Watch for snakes!!

Queen Bee · #1 05/19/05, 11:49 AM

Had to take our male doxie in to the ER vet at 9pm yesterday. Please be careful--the vet said he had 5 dogs in yesterday with copperhead bites.Said that "more people and dogs get bite between May 15-June1 than any other time of yr".. Our fellow started to have seizures.. He likes more like a bloodhound than a doxie!! Just keep your eyes, nose and ears open.. Debbie

Mutti · #2 05/19/05, 01:43 PM

Yes,we lost a setter to a copperhead bite...sad story.
Was selling some sheep and the fella and I saw a copperhead in the area where the dog came runing from...guess we should have killed it then and there. AOne of our horses came up lame and had obvious bite on leg but didn't seem to have any systemic effect. I'm a fanatic about keeping the grass really short around the barns,orchard,gardens and house.....I'm gonna see those snakes first! DEE

Tater'sPa · #3 05/19/05, 01:53 PM

I've not seen any poisonous snakes around here but the black snakes are plentiful

and the mice and rat population is way down. I'm also told that presence of black snakes mean less copperheads because they don't get along at all.
Now I'm going out to the garden....watch me find a copperhead :haha:

OldFarmGal · #4 05/27/05, 07:24 PM

Snakes - we got 'em. All kinds. Black, kings, copperheads, rattlers.

And water mocassins. Knew they were there, just hadn't eyeballed a big one this spring until yesterday - by the pond.

I've heard pigs and guineas kill snakes. Does anyone know if that's true? Anything else kill them?

Pony · #5 05/27/05, 08:54 PM

When we got the land in WI, I didn't know there were rattlesnakes there -- just figured on bull snakes and such.

Saw my first rattler, and it was a BIG one (4 1/2 feet)! Locals at the hardware store were surprised. One older woman said, "I grew up around here, and never once in all my 80 years have I seen a rattle snake."

Told her we could show her the skin and rattle, but we'd already eaten what little there was of the meat.

<shudder> I was at the hardware store to buy a loooooong handled hoe for protection.

Pony!

Senior · #6 05/27/05, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldFarmGal

Snakes - we got 'em. All kinds. Black, kings, copperheads, rattlers.

And water mocassins. Knew they were there, just hadn't eyeballed a big one this spring until yesterday - by the pond.

I've heard pigs and guineas kill snakes. Does anyone know if that's true? Anything else kill them?

Yes Hogs will eat any snakes they find. And guineas will attack a snake as a group. Plus they are great at eating ticks and chiggers. And black snakes will kill copperheads and rattlers. But a 38 with snake shot works good too.

Senior

OD · #7 05/28/05, 07:50 AM

I saw a big rat snake in the chicken house just this past week. Apparently, my guineas don't know that they are supposed to kill snakes.
I usually leave the rat snakes alone, I can use their help.

OldFarmGal · #8 05/28/05, 08:11 AM

LOL, Senior! You gotta see 'em to shoot 'em, and I don't wanna see 'em!

I leave the kings and blacks alone. Just don't want to share my land with the WM or copperheads. I haven't seen a live rattler - yet. Just skins.

I think if I saw a big one in the coop, I would wet my britches before it even registered what kind it was! Know that day is coming, though... sigh.

Guineas I can get pretty easily. Haven't talked my hubby into a couple of hogs, though. He thinks they stink. I tried telling him that a couple in a big area, like they will have here, will not stink. (I've had hogs before. Didn't have snakes, though. HA! Maybe that's why!)

I'm open to more ideas... I think I read somewhere - here? - that Muskovies kill snakes. Anyone know if that's true?

Ravenlost · #9 05/28/05, 10:40 AM

Yep, snakes are going to be bad this year. Didn't have a cold enough winter here. Hubby found a garter snake crawling in the front yard back in January! Our dog, Huck, has already been bitten this Spring...not a serious bite, thank goodness. Last year he got a bad bite from a cottonmouth and almost died. Swelling in his chest compressed his heart. SCARY.

We have a pond in our front yard that seems to be cottonmouth central. Hubby's already shot two this year and spotted another one that he is trying to get. Our dogs are good snake alarms, but we worry about them getting bit of course. Hubby needs to start bush-hogging real soon. There are places I just won't walk into any more.