Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Critters in the garden  (Read 18871 times)

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #20 on: August 11, 2012, 12:18:06 pm »
Allen, do you blow up every car that goes by your house, so your 6 year old won't get hit when he goes in the street?

If not, you sound a bit hypocritical.

All snakes, even the rattlers, do a lot of good for the environment, and when you needlessly remove one, you leave a space for more vermin to live.

Although they MAY be considered territorial, it is a very large territory. That one is the first we have found on our 116 acres in over 10 years, so I don't think it is residing there regularly.
"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 David McLeod

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 702
  • Gender: Male
  • Georgia's Full Service Wildlife Solution
    • Georgia Wildlife Services, Inc
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #21 on: August 11, 2012, 01:11:38 pm »
You are correct in that it is a large home range for the pit vipers. Studies  that have been done show that the movemnet across these ranges is seasonal moving to sheltered denning sites in the fall and out to areas that support prey species in the spring. Many times one seen like yours is just passing through between these points. The biggest key in any snake control program is the same as controling most any other species, food and habitat. The one caveat is that for non mobile species like snakes both food and habitat need to be in close proximity. If both of these exists in sufficient quantity on any given site then there will be snakes present. To stop that from happening control the habitat (remove brushpiles, cut the grass, etc) and control prey species (remove bird feeders, mast trees, remove habitat of prey species, etc).
Georgia Wildlife Services,Inc
Georgia's Full Service Wildlife Solution
Atlanta (678) 572-8269 Macon (478) 227-4497
www.atlantawildliferemoval.net
georgiawildlifeservices@gmail.com

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #22 on: August 11, 2012, 02:15:26 pm »
 :goodpost:  Lots of good info in a few words.
"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 JPBEEGETTER

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 195
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #23 on: August 11, 2012, 02:43:46 pm »
Why do you think there are so many rats (large) in NYC  , because there are no snakes...

Offline JPBEEGETTER

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 195
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #24 on: August 11, 2012, 02:45:05 pm »
Iddee, getting any rain down your way, we are.

Offline JPBEEGETTER

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 195
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #25 on: August 11, 2012, 02:47:46 pm »
Isn't it a fine now in Randolph county for killing rattlers now. I heared that it was $5,000.00. Down on the mountain.

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #26 on: August 11, 2012, 06:57:03 pm »
It is illegal to catch or kill a rattler anywhere in NC. The details, I don't know.
"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

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4587
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #27 on: August 11, 2012, 11:16:17 pm »
David, that was informative information about the Timber Rattler.  We only have one venomous snake in Michigan and it is the rarely seen Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake.  I’ve never seen one.
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12201-32995--,00.html

Offline BlueBee

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4587
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #28 on: August 11, 2012, 11:22:00 pm »
It is illegal to catch or kill a rattler anywhere in NC. The details, I don't know.
So NC beeks can go out firing all their high powered guns at night at anything that might look like a feral pig (in the dark!), but they can’t kill a rattler :? 

Offline David McLeod

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 702
  • Gender: Male
  • Georgia's Full Service Wildlife Solution
    • Georgia Wildlife Services, Inc
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #29 on: August 11, 2012, 11:32:55 pm »
I don't know the massasaugas but from what I understand in some areas they are in serious trouble and many states are extending protections to these and other species.

Here in Georgia we have a weird set of circumstances due to poorly worded law. It is illegal to harm, catch without permit or possess any of our native non venomous species. Yet one can keep as many of our venomous species as one wants without permit. The reason is that the law was written to protect our native species from being collected in the wild for the pet trade but the legislature did not want to prevent citizens from being able to "defend" themselves from "dangerous snakes" so all venomous species were specifically exempted from the blanket protection afforded other species. Hence if I so chose I could keep as many eastern diamond backs, timbers, mocassins, corals, pygmys or copperheads as I want anywhere I want anyway I want and nobody can say a word to me about it.

