioned, I really got to wondering why... I finally looked closer and then realized it's not a spider but a paraglider. Oops. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[stevenf]

I'll have to say I'm in the good snake dead snake camp. My family and I swim in our ranch lakes and in the summer I've taken to carrying a 357 with us in our adventures because it seems like every time we get in the water the water moccasins (cotton mouths) decide that we look like dinner and come after us. This year alone I've had to get out of the water twice to give some errant snake a little information that his momma apparently forgot to tell him about food chains. The most recent one got to within 8' of us before we saw him and both of them I have no doubt would not have stopped until they got to us. I've heard plenty of story's of them chasing you in the water but until the last 5 years or so wouldn't have believed it. Now for the really funny part my wife has decided that whenever I shoot one she gets it and she'll take it out, nail it to the picnic bench skin it out and tan the hide so for the snake wholesaler out there we are taking care of them just a little different methods. My oldest son is in Kansas City going to college to become a reptile specialist he wants to work for a zoo or something he also doesn't think much of our snake care abilities as his apartment doesn't have a foot of clear space around the outside walls that doesn't have some slimy beast crawling around in an aqaurium. Of course the inside walls of our little cabin are starting to look the same they're just nailed to the wall instead and I don't have to have a rat cage handy to feed them dinner. As a matter of fact my son said rats are not going to last much longer he's going to have to switch to bunny rabbits.
Now I really do sound like a Bubba.
Steve

 

[slydog]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( An attorney friend of mine went to go duck hunting last week and, much to his surprise, found one of your products in the back of his john boat. You guessed it! He panicked; turned and blasted it with his shotgun.)</font>

Id take a snake over an attorney any day. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Ken

 

[8NTX]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( </font><font color="blueclass=small">( An attorney friend of mine went to go duck hunting last week and, much to his surprise, found one of your products in the back of his john boat. You guessed it! He panicked; turned and blasted it with his shotgun.)</font>

Id take a snake over an attorney any day. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Ken )</font>

What's the difference?

 

[MMM]

Seems the most dangerous snake around my parts is the ground rattler, or so called pygmy in other places. These pint size pit vipers can hide in or under anything and account for the most bites. Most of the big uglys are seen before they do harm. My dog found one and ended up looking like a watermelon with ears. I kill moccasins on my pond and 2 creeks to keep it safe for the kids fishing. I've seen a couple rattlers and copperheads but wasn't armed and left them alone. I don't care to take them on with sticks......kinda like taking a knife to a gunfight.

 

[Moon]

Good Thread.
We have copperhead around here, at least thats what I hear. Never seen one. I've seen rat snakes, black snakes and mostly small garder snakes. I'm naturally afraid of them, but since moving to the country, I'm working to get over that. I pick up the smaller ones but only with gloves on. Didn't see many of them this year, unlike a few other posters.

Moon of Ohio