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Author Topic: Critters in the garden  (Read 18876 times)

Offline watercarving

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Critters in the garden
« on: June 09, 2012, 02:52:19 pm »
Had an exciting morning working the tomatoes. Never know what you'll find.

Has been a good year overall. Good rain and no blight on the heirlooms.

http://www.johncall.com/2012/06/critters-in-garden.html

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Offline Shawn

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2012, 03:02:18 pm »
Very nice. With my job and coworkers I have the option of getting snakes on a frequent basis. I ask them to take them to my strawberry patches around the house and put them in there. We mainly on see bull snakes and rattle snakes so the rattle snakes have to go else where since I live in town.

Offline iddee

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2012, 04:44:39 pm »
Nice snake, John, and they do eat other snakes, but this specimen is a black rat snake rather than a kingsnake. Still a safe, helpful addition to your garden. Thanks for letting him survive.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline AllenF

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2012, 08:14:48 pm »
I haven't seen any horn worms yet, but some of the tomatoes we pick last week had bites in them that I assumed came from them.   We have them every year. 

With the snakes, I have been expecting the copperheads to be out, but have not seen one here yet.   Me and the 5 year old spent all last Sat. eating blackberries and looking for timber rattlers.  We only got blackberries. 

Offline watercarving

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2012, 09:23:57 pm »
Is it a black rat snake? I wondered but it markings with the creamy color on the sides a little bit made me think it was a king snake.

How do I tell the difference?
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Offline iddee

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2012, 11:52:24 pm »
There are many kings, but the one you are thinking of is the Eastern Chain King.

http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/images/kingsnake-2.jpg
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline BlueBee

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2012, 11:21:09 pm »
Nice tobacco hornworm John! 

I raised about 6 of them last fall and got them to pupate in sawdust for me.  They’re still in the saw dust; haven’t emerged yet.  I guess they’re waiting for our tomato plants to get bigger before they emerge from the sawdust as a moth. 


Offline iddee

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2012, 08:19:17 pm »
Kingbee, I don't know what link you meant to put up, but the link above is a black rat snake. Totally harmless.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline Okytransplant

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #10 on: June 27, 2012, 11:56:34 am »
Yes they are harmless, but they can give you a start when your out at just dusk rolling up the water hose; reaching under the cuke vines so not trash them and pick up a big one. Thankfully, I don't know who was more spooked  him or me.  I don't mind snakes but I want to see them and not touch them.
Thankfully it wasn't a rattler as we have them around here too.

Offline Mtn. Bee

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #11 on: August 10, 2012, 12:41:13 pm »
Just giant slugs and gophers here and the deer don't ever give up!
Taste like chicken though!     :shock:
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Offline iddee

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #12 on: August 10, 2012, 12:53:01 pm »
Here's a beauty I found while bush hogging. Played with him a few minutes, shot some pics and let him go on his way.



"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline BlueBee

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #13 on: August 10, 2012, 01:27:39 pm »
OK iddee, I don't know my snakes very well; what is it?  Head looks like a viper.

Offline David McLeod

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #14 on: August 10, 2012, 04:34:48 pm »
Us folks from LA (Lower Alabama) call that thing a velvet tail. Most everyone else knows it as a timber rattlesnake or in some areas a canebrake rattler. The distinguishing features are the dark chevrons across the back and the brown dorsal stripe down the back.
Real nice snakes to leave alone and not play with. I never kill a snake and relocate them critters but definitely not to be played with when one understands the nature of their venom. It varies from a lower toxicity hemotoxin (blood poison) in it's northern range to a far more virulent hemotoxic PLUS neurotoxins (nerve poisons) the further south you go. Our Georgia timbers are particurlarly noted for really bad stuff in their venom.
Now if I were to ever kill another they do fry up nicely.
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Offline David McLeod

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #15 on: August 10, 2012, 04:37:53 pm »
Velvet tail refers to the black coloration on the tail leading up to the rattles. It is a matte black that looks velvety in appearance.
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Offline AllenF

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2012, 06:06:25 pm »
This is where I differ from you.   I normally just leave them where they lay.   Just headless.   I ran across more timber rats last year than all my other years combined.   Year of the rattle snake I guess.   I got me snake boots for Christmas last year after that.   

Offline David McLeod

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #17 on: August 10, 2012, 06:45:03 pm »
Allen, you do realize that just as many folks are bitten while attempting to harm a snake as there are that are playing with a snake. You're much better off just walking away.
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Offline AllenF

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #18 on: August 10, 2012, 08:28:47 pm »
I just get the jesters thinking about my 6 year old playing in the woods and knowing I let one of the suckers live out there. 

Offline David McLeod

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Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #19 on: August 10, 2012, 09:04:09 pm »
And that is why I relocate them, and I have the tools and training to safely do so.
Little known fact; many pit vipers, timbers particularly, have an established home range and when moved off that range fail to reestablish and succumb to hazards such as weather from failing to find winter denning sites. Like I said I relocate but I might be killing them after all.
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