Now I ain't that stupid. Snakes in general make lousy pets, they ain't exactly the warm and cuddly type. But it's just another one of those things that make wonder why we vote to send those folks to Atlanta.
Georgia Wildlife Services,Inc
Georgia's Full Service Wildlife Solution
Atlanta (678) 572-8269 Macon (478) 227-4497
www.atlantawildliferemoval.net
georgiawildlifeservices@gmail.com

Offline David McLeod

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 702
  • Gender: Male
  • Georgia's Full Service Wildlife Solution
    • Georgia Wildlife Services, Inc
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #30 on: August 11, 2012, 11:37:02 pm »
It is illegal to catch or kill a rattler anywhere in NC. The details, I don't know.
So NC beeks can go out firing all their high powered guns at night at anything that might look like a feral pig (in the dark!), but they can’t kill a rattler :? 

And what is wrong with that? Feral hogs are non native and if you ever saw the damage they do you might agree with me that all hogs found outside of a secure enclosure should be killed on sight by any means possible.
Georgia Wildlife Services,Inc
Georgia's Full Service Wildlife Solution
Atlanta (678) 572-8269 Macon (478) 227-4497
www.atlantawildliferemoval.net
georgiawildlifeservices@gmail.com

Offline BlueBee

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4587
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #31 on: August 11, 2012, 11:48:03 pm »
When it comes to protecting human life there might be a bit of a double standard in play there.  Just saying  ;)

No, I don't have any problems with shooting feral pigs.  However wouldn't it be safer to the general public to be shooting off guns during the day time when you can see where the bullets are going?

Offline BlueBee

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4587
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #32 on: August 11, 2012, 11:51:36 pm »
Hence if I so chose I could keep as many eastern diamond backs, timbers, mocassins, corals, pygmys or copperheads as I want anywhere I want anyway I want and nobody can say a word to me about it.
LOL, maybe I better wear snake boots the next time I visit Zanesville, OH!  

I still can’t believe the lawmakers in Columbus didn’t tighten up Ohio’s wild animal laws.   Sorry, got a little off topic there.

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #33 on: August 12, 2012, 09:55:37 am »
Yeah, bluebee, just like you eat poor unborn bird babies.

You can make anything sound different than it really is.




Had your eggs yet this morning?  :-*
"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

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4587
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #34 on: August 12, 2012, 12:28:18 pm »
No, I don't eat too many eggs, bad for the Cholesterol  :-D

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #35 on: August 12, 2012, 02:56:44 pm »
But us dumb, dirty, unkempt rednecks do eat those poor, unborn baby chickens.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. And we shoot our food both day and night. Also, if we kill a rattlesnake, we eat that, too.   :-* :-* :-*    :-D
"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 kingbee

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1083
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #36 on: September 09, 2012, 12:40:46 am »
Kingbee, I don't know what link you meant to put up, but the link above is a black rat snake. Totally harmless.

The link is not working but it is supposed to show a cotton mouth water moccasin.

Offline kingbee

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1083
  • Gender: Male
Re: Critters in the garden
« Reply #37 on: October 29, 2012, 07:30:56 pm »
...

Here's a beauty I found while bush hogging....



A farmer down Swamp's way in LA was baling hay in round bails.  He got off the tractor to see about something and a big old Eastern Damand Back Rattle Snake was half baled up in a roll of hay still in the baler. 

First off the farmer could not hear No Shoulders rattling, mostly because the tail end of the snake was tightly rolled up in a bale of hay, but the business end was in the free and clear and I am sure it was going through some "changes" after being swept off its 'feet' and up into a hay baler.  When the farmer walked around the baler the snake struck him in the neck.  The tractor was still idling several hours later when they found the farmer, deader than 4:o'clock and the snake still struggling to free its self.  Just makes me think of all those times when I was hauling hay and found a snake or a peice of a snake in a hay bale, sometimes it was still moving.