Anyone go to the rattlesnake round up? I did for the first time! We took our two sons ( 3 & almost 5 ).
They loved it. They got to touch the snakes.
We had a good time! The line for rattlesnake meat was LONG! We didn't wait in line, I was glad!
Here's my oldest up close and personal with a western diamondback!!
They've rounded me up quite a few times, and I've done my share in retribution, but not to a roundup like that.
Did see a very education live demo once. Two guys in a boxed area full of snakes. The most interesting was man1 stood over a coiled snake, and man2 circled man1. The cone of body heat from man1 was totally ignored by the snake, as it followed man2 about 3 feet away circling sensing his heat.
The other point was that snakes in general are very good pest control agents. If you ever encounter any snake, just freeze, do not jump or make sudden moves. They will sense your body heat and get away from you even faster if you give them the chance to escape.
The meat is good but stringy, tastes like chicken.
I have been many times in my younger days, lots of fun. I have eaten many a snake in my time but am now a live and let live kind of guy. They do keep down rodents and keep the cycle in check. Still not all the snakes are cooked up at these RU, many are milked to keep the venom. It is always lots of fun for the young and very educational.
Good money in the venom trade. Naturally they wouldn't want to lose their income source either. I'm a live and let live type as well as I've gotten older. Hunt for game management and meat only these days, and don't do much of that much anymore. Bucks have to be bigger than what I got hanging already.
The longest rattler I've ever taken out was a monster eight footer with 17 and a button. In South Texas I've noticed in the past 20 years, the roadrunner population has really increased and keeps the population in check. Don't see as many as we used to in the 60's and 70's. I think fire ants have also taken a toll on all wildlife it seems.
Yeah, too bad they don't hold Fire Ant Roundups. :-)
Carla
There's two way to get rid of fire ants.
Move north where it's too cold for them - and me..........
I read an article, but have not tried it yet. Supposedly works according to a Georgia agriculturist. Pour club soda on the mound. Sucks the oxygen out of the ground and smothers the queens, etc.
The next best is the baits - although they take longer to work and kill the whole mound.
Ordered a more environmentally friendlybait with Spinosad.
One brand name is Conserve. Green Light Co also makes one.
They also make an organic spray for mosquitoes, insects, etc from several oils.
Comes as a concentrate - Organic Insect Control Concentrate
The yard smells great after using it, and works good for mosquitoes and flies.
Recommended it to a friend that has horse stalls to keep flies away. Not sure if he tried it yet.
http://www.horaneys.com/greenlight/Products.aspx?CategoryID=8
I grew up around snakes. As a kid I spent the weekends at our like house (Lake Jordon in AL). I've had a king snake, several corn, and hatched 3 rat snakes from eggs.
I never got this close to a rattle snake. We've caught 2 blind snkaes though in the past 2 years here.
We watched them milk the snakes. I didn't let my boys watch them skin them though.
Snakes are great in certain ways. But try teaching a young boys( 3 and almost 5) the difference between the ones that can hurt you and ones that won't.
It was a fun day for us though. Here's another picture!
This may not always be the case, but in our area it is generally true.
The easiest and simplest way to tell the difference, and teach kids is by looking at the tail of a snake.
Non-poisonous snakes have a long narrow ending tail that comes to a fine point. Poisonous snakes have a blunt end.
The other way is to look at the head on most snakes, especially with any of the pit viper species. Pit viper species have a triangular shaped head, while non-poisonous ones have a narrow or slender shaped head.
Chuck
Chuck, that GA recommendation for using club soda to kill fire ants is a scam. Walter Reeves, a well respected horticulturist never mentioned that method or endorsed it. It does not work in any case.
Thought that might be the case - didn't seem too logical. My brother sent it to me.
I've been attacked many times in flood waters from fire ants. Darn things don't drown, they just float in mass congregations on anything they can attach to in the water. And they seem to be even meaner and more vicious when they're uprooted from the nest. Mess with a nest and that is one issue, but it seems worse in floods.
Whatever attractant type bait you put out, the following method works the best.
Warm or hot dry weather, early morning or late afternoon, minimum three to four days after any rain or sprinklers. Just broadcast it sparingly. They will find it and treasure it for the queens - less is best type thing.
Used to treat a heavily infested four acres on the Guadalupe river bottom with one pound or less of Amdro every couple months. Worked like a charm. Two weeks later - no ants.
did you use the mosquito repellent? and if so how did it work? we have had the worst mosquito problems the last few years to the point that i come in covered in welts--and they are hard to get rid of --
Planolinda,
Yes. Mosquitoes was specifically what I used the Green Light Insect Concentrate for.
Put some in a hose end sprayer and spray everything - bushes, corners, fences, patio.
The yard smells great after and the oil gets them on contact or they fly away from it.
Combo of thyme, clove and sesame oils. Nothing injurious to us.
Citronella candles or spray is ok, but I'm not a fan of the smell.
There is little you can do to eliminate all of them, unless you douse the area in malathion.
But this is as close as I've found to making things a lot more pleasant outside.
chuck are you a distrubuter?--if not you should be and if so how does one make sure you get the sale?
you don't live that far from me --have you noticed the mosquitos getting worse each year? it seems they were never a problem until the last few years
i appreciate your suggestion because i have a 5 pound dog that enjoys our yard as well as some turtles and with such a small body i think any ill effects from chemicals are even more likely to hurt him--
No, wish I was. You can also get it at many nurseries - Calloways for one with their premium. I just ordered about 6 items that I use from the Green Light online store, and paid the shipping fee - $12.50. I figured I saved in the long run though.
For some reason Green Light is not carried in many of the big shops like Walmart, lowes or Home Depot. Too bad - they make some great products. I reckon they don't pay for shelf space like the bigger chemical outfits and wholesalers.
We've had a lot of rain throughout the spring and summer the past couple years that makes for prime breeding.
Want to get rid of roaches - Boric Acid and brown sugar...............
The brown sugar has molasses which attracts them faster.
You can use powdered sugar, but I prefer the brown for quick results.
30-40% brown sugar, the rest boric acid (available in the pharmacy section).
Work it together good, then put out small piles - 1/2 tsp - around the foundation corners, sides and garage. Outside at night I just spoon out small piles. Inside I use the plastic caps from water or milk jugs. Even if your pets get to it, it won't hurt them.
Couple days of baiting vigilance and you won't have roaches (at least the big ones). The smaller ones are harder to attract and kill.
