Garden Dangers

[Wi-sunflower]

Farmer's Daughter,

Get yourself a Moma cat.

We had a horrible chippie / ground squirrel problem at our old house. The lawn was sooo full of tunnels you couldn't walk across it without turning your ankle. Anyway, one spring, someone dumped a pregnant cat that became wild and raised several litters in the barn. While we fed them some, she was the best hunter and by the end of summer we didn't have a chippie problem any more.

Moma cats are usually great hunters.

I don't like snakes and fortunately around here we don't have hardly any of any kind.

In Indiana where my in-laws are tho they have some kind of relative of a cobra. It will stand up just like a cobra tho it isn't deadly. I think it does have a bite and mild venom. But I was walking on some of our property one day and nearly stepped on one of them. Scared the heck out of me at the time.

Carol

[OneDahlia]

Oh my goodness. I won't be as annoyed by our mosquitoes, biting spiders and the big few big aggressive bees after this -- I will be glad they're not a rattlesnake. Glad you're safe.

Scott, great story!

[cgs]

Scott - please do tell more. How did he get bit twice? Where was it hiding? How long to recover? I take it he is fine. I don't think I know any Copperhead bite stories.

Desert - Cool pic and stories. I've never seen a sidewinder. All the Diamnond backs I have met have been pretty passive. I have seen one Water Mocassin that basically chased us (in a boat) out of a cove, after many relentless failed boarding attemps.

Fathers Daughter - I second the cat recommendation. I'm just here temporarily, but if I lived someplace like this I would have some "barn cats." I would think too many chippies would lead to snakes eventually...or maybe some cool birds of prey. My thinking is always to keep the rattlesnakes away by keeping the rattlesnake food away.

[livinonfaith]

I don't really mind most nonvenomous snakes, as long as I see them before I'm too close. Like some of you, I was actually very happy when a large King snake moved into the crawl space of our previous house. He was much more welcome than the rodents from the neighboring fields, that's for sure!

That said, last year I was raking the yard and noticed what looked like a very large earthworm frantically wriggling near my feet. About the time I realized it was really a tiny snake, it took off straight toward my open sandal. I jumped about two feet in the air and screamed like a little girl!

It only took a couple of seconds for reason to set back in, then I started looking around to make sure none of the neighbors saw. I mean this thing was eight inches long, tops! (A little bigger than a pencil.)


Embarrassing!

[luke]

I was planting my Mom's garden this weekend. She grabbed a brick for me to anchor a cage with, and threw it in my direction. I finished setting the cage in place and set my non-gloved hand on top of the brick for support as I changed positions and saw a fat black spider scurry out of the way and go to the underside of the brick.

Black widow.

Fortunately for the two of us who had handled the brick, it turned into a teaching moment for my two kids.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Originally Posted by cgs

Scott - please do tell more. How did he get bit twice? Where was it hiding? How long to recover? I take it he is fine. I don't think I know any Copperhead bite stories.

Thank you for asking. He recovered well in a few weeks - copperhead bites are not usually fatal, just very uncomfortable. Lots of swelling and some tissue loss at the bite location. The snake hit his hand twice in about half a second when he was weeding. Copperheads are serious about threats to themselves- they strike repeatedly, and they don't back off. Unlike the more risk-avoiding rattlesnake which has the decency to warn you before he strikes.

[Crandrew]

Originally Posted by luke

I was planting my Mom's garden this weekend. She grabbed a brick for me to anchor a cage with, and threw it in my direction. I finished setting the cage in place and set my non-gloved hand on top of the brick for support as I changed positions and saw a fat black spider scurry out of the way and go to the underside of the brick.

Black widow.

Fortunately for the two of us who had handled the brick, it turned into a teaching moment for my two kids.

In my area I see a black widow once a month. I had to teach myself to be vigilant. Rattlers... Now that would freak me out.

[snappybob]

As the OP, I live in San Antonio also. I live a stones throw away from a major creek and coral snakes can be a problem if you don't know to watch for them. The good news is if you start to see a lot of the creek critters hanging around the neighborhood it means there is a strong likleyhood of rain.

[VC Scott]

On average I have to dispatch 2-3 Western Diamondbacks or Mojave rattlers each year. The little ones are the most dangerous. A rattler just a couple of months old hasn't developed the ability to regulate the amount of venom it delivers and will inject more venom that an adult rattler.

A couple years ago my wife reached down to pick up what she though was an empty clay flower pot, only to find a 2 ft. rattler coiled inside. Lucky she didn't get her hand bit.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

Unlike the more risk-avoiding rattlesnake which has the decency to warn you before he strikes.

Not always. I have seen several never rattle at all before they strike.
Many years ago my roommate came into house while a friend and I were watching TV.
He had a diamond back rattle snake in a 5 gallon bucket and he dumped it on the living room floor.
My friend and I got on the back of the couch.
Later we took the poor thing way out into the desert and turned it loose.
It never rattled.

Worth

[livinonfaith]

Hey Worth, How was your roommate's funeral?

Did they let you and your friend out of jail in time to go?

Shame for his mother. Though I'm sure she understood once you told her what happened.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by livinonfaith

Hey Worth, How was your roommate's funeral?

Did they let you and your friend out of jail in time to go?

Shame for his mother. Though I'm sure she understood once you told her what happened.

Well we were all grown and his mother was 300 miles away.
We didn't really care if he got bit we were more concerned about being cruel to a snake.
He almost got his tail whipped.
My motto if you dont want something around haul it off or kill it.
Don't torture it or aggravate it.

Worth

[ScottinAtlanta]

I wonder if maybe Georgia rattlesnakes are just better mannered than the Texas kind? Which would make sense, wouldn't it?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

I wonder if maybe Georgia rattlesnakes are just better mannered than the Texas kind? Which would make sense, wouldn't it?

So are you implying Texans have bad manners?
There is an awful lot of Texans on this forum.

I would think that maybe the Texas rattle snakes just know when not to rattle.
Maybe it has something to do with genetics.

Worth

[cgs]

One of the more frightening stories I have heard:

A fellow in central San Antonio goes out to tend his garden. Sits on the bench to pull on his garden boots, goes about gardening. He feels something wet in his boot and goes to take it off. He finds the toe quite bloody, carefully removes the sock, and can find no damage to his foot. He then turns over the boot and a smashed baby rattlesnake falls out.

I'm pretty good about shaking out my boots before putting them on now.