For Those of You that are Stomping Through the Woods...

[Jags]

Please remember to be safe and vigilant. This is the time of year that creepy crawly things start to wake up. If you stomp through the woods in areas that have poisonous critters, this may be on your want list.
(I chose this forum over the gear forum because of the nature of wood gathering).

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/hunter-saves-own-life-after-rattlesnake-bite/

 

[flhpi]

I watch out for spiders and check for ticks. Thankfully I don't have to worry about rattlers. We do have copperheads around where I live. Only have seen a couple. One got in a fight with my Stihl weed eater and the snake lost.

Thanks for the reminder post, hopefully we will be better prepared out there.

 

[smokinj]

I hate Snakes! I will give them a quick 45 reasons not to come close!

 

[Jags]

I hate Snakes! I will give them a quick 45 reasons not to come close!

I am with ya, but I usually only come up with about 38 reasons.

 

[Big Donnie Brasco]

I am fine with snakes, but my daughter has ALWAYS loved them








Had her own snake hook at TWO years old!


[I

 

[Jags]

Something with no legs, no arms, no wings or fins should NOT be able to move that fast. Pure evil I tell ya.

 

[privatejoker75]

There are western rattlers around here but i've never seen one on our side of the river. I'm still very vigilant though since the closest anti-venom is a 40+ mile drive


These scare me more though, this was on our window last summer

 

[bogydave]

No snakes or
poisonous spiders in Alaska


Did see a few mosquitoes yesterday while splitting wood?

 

[Jags]

No snakes or
poisonous spiders in Alaska

Yeah, all you guys get are those cuddly bears and moose.

 

[Jack Straw]

"I don't like spiders and snakes
And that ain't what it takes to love me
You fool, you fool

 

[westkywood]

I am fine with snakes, but my daughter has ALWAYS loved them








Had her own snake hook at TWO years old!


[I

Excellent. Looks like me and my daughter. Had snakes all my life.....

 

[westkywood]

Sorry to say, but that doctor is wrong. Look up what "Venom One" in Miami says to do. They say sucking out the venom is useless. It's a myth that you can suck out the venom. This guy in the article probably just didnt get a good dose of venom and the doctor was no snake expert. A lot of bites are dry bites. Cottonmouths are known for giving a lot of dry bites.
I've owned snakes all my life and use to do educational shows at schools with rattlesnakes , large Pythons etc. I go to Rattlesnake, Copperhead and Cottonmouth dens every spring and fall. yes, I admit, I'm obsessed with snakes and always have been. Don't believe everything you hear about them.
Now to the OP's point. Do be careful where you put your hands etc this time of year. The snakes have just come out of hibernation.....

 

[Big Donnie Brasco]

I took a dry bite to the shin from a Timber Rattler back in 2007 ... that'll make ya pee a little!

 

[Woody Stover]

The only Copperhead I've seen here was in the compost heap, trying to get warm. I slipped a golf iron under it and lifted it into a five-gallon bucket. As I understand it, they are not very aggressive.Called the snake guy at the zoo and told him a had a Copperhead for him. He said "Yeah, sure..." I took it over to him. He said "Hey, that's a Copperhead!"
Another time, my wife heard the Bluebirds pitching a fit, and yelled "Hey, there's a snake climbing up to that Bluebird house!" By the time I got there, he was part way inside. I grabbed his tail, swung him around my head a couple of times and flung him into the woods. All the SILs were impressed. But lots has happened since then and now they aren't all that impressed.

 

[westkywood]

The only Copperhead I've seen here was in the compost heap, trying to get warm. I slipped a golf iron under it and lifted it into a five-gallon bucket. As I understand it, they are not very aggressive.Called the snake guy at the zoo and told him a had a Copperhead for him. He said "Yeah, sure..." I took it over to him. He said "Hey, that's a Copperhead!"
Another time, my wife heard the Bluebirds pitching a fit, and yelled "Hey, there's a snake climbing up to that Bluebird house!" By the time I got there, he was part way inside. I grabbed his tail, swung him around my head a couple of times and flung him into the woods. All the SILs were impressed. But lots has happened since then and now they aren't all that impressed.

Copperheads are some of the most aggressive snakes we encounter. You may be thinking they don't have the really potent venom. They will strike repeatedly if cornered but also are more apt to try to get away.

 

[Jags]

Any snake with venom will not be in my presence very long, one way or the other. Either I leave or it does. Chances are its the snake that won't be back. I friggen hate snakes.

 

[firebroad]

There are western rattlers around here but i've never seen one on our side of the river. I'm still very vigilant though since the closest anti-venom is a 40+ mile drive


These scare me more though, this was on our window last summer

EE-YIKES!

 

[firebroad]

Personally, I find snakes useful for keeping down the vermin--but I think I draw the line at a rattler. I'll steer clear of them if they stay the hell off my property...Same with spiders, they are welcome to eat anything but me.
Had more problems with deer ticks than anything.

 

[flatlandr]

I saw no snakes in PA last weekend but did find 6 ticks and a whole lot of mosquitoes!

 

[osagebow]

Copperheads can mess ya up - let my garden get out of control and a big pregnant one under a cucumber leaf got me with a full bite. 2 days in the hospital, these are pics AFTER the swelling went down a lot. That said, I still love snakes and take pics of them whenever I can.


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BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!

 

[osagebow]

I am fine with snakes, but my daughter has ALWAYS loved them








Had her own snake hook at TWO years old!


[I

Great pics! I think that one black rat ate a golf ball!

 

[westkywood]

Copperheads can mess ya up - let my garden get out of control and a big pregnant one under a cucumber leaf got me with a full bite. 2 days in the hospital, these are pics AFTER the swelling went down a lot. That said, I still love snakes and take pics of them whenever I can.


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BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!

Thanks for the pics. I know I've been lucky not to have been bit. That finger looks bad. I've learned which ones show no aggression and can be loosely handled. I'd never handle a Copperhead like this. Cottonmouth or Timber Rattlesnake yes ( and only a few of those I see). Copperheads are biters. Heres one of me and a Timber Rattlesnake.

 

[Pallet Pete]

A few years ago I dropped a tree and discovered a massassauga rattler under part of the tree. It landed on it but didnt kill It. Man was he pissed off too ! The good news was there was about 15 ft between us and a hastily made tree stand consisting of a 5ft stump I got on top of as soon as I saw it. We had a 5 minute stare down then it left. I stayed on top of that stump for a good 30 minutes then crawled down and changed my pants lol.

Pete

 

[basod]

This is why I tend to curtail my wood gathering efforts around late March here.
Last week I was putting up some tools and heard some of the pallet stack crash to the ground - went to investigate and found a rather large King snake making his way back to the woods.
It's lump(rat/chipmunk) must have prevented it from easing back out of the stack

 

[Big Donnie Brasco]

Great pics! I think that one black rat ate a golf ball!

LOL... she had actually just taken both of those out of the henhouse!