Anyone out there providing rock piles for snakes?

Leezard, Snake & Squirrel removal specialist -may I present Lola

Lola is very pretty! She sure has a calm and all-knowing look in that photo.

Tell Lola hi for me!! lol. She looks like a very wise dog.

lol thanks - she woofs to y'all. She had a rough start to life -produced at a puppy mill, bough ,abused, sentanced to death, rescued by a shelter and adopted by us and our 75 lb male dog and withstood the birth of our baby. Despite all she's endured she's a wonderful dog. And will kill anything you want, including the bugs my husband sicks her on! LOL Made her eat a huge praying mantis that was freaking him out.

My dad would love to see her eat that praying mantis!!! lol

bambamdryad, I guess I assumed it was the squirrels because I have never seen raccoons our where I am. (And, yes, I have always thought that was strange.) I have large garbage cans (plastic) and nothing has ever tried to get in them. I just assumed because I see the squirrels parade by all day that it was them. Well, now - what do I do about raccoons. Even though I have never seen them I have always thought that will all the other wildlife, there had to be some.

I am afraid of snakes..........

have seen them in my flower beds, on my lawn, under my front porch, had a family of them living under front porch.......

and, have a rock pile and have flower beds lined with rocks. I didn't think about edging the beds with rocks in 1997 when the house was built, and didn't think about piling a bunch of rocks in the fall of 2004 at the end of our side entry driveway. I'm almost afraid of getting into the rock pile until the fall and/or spring. Hope there aren't any snakes there.

Marilyn

Marilynbeth -
Be smart - be able to recognize a poisonous snake from a regular snake (shape of head is a big hint). A snake is like most other animals in that it has its "space" that shouldn't be entered. Snakes are as afraid or more afraid of you than you of them. This is why they bite. To defend themselves. They have no other way.
Watch where you are walking. Most people are bitten b/c they have stepped on a snake or came near stepping on it. Others are bitten from handling a snake foolishly.
Find out what is the smart way of taking care of a snake bite if non-poisonous and what immediate care can be given for poisonous ones (if you have poisonous snakes in your area). Better to be prepared. However, non-poisonous snakes, in my experience, slither away from people as fast as they can go. I've not yet encountered a poisonous one, but I have heard stories that they, too, slither away if they are not cornered or stepped on.

Most smaller snakes take care of cockroaches, grasshoppers, and other pests. Bigger ones will eat lizards and mice and maybe other snakes.

Snakes are eaten by hawks, weasels, bobcats, coyotes, and fox.

Snakes move slower when the weather is cold.

indirt, we have copperheads, rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, kingsnakes, blacksnakes, right here on my property. You say a snake is as scared of you as you are of it. The copperhead is not scared at all. The blacksnake and kingsnake eats my eggs and baby chicks, ducks, and guenias. I have only one cure for a snake------Death. John

kingsnakes supposedly eat copperheads

Have you been chased by a copperhead?
I'd be interested to know as I, too, live in poisonous snake country.

I am sorry they eat your pets/poultry, but that is what they were created to do. I understand your frustration and anger. I'd be mad, too, if my chicken coup was overrun w/ snakes.

This story shocked me:

http://davesgarden.com/place/t/618592/

I read the whole thread. Very entertaining :) What was shocking, though? The pics of the snake eatin' the toady were pretty interesting. Is that the right word?? LOL.

carrjohn, are you sure that it was a blacksnake? Well, having just double-checked my info I have learned some more things. First there are actually two kinds of snakes that people refer to as "blacksnakes." One is the black racer and I was always taught to leave them alone as they did more good than harm. I know from experience that they tend to be very shy and will quickly run from you. Until an experience I will soon tell you about, I never really noticed but the mature adult is shiny black all over with a rounded body.

