Re: Snakes
- Subject: Re: Snakes
- From: M*
- Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 12:49:38 -0500
ECPep@aol.com wrote:
> Depending on where you are located thus knowing that the snakes are probably
> harmless,
Haha, try living in Texas. =:-0 I live in the country and 99% of my
snakes are poisonous and many city dwellers find rattlesnakes in their
yards too. My biggest problem is Copperheads, zillions of them. I
can't even think of working in a bed to pull a weed or plant anything
unless I have squirted it with a hose to flush out the babies first. I
can't tell you how many I have yanked up with a handful of weed and
given myself a stroke. After living here 17 years I have not made a
dent in the population.
Luckily they are very passive and only once did one try to bite me. I
felt a tapping on my shoe, looked down, and was standing on a baby
copperhead. He was banging on my shoe yelling 'Hey lady, get off me!'
> Snakes consume the young of mice and voles and while the subject is not a
> pleasant one for all homeowners (not gardeners) it might be of interest to
> them as all homeowners dislike mice.
How about field rats bigger than my cats? I leave all non poisonous
snakes alone and the big 6-7' chicken snakes take care of the rats and
mice but can't make a dent in the squirrel population. Sigh.
Most chicken snakes (Texas Rat Snakes) are very aggressive and not only
will bite you but chase you if you aggravate them! They will first curl
up and sit up like a Cobra and shake their tails in the dry leaves
sounding just like a Rattlesnake. A fearsome sight!
One of my big guys, Grandpa, about 5.5', big around as my wrist, got
tired of a cat teasing it so nearly beat the cat to death with it's
head. Never opened it's mouth, just kept smacking the stupid cat who
would then do a triple backwards somersault and go right back. That cat
was lucky he wasn't killed and eaten.
I encourage snakes by leaving most of my 17 acres wild and undisturbed.
When I have downed trees or branches they get piled into huge dead falls
and planted with vines or climbing roses. Not only does it give the
snakes a cool place to hang out in the heat but the butterflies use it
in the winter to keep warm, popping out on sunny days.
I also leave huge pot bottoms full of water at ground level so the
snakes can drink. Some even bath and cool themselves off. Broken pot
are turn over as shelters, and leaves swept up off the porches are piled
up in the woods here and there.
Mole and gopher tunnels are opened in the evening so the thinner gopher
snakes can enter the tunnels for dinner.
No matter how vigilant I am tho, snakes still give me a start when I
come across one. The other day I was working in the Salvia garden when
not two feet away this gorgeous snake leisurely strolled by. I jumped
back yelling 'red on black, friend of Jack, red on yellow, kill a
fellow!'. Before I could decide which one it was, it got away. Oh
well, I either have a Coral snake or Milk snake about 2' long in the
Salvia bed. Since I have never seen a Milk snake here, only Coral's,
the odds are good that this one will have to go. Oh well, lost two dogs
to snakes already, don't want to loose any more much less the grand
kids. Sigh.
Linda
south of San Antonio, Texas
zone 8b
heat zone 10
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