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Post by dustawaits on Jul 22, 2019 14:28:47 GMT
As I walk with the pups I am constantly looking at the ground and all around checking for anything out of the ordinary.
So yesterday I looked down just i time to see the collie step on a rat snake. The snake did not move and the pup did not realize it was there. I had to take each pup’s head and direct it at the snake before they saw it. I allowed them to smell it’s tail and watch it slowly slither away. They weren’t really interested and made no effort to follow it and we continued on our way.
Several years ago I mentioned a huge rat snake that struck at me. Later maybe the same one was at the neighbors on the step railing and struck at the wife as she started down the steps. The snake did not survive.
The snake yesterday was maybe 3 ft long.
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Post by tenbusybees on Jul 22, 2019 15:43:50 GMT
I tell the kids not to kill the rat snakes because they keep the copperheads away. I've also had to remind them a time or two that just because rat snakes aren't poisonous doesn't mean they don't have a painful bite so quit pestering them.
On the other hand if they (snakes not children) are in the chicken house it's off with their head.
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Post by feather on Jul 22, 2019 15:48:24 GMT
OH man, you guys are just mean mean mean, snakes spiders  |
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Post by Tim Horton on Jul 22, 2019 17:50:05 GMT
Other than the rare occasional garter snake, rarely more than 30 cm (1 foot) long we don't have snakes. Have not seen one for 2 summers now. We also don't seem to have any small toads from the pond in that time either.
I have been where there are rattle snakes and such. Not sure I don't prefer long tail weasels up to two kinds of bears instead. I can deal with 4 leg predators more so than snakes.
The one time I ate rattle snake, it wasn't bad, but not good enough to go looking for one on my own..
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Post by dustawaits on Jul 22, 2019 17:52:25 GMT
As I have said before snakes don’t bother me. I am
hoping this one will get after the ground squirrels as
there are an over abundance of them.
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Post by Maura on Jul 23, 2019 2:29:35 GMT
Years ago I saw a rat snake in the wood pile. Just a baby, looking like a python. They eat baby mice. A good thing. Haven't seen one since, I don't think. See a few garter snakes in the summer. I hope they are eating well.
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Post by mogal on Jul 30, 2019 15:17:12 GMT
A couple of years ago, we had a terrible problem with black snakes getting eggs. One day I found 2 that I can only guess might have been copulating. I called DH who came out to help me remove them. As one slithered away, it ran through a pen where I had a hen and several chicks. Long story short--We managed to get one into a 20 gal trash can with lid without incident but DH wasn't so lucky with the second one. He was bitten on his hand and we went to the ER. All they did there that we hadn't done at home was administer a tetanus shot. The very next week, DH fabricated a catch pole and another with a small right angle turn at the bottom. Since then, catching and removing snakes is quick and thankfully painless. At least for us as we don't intend to cause injury but might incidentally. We've always relocated them to the far end of the farm, not to someone else's property. Surely they can find enough to eat without coming back to the house!
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