The there is the black “Rat Snake” which I had never heard of until a few years ago. I came home from work and a snake was peering in my windows that were 8 feet from the ground – accessible only by climbing straight up the side of a brick wall! Just then a neighbor (who must be crazy!) came by. He went out, climbed up a ladder, and grabbed the thing that was hissing and trying to strike him. The snake could have run along the ledge he had reached to look in my windows but he was more interested in attacking! The man caught him and the snake dropped his jaws open and I swear he could have swallowed a large dog! I noticed immediately that his belly was different from the black racer. It was flat, white, and showed ridges. That thing was well over 6 feet long. Already long story short, that is when I discovered there is such a thing as a “Rat snake” and its habits are very different from the black racer.

My neighbor let him go against my gut instincts. When I discovered what the thing was and checked out two nests that had had eggs the previous day, both nests were empty. Racers I let got. Rat snakes are dead meat! I also learned that while the Rat snake is not poisonous, it will clamp down on you and not let go!
Here are some links to picture ID the two.
http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/racer.htm

http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/brat.htm

indirt, I have learned about copperheads after moving here to SC. I moved from a place that had no poisonous snakes to an area that has just about every type in the US - and throw in a few poisonous spiders and it makes life interesting. I didn't know what the first copperhead was when I first saw it and was lucky that it was already dead. I had very young children at the time and the first thing I read was that it could easily kill a child under the weight of 50 pounds who did not get immediate treatment! Yikes. While I have never had one chase me, I have found that the come out of woods up to my house when it has been very dry. Someone said they were seeking moisture. I don't know it that is true on not but did always seem to seem them near the outside faucets. Unlike other snakes they don't generally run off but simply lie there or curl up into a striking position. If I have a hoe or shovel with me, they are gone. But if I don't, I just back away and go to get one. They are generally one when I get back. While I am all for wildlife and am working hard on attacking it to my property, I figure I am part of that wild life. :) My birds, butterflies, bunnies, and me come ahead of Rat snakes and copperheads! Although we have rattlers in the area, so far I have no encountered one. I always carry a stick with me when I hike through my woods and poke it out ahead of me. I figure Mother Nature will handle things in my woods but in yard where I have provided sanctuary for birds, etc., I will protect them to the best of my ability.

The reason why they dont run away is because they are ambush predators that rely on camoflauge, are slow as stones, and are heavy bodied animals. That basically adds up to something that doesnt like to move a lot and will wait for dinner to be delivered.
If you want snakes on your property then put down lots of rock piles, boards, shingles, any kind of cover, including old blankets. Which always seem to turn up in the woods for some reason. And get rid of those cats. Cats kill for fun.

Sorry, been away for a while.
I must have posted the wrong link. I meant to post this one:
http://davesgarden.com/place/t/618592/

I hope I got it right this time. I certainly would run and get a shovel for that one.

It is good to know that copperheads aren't the chasing kind. Everyone has told me how camoflauged they are and that they just lay across the path. That is my biggest thing w/ my younger kid - just doesn't look where he is going most of the time. Have told him countless times to watch.

Like I said before, the best way when living in snake country is to be aware of what they look like and how to take care of a wound.

Being smart is a better defense than merely being afraid. Lots of people who react w/ fear make mistakes that cause the bite. That is true w/ all wild and domestic animals.

I nearly lost my eye to a dog bite when I was young. Although I remember it quite well, I am not afraid of dogs - but I am smarter about how they act/react in general. I know more about what to do and not to do in a strange dog's presence, or in that particular case, a friendly neighbor's dog I'd petted many times before. Any dog can bite that has teeth.

It sounds like there are some people here, including myself, that would like to know more about poisonous snakes, how to avoid being bitten, and how to treat a bite if bitten. Is there anyone out there with some answers that would like to start a thread?

indirt, bet you are sick of seeing me show up:) I know a couple of things but not sure how to I know enough to start a thread.
1. DON’T cut an X in you arm and have someone suck out the venom!!! :)

Sorry, it is late and I just couldn’t resist that. I am willing to give it a shot tomorrow. I am sure some real experts could certainly add a lot. I did have to some college courses on wildlife and belong to a ton of wildlife organizations. Living in SC where we have a bunch of them and in Florida for a couple of years where we had rattlers, water moccasins, and coral snakes, I looked up a ton of info about them. I have only had a run in with a copperhead here in SC and a coral snake in Florida. So most of mine is book learnin'. Since we have communicated on another forum, you know I have a love of that and am practically addicted to it. However, I still think nothing beats common sense and experience!

