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Old 08-30-2017, 07:02 AM #1
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Default Learned something new

Not a hobby, and certainly not a pleasant learning experience and it's taken a few anti-anxiety pills to be calm enough to share... but you should always use caution when opening exterior doors in south east Georgia. Now it's not for reasons you may imagine like cultist baptists ready to attack, intruders, flying steroid taking cockroaches (aka palmetto bugs). It's not that you need to be especially weary of black widows or brown recluses believe me they're already in your home attics and walls and spinning their little webs under your beds.... and it's not even down where I always thought it was that you had to watch for in dealing with snakes...

For the past couple of nights I have let my cat in, and something has hit me each time, something cold and clammy just like the many many geekos and frogs around here, so I largely ignored it after the initial jump of something hitting me. Until this morning, when I finally looked to see what it was, I mean really how many times must a frog land in my hair before it learns... 2 times less than the pigmy rattlesnake I found curled up by my bare toes!!!! Thinking the snake must have already been there and forgetting about looking for the "frog" I grabbed our special kitty who had followed me on to the porch to let his brother in and firmly shut the door spending the next 2 hours huddled on the couch waiting for the DH to wake up.

He got up, went on to the porch, looked around and it was gone... all's fine I'm just over reacting as usual to the presence of a snake, he doesn't see it anywhere, he looked out the screen didn't see it on the walkway but knows I won't be satisfied until he "checks" so he opens the screen door and the thing smacks him on the back of the wrist before falling to the ground. Poor special kitty was scruffed once more non-too-gently by the DH and thrown inside again... while in horror I was stuttering out to the DH "why was it up?! How did it... why? Why? Why up?" His response was they can do that and with that answer I lost my mind for a bit... I know there's snakes that can climb trees, I do... but that pigmy's had a thing for parkour I NEVER would have dreamed.

Just one ore thing I dislike about this state... rain falls sideways never down, roaches fly, the perpetual sauna....etc... and now the parkouring pigmies, like the snakes around here haven't already found enough ways to torment me.
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Old 08-31-2017, 07:22 AM #2
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ugh!! I'll stay up north where the mosquitos are some of the worst pests...guess you have to open the door with a broom to sweep away the snakes?
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Old 08-31-2017, 09:31 AM #3
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Ugh is right. I don't DO reptiles. Learned a healthy respect (rather than fear) for them after living for a year on a Louisiana bayou, then 12 years in Natchez Mississippi. There I watched a snake of some kind climb straight up the side of a 1' x 1' column on my front porch. Not wrapped around barber pole-like. It zigzagged up on the corner, then settled in for the night on a ledge at the ceiling. Before that I almost put my hand on a snake that was climbing a tree the same way. We had a 4 footer in the attic for a while, too.

Snakes climb. Mine were some variety of corn snake. And non-venomous.

Is climbing part of parkour? You have a very athletic poisonous snake as a housemate!
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Old 09-01-2017, 10:42 PM #4
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I had to drive 500 miles to Ontario Canada to see my first rattlesnake, for an area that can have 8-10 feet of snow on the ground in the winter that just seems wrong!

When I was in Largo Florida in 2009 there was a couple of news reports about people getting bitten by pygmy rattlesnakes. One was a guy cutting his grass wearing flip flops, and the other was an old lady with bad eyes that thought it was a stick on the sidewalk.

That was my first and only time further south than Virginia Beach, I live in the country here and have a lot of snakes in my yard, but poisonous ones are 70-80 miles away.

It was kind of interesting to be sitting by the backyard pool in Florida and see a 5 foot long snake slither by! LOL
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Old 09-02-2017, 12:43 PM #5
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I have had a phobia of snakes since I was 3 yrs old. I know the whys and wherefores of it even though in concord venomous snakes were truly not a concern. But here! Cottonmouths, timbers, pigmies, mocosans and rarely coral snakes are EVERYWHERE! Every summer brings at least 3-4 venomous snakes right up to the house, countless other snakes throughout the yard and then there's all the ones you don't see. But falling out of doorways was still a first for me and I can only pray that it will never happen again or I don't think I'll ever be able to leave my house again lol
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Old 09-06-2017, 02:06 PM #6
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Well, that just creeped me out. I'm not big on snakes. We have rattlers all over. They stay hidden too. We once had a black Mexican King snake in the yard. It must have been 5 feet long. It was huge. I found out that they help keep rattlers away. I don't remember how as it was a number of years ago, but they are good snakes to have around. I chilled out a little when I heard that.

I don't like scorpions either. Those little guys are sneaky!!!! They hid in dark cool places. You know, the places you never think to check. DD27 got stung once when one was hanging out in her shoe. Needless to say, she didn't go to school that day. The own home we lived in had a number of them due to some nearby construction. They all migrated from the construction site. I had a friend tell me to get a black light and look for them at night. I never did because I don't think I would have every slept again. We learned to check our shoes and clothes carefully before putting them on.
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Old 09-07-2017, 06:01 AM #7
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My phobia of snakes has worsened over the years. I know it's irrational, but like you I live in a country / state that has some of the most poisonous / venomous reptiles / spiders etc in the world. I'd be looking at investing in moon suits �� if I lived where you do...
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I have had a phobia of snakes since I was 3 yrs old. I know the whys and wherefores of it even though in concord venomous snakes were truly not a concern. But here! Cottonmouths, timbers, pigmies, mocosans and rarely coral snakes are EVERYWHERE! Every summer brings at least 3-4 venomous snakes right up to the house, countless other snakes throughout the yard and then there's all the ones you don't see. But falling out of doorways was still a first for me and I can only pray that it will never happen again or I don't think I'll ever be able to leave my house again lol
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Old 09-08-2017, 11:01 AM #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tkrik View Post
Well, that just creeped me out. I'm not big on snakes. We have rattlers all over. They stay hidden too. We once had a black Mexican King snake in the yard. It must have been 5 feet long. It was huge. I found out that they help keep rattlers away. I don't remember how as it was a number of years ago, but they are good snakes to have around. I chilled out a little when I heard that.

I don't like scorpions either. Those little guys are sneaky!!!! They hid in dark cool places. You know, the places you never think to check. DD27 got stung once when one was hanging out in her shoe. Needless to say, she didn't go to school that day. The own home we lived in had a number of them due to some nearby construction. They all migrated from the construction site. I had a friend tell me to get a black light and look for them at night. I never did because I don't think I would have every slept again. We learned to check our shoes and clothes carefully before putting them on.
Evidently a number of King snake types are immune to rattle snakes bites and will eat them if they can.
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Old 09-09-2017, 09:20 AM #9
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It was King snakes that helped me overcome my fear of snakes and turn it into respect. My boyfriend wanted to kill all snakes but I said noooo. They are called King for a reason.

I'd heard that cats keep snakes away, and found it true (for the yard at least) in Mississippi. What they really do is hold down the rodent population so the snakes learn there's little food at that house. Plus, cats will mess around/play with a snake.

Starznight, is there a bush or tree near your door, that the snake might climb to get to the top of your door?
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Old 09-09-2017, 01:02 PM #10
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Well I hate snakes so I guess we are staying up north with our blizzard conditions in the winter. We have coyotes in our neighborhood now, as well as voles, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits and toads. I haven't seen a snake in our neighborhood and I hope I never do.

So if you ever see me post about getting stuck in a snowdrift in December and complaining about it, remind me about your snakes down south.
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