Snakes and Building

[glenn kangiser]

Sorry, Kevin -- I'm a bit burned out lately so have trouble thinking of new ones.

On the other hand, my wife usually forgets them after a few weeks, so I can recycle them--good for a laugh 2, 3 or maybe even 4 times.

[Yetanothermike]

Glenn,

That joke was so bad it hurt my eyes to read it.

Here's a photo of a rattlesnake that I spotted last May in the crawlspace of one of my clients in Napa.  I was checking the perimeter of the building and found this guy sunning himself against a ventilation grill.

We brought in a "Reptile and Amphibian Rescue" specialist to evict him.   The guy loved snakes and went into the crawlspace on his hands and knees armed only with a tool that looked like a golf putter and a burlap sack.  I was suprised at how passive the snake was even when bagged.  He never even rattled.

Rattlers shouldn't be underestimated, though.  Last year friends of mine in San Mateo lost their dog when he ran into some tall grass at a county park and tried to play with a rattler.

The snake guy told me that rattlers breed in large numbers and tend to return to stick around their nest areas.  They are very hard to drive away as no noise or smell repels them.   According to him, the best way to keep snakes away is to provide a wide open space around your house and keep rodents away.  Snakes like shrubs for shelter and rodents for dinner.  In my client's case, he had a rodent problem, lots of low shrubs near the house, and an open crawlspace door.

A final note -- the snake guy was afraid of spiders.

-Mike

[Amanda_931]

I don't take snakes lightly.  Wish a reptile and amphibian rescue person was  closer than 50 or a hundred miles.

Cherty the dog barks a lot at them--never seen her get bit (or the results of it, although I watched her try to get a bee this afternoon--smart move--not).

But Buster did, at least once--the other puffed up face might have been due to a scorpion.   He ended up at the vet both times.    

But I expect snakes have got a right to the tree of life too.

[dave423]

In this part of East Tennessee we have a saying.  "If you've been in the woods for 15 minutes, your shadow has probably fallen on a snake."  It's something you always need to be aware of.  We have a "snake stick" made from a garden hoe that lost it's blade leaving a hook shaped tang.  It's also useful as a fire poking tool.  

We're always careful when picking up anything that could hide a snake, and try to keep the grass cut short around our main camping/building area.  My wife ran over a poor little garter snake with the power mower.  KHARRAUUUPPPPTTT!!!!  No more snake.

[tay_tower]

No venomous snakes around here... just typical garden/garter snakes. We do have a lot of nosey black bears around. Neighbour woke up one day last fall and found one drinking from the old handpump turned water fountain in her front yard. I have seen bear "mines" all over my section of the road too.

[Amanda_931]

I grew up on some property in North Carolina that had been a rice plantation in the 1700's.  (might have been awfully temperate climate back then for rice that far north)  One of the paddys had morphed into Rattlesnake Swamp.

My dad and I tramped around in it a lot, never saw any snake in there, let alone a rattler.  But we did make a whole lot of noise.  Deliberately.

[Billy Bob]

Actually, Amanda, some rice varieties can be grown as far north as Long Island. South Carolina owes it's pre-eminence in rice cultivation to the fact it was the major destination point for enslaved Africans with knowledge of rice production.  Those poor folks were not only the labor source, but the brains behind the success.

A bit off topic, I know, but the subject is of interest to me.  One of my great, great uncles had a rice plantation in South Carolina.

[Leo]

Never kill a black snake ,As he will run the others off .                      A snake smells,once you recognize the odor youll can smell them ,its kinda of a mellon smell .smell one in a jar and Youll go "Oh Thats familiar"  Creepy is to be where you cant see the ground and smell one.                 They dont like the open areas so Im clearing all around the cabin.  They really like to lay under things so eliminate places for them to hide near your area of travel . You also might wanna get geese and let them roam.I do not like shoulderless friends at all.       I havent seen one yet while clearing and building but they are there.            I work one area at a time and the noise will drive them off, use a hoe to flip stuff on the ground .I was told once lime spread about will keep them away?

[Erin]

We ranch for a living (my husband is a cowboy) and have lived in several locations where snakes were common.  The place we were on in northern SD we had about four rattlesnakes in the yard during the three years we lived there.  Here in southwestern Nebraska, I've only seen one in three years in my yard.  
Prairie rattlesnakes, while to be respected, aren't usually deadly unless you have a reaction.  A run to the hospital is still the rule of thumb, but it's not like you should sign your will as soon as you get hit or anything.

And we do have a couple of bull snakes who have set up residence in my lilac bushes.    Bullsnakes are harmless (though they will bite!), but their protection is the mimicry of rattlesnakes.  Colored very similarly, and they "rattle" with their tongue/mouth/something.  They can scare the crap out of you if you happen to almost step on one as you're running out to the sandbox. (My six year old yesterday...)

From the time they could walk, my kids know that when they see a snake they "leave it alone and go tell Mom or Dad."

[Leo]

Where Im building has copperheads.eastern rattlesnake,a potent little pygmy rattler and water moccasions.many years ago waliking to afriends house one night I stepped barefoot on a dead one in the road.A feeling you dont forget.make lots of noise and keep youre eyes open ,lately Ive only seen some neat lizards.

[Amanda_931]

The other morning Miss Cherty Pie Barker was giving her "There's a snake here" bark, so I went out and looked at it--black snake, doing the rattling bit, even though it obviously is not a rattlesnake.  Getting ready to strike if the dog (or I, for that matter) got any closer, too.

We also have water snakes that look remarkably like copperheads--except, of course for the pit viper head.

[bil2054]

Well, O.K.!  Been taking down a 40'x80' greenhouse, and no snakes so far.  However there is a huge pile of concrete blocks associated with it, and I can report positively for at least one black widow spider.  Couldn't firgure what was wrong; several days of headaches, really sore muscles, dizzy, etc.  Then I saw the little booger today, and thought "Hmm...".  A little attention to the soma and a looksee located two little puncture marks on the back of my elbow, right where the rolled up shirtsleeves bind.
How'd that song go, "I don't like spiders and snakes...."?
Anyway I'm on the mend, I did NOT squish the spider, (she's jus' tryin' to make a livin', and not get stepped on by "the man", same as the rest of us), and I would point out that construction sites, especially ones not visited daily, are prime real estate for bugs.
I'll look a little more carefully  [smiley=sad.gif] when schlepping stuff around in future.