MollieB - you are a fount of interesting information and stories! A great addition to DG!

To start a thread - go to the forum topic where it lists all the threads in the category and down at the bottom of the page, like here, is a place to start a thread in that forum. I am fairly new to this stuff, too.

Marilyn,

I am no expert, but we have plenty of experience with copperheads and water moccasins (cottonmouths) on our property. We killed two copperheads last week hunting frogs and lizards just outside our open garage door. I'm always watching for long skinny intruders in my garage!

My biggest fear with copperheads is that they are so well camouflaged. If they aren't moving, you can't see them! When reading up on copperheads, I learned not only do they stay still waiting for prey but that is also their defense mechanism. If threatened, they tend to "freeze" trying to blend into the background. This leads some people to think they are aggressive and taking a stand, but that's not true. They aren't going to chase you. Given an opportunity, they will go the opposite direction. I also learned these are the most frequent bites seen in our state - almost always because the bite victim actually stepped on the snake or reached to pick up something in close proximity to the snake without seeing it. It's hard to peg them as aggressive if it takes stepping on them or almost grabbing them to get bitten!

I do tend to be extra vigilant while working or walking in my beds because they are so difficult to see. I never walk through my beds after dark or blindly reach under a plant. I'm no expert by any means, but my advice would be to research the snakes in your area and learn their habitat, habits, food sources, etc.. Having that knowledge will help you be more aware of potential risks and better equipped to avoid them.

Didn't mean to go on so long. This just happens to be my #1 concern around our house. Black Widows are #2. Now that's a totally different story........

Debra

Yes, tell more about black widows. I made a boo boo and was moving plant pots around that had webbing all over them. Stupid me! My hand came w/in 3 inches of a huge black widow. She had 3 large egg sacks hanging by her. When I spotted her, she was trying to hide from me - but what if I had accidentally touched her? What do black widow bites do?

I should have looked for the spider - I KNOW that.

I couldn't even kill her - she was so big/big splat/big wimp. My DS swatted her w/ a fly swatter. We burned the egg sacks.

Black Widows have a niche. They're not all that aggressive and contrary to what Hollywood would have us believe... they're not all that poisonous. Now scorpions... eek, off with their heads. I'm still open to debate on Copperheads but I think if I saw one hanging around close to my home, he'd lose his head too.

have you had experience w/ scorpions in IL?

No, but they're in Arizona where my one aunt lives. I check my shoes before I put them on when I visit her is about all I can say. I have a healthy respect for them. Coppermouths are down in Florida by my other aunt and I certainly have a healthy respect for those too. Up here, the only critter we have that can kill you is the brown recluse or fiddleback spider. We don't have any poisonous snakes up here. We had God send them all down your way.

LOL!

Ok maybe this is the right place to ask? I don't know much about spiders, but there's a huge black and yellow one in my garden, with a "zipper" woven into her web. She left an egg sack in my hosta garden, and now she's clear across the yard (blown by the rain?), at least I hope there's not more than one! Plus where the egg sack is, that spider is gone. Should I burn the egg sack, and how do I go about doing that? Sounds like a job for DH, if need be. Anyone know what kind of spider this is? It's pretty big. :-o

Sounds like an Orb Weaver. Try Argiope aurantia. Please leave her be. She won't hurt anyone or anything and she'll rebuild that web. If you go out at night when there's dew on the ground and get real close to the web, you'll really find it rather intricate and well engineered.

