Community Chat

[jellyBEAN]

@songbird   I can relate.  I had a very similar incident on Monday.  Not sure where you live, I'm in NC - way far south in the state - and we have these black snakes which I see way too frequently.  Sometimes they just hang out in the bermudagrass, poking their heads up like prairie dogs, eyeing the surroundings.

I was standing in my back porch with the back porch door open, thinking about weeding my garden, when all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, this black snake comes racing up to my back door, like I had invited him over for lunch, and almost got in my house.  I slammed that door so fast, and of course my cat was under my feet, and I scared her and she went flying and hurt her little leg in the process.

I wound up taking her to the vet the next day and he told me she had hyper-extended her elbow.  I felt so terrible, all because of this darn snake.  I really dislike them.  They are very fast, not afraid of people, and appear around the yard at any given moment.  I too back up to "wetlands", and instead of birds, bunnies and squirrels, I get snakes and frogs and the occasional turtle.  But that's the way it is around here.  Glad you got back in your house without issue.  Tis the season.....

[Susan in California]

@songbird 

We have lived in our home for 30 years, and this past weekend,

when all nine of my family was visiting, our granddaughter

found a California King snake in our driveway. 

It was beautiful, with yellow bands patterning a dark body.

One of our sons managed to get it up over our bank/retaining wall, and we watched it slither away. 

it is a non-venomous snake which is a powerful constrictor.,

hence its name, King snake. 

It all happened so fast, just a few minutes before departing for the airport.  But, like you, I had never seen a snake so close by, in all our years living here.

I looked it up, and learned a lot.

[occasionalrain]

Glue traps are incredibly cruel. They should be illegal. What harm did a lizard ever do?

[Venezia]

---

@occasionalrain wrote:

Glue traps are incredibly cruel. They should be illegal. What harm did a lizard ever do?

---

@occasionalrain - I was about to say the same thing - one of the cruelest ideas anyone ever came up with.  Trap an animal and then leave it to die a slow death or chew its own paws (or extremeties) off to try to get free.

I don't use poison for a similar reason, not to mention, if you poison mice and another animal ingests them, they are also poisoned.  The poison crystals pierce the animal's stomach and they slowly bleed to death.

We have more humane ways of dealing with critters who are where we think they shouldn't be.  No excuse for these inhumane methods - that clearly trap unintended victims.

[Jk9]

I live in the woods in northern SC  and living there means we see snakes.  Most are rat snakes and other harmless ones.  We do not kill a non-poisonous snake if at all possible.  We consider harmless snakes as natural rodent control.  We have dogs so a snake inside the fenced yard is taking a real death risk coming here.  I grew up fearing snakes and still have a gut reaction when I see one close by.   But, I end up rescuing rat snakes each summer if I get to them before the dogs.  We also see copper heads and our dogs attacked a juvenile several years ago.  It bit 4 of them (we hade 6 at the time) and I had to make an emergency run to the vet for treatment.  Bites were on their muzzles so all were swollen, in pain and pitiful looking, but all survived with immediate treatment.  I don't leave doors or windows open and I watch where I walk.  

[occasionalrain]

It's a bit OT and about Ireland and St Patrick driving the snakes out.

I don't find anything praiseworthy about that. Once the snakes left, the rats prospered and were, I suspect, in some way responsible for the potato famine.

An example of good intentions gone awry.

[luvzchiz]

I enjoy snakes in pictures not in person. I do understand that everything has its place in the universe and the food chain.  I still don't understand why mosquitoes are still around.  😃

[riley1]

We see snakes around all the time. While I give them wide berth, its unnerving when you step into the garage and there is one by the car - yikes. My theory is all snakes bite so I avoid them. However, they really are good for the environment.

[tototwo]

I'm happy to hear there are so many "No Kill" folks out there.  However, to me, the only good snake is a dead snake.

[LindaSal]

This is why I live up north.