Thanks L, I knew you'd know! She's pretty scary looking, but I confess I googled black & yellow spider after I posted and found out she eats aphids and yellow jackets, so that's reason enough to keep her around. I wish she would eat slugs too. LOL

When I get a better look at the one on my front downspout, I'll ask about that one too. Like you said before, as long as it's not a recluse, I'm okay with sharing the gardens.

Yes, she's most definitely a beneficial spider. Actually, all of them are around here. Aphids are a delicacy, yum yum!

You needn't worry about any spiders in elevated webs in our neck of the woods. The Brown Recluse's web is generally very close to the ground and it's a sloppy web at best. They like areas that aren't disturbed and generally are in out of the way locations. They do tend to appear from time to time in homes that are located in wooded areas or near ravines. They particularly like to hang out in piles of dirty clothes left on the floor.

I'm not all that great at identification of arachnid unless they are the most common of common but if you post a photo of your guest on the downspout, I'll have a better shot at an ID for you

We have brown recluses here and boy they are nasty. One of our workmen was bitten and it became necrotic to the bone!

I've been bitten. It isn't the most pleasurable experience. I caught it before it went necrotic to the bone. Fortunately, the Fiddlebacks have distinct markings and look like no other spiders we have in this area. That won't help you if you stumble into an off the beaten path area and sit on one but it can help if you are out working in ravines or wooded areas. They do have a web that is generally very close to the ground that has very distinctive characteristics. Hard to mistake for any other web.

There are a couple of these "other" spiders, one at the downspout out front and one near the backyard fence. My DH was calling them violin spiders, so I googled violin spider and found out 1. that's not what they are and 2. violin spiders are also called recluse or fiddleback spiders. These spiders are fat and brownish, with markings on their backs. My daughter borrowed my camera, so I currently can't take pictures. They also have an orbicular web.

Your downspout spider could be just about anything. You'll have to post a photo on that one PG. What did you let your kid take off with your camera for? I'd be going through withdrawal.

Ha ha, she went to a wedding, and since I live vicariously through pictures, LOL... well I got it back but the little bugger is shy. She stays curled up between the downspout and the house.

Hi, Equilibrium, and everyone! Summer is over and Fall is chilly and wet here. Busy season is pretty much over, except for preparing for Old Man Winter. So far I have not seen any suspicious spiders or snakes here, so I let them be. If unfamiliar, I try to take a good look, then come in here to go on the internet to see if I can identify it.
Have not noticed any orb weavers, but they sound like a good one to have around. Black and yellow? In Florida that would be Banana Spider, and poisonous. As to scorpions! One night I was heading for bed in Florida. I was already dressed for bed, so did not turn on the light. As I started across the room, some little voice in my head said "Turn on the light!". For once, I listened, and right where I would have sat on the bed, was a scorpion!
I caught him in a bottle, and after three weeks, that thing was still alive with no food or water. My son worked with plastics and polyurethane at the time, so he took him, and put him in a little oval form of polyurethane. I keep that scorpion still.
Sorry to go on so long, but it seems I am a long winded person! LOL!
BAM

Well, where's a photo of your scorpion paperweight bambamdryad? Inquiring minds want to see this wunnerful wunnerful keepsake scorpion.

"Anyone out there providing rock piles for snakes?"
No.
But I can provide a snake.

Prairie Girl, did anybody ever I.D. your black and yellow spider for you? What you're describing is called "The Writing Spider," because of the "W" in her web...what you called the zipper. This is a classic garden spider, and the one Charlotte of Charlotte's Web was styled after. They are both beautiful and beneficial. We foster them here. If one claims a corner of the porch, it's all hers until she's gone.

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Yup. I noticed that after I posted. Also didn't pay attention to the dates. Ginger popped this older thread back up with her amazing Aussie snake. I was glad to see this additional picture of it, as pics in other threads didn't have the guy in it to show the size perspective. Quite the reptile. Here in my county we have no indigenous poisonous snakes, and no pythons or other fun stuff. All the snakes around where we live are pretty friendly fellows. Buggers.

I am still laughing over her

We had fun with Ginger's posting of this snake under: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/674428/