A garden is only as good as the ground that it's planted in. Discussion forum for the many ways to improve the soil where we plant our gardens.
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
April 24, 2017 | #301 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
|
Look who was hiding under my black plastic! I think it's a rat snake. I managed to move him over a row from where I was planting. He loves it underneath the black plastic when it heats up in the sun.
Obviously, I know the snake is beneficial, but they still scare the heck out of me. My dog likes to sniff out the snake and bark at it. I'm going to need her to check for the snake from now on when I plant. |
April 24, 2017 | #302 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 1,398
|
Quote:
|
|
April 24, 2017 | #303 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
|
Oh wow! I find black snakes sometimes and it scares the crap out of me for a second. Copperheads are the ones I worry about. They blend in so well to leaves I've walked right over one before seeing it, but I haven't seen any here. They say black snakes are territorial, but Idk.
|
April 24, 2017 | #304 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
|
Thank gosh my weed cloth is solidly sealed in with 2x4's on the edges, I wouldn't want to be walking on that.
__________________
In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
April 25, 2017 | #305 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Santa Maria California
Posts: 1,014
|
Quote:
|
|
April 25, 2017 | #306 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Santa Maria California
Posts: 1,014
|
Quote:
|
|
April 26, 2017 | #307 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
|
I stepped on a big snake barefoot when I was about six, and have been scared of them ever since. I think it's the only phobia I have. I have about 700' of plastic mulch left to plant, and now I'm scared to stick my hands down there. This is going to be interesting.
A friend of mine said that I should just kill the snake, since it is in my way and slowing me down. That would be satisfying, but it would be acting out of fear and ignorance, something I try to be against in principle. Here's a link about my snake: http://www.livescience.com/53855-rat-snake.html It says they make popular pets. "Docile, yet snappish when cornered." LOL. Ok, do not corner the snake. Let's make that rule #1 Online discussions I find are often between snake-lovers and snake-haters, but the quote below seems like good advice. https://www.todayshomeowner.com/deal...ome-or-garden/ Myth #3: Black snakes are completely harmless. Just because I think black snakes are good to have around doesn’t mean I want to be bitten by one, any more than I’d want to be bitten by a raccoon, a rat, or a stray dog. Any snake bite – even a nonvenomous one – is likely to be painful and full of bacteria which can lead to infection. So it’s best to treat all snakes respectfully, keep your distance, and avoid being bitten. |
April 26, 2017 | #308 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
|
No doubt. I had a python (named Monty) as a pet for years, as he got older he would sometimes bite me when I was handling him. It was mildly painful but still made me jump and I was sure to clean and bandage the wound. I've heard some horrid stories about untreated snake bites even from pets. Like most of nature's creatures they don't want to cause harm but if you startle one or corner it then good luck...
|
April 26, 2017 | #309 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
|
Cole, use a stick to hit the plastic as you walk down the line, this should alert the snake you are there and it should move out of your way. I don't like to kill the either, just the bad ones.
__________________
In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
April 26, 2017 | #310 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
|
Oh I will. It's going to be funny to watch, I'm sure. The temps are like 20 degrees warmer under the plastic when the sun is out, so he really hates coming out from underneath it. He's still at the end of one row where I last moved him, with just his nose stuck out from the plastic, peeking out. From what I read, Black Racers will slither away to avoid people, but Black Rat Snakes don't really care that much that you are there.
|
April 27, 2017 | #311 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 1,398
|
My next door neighbor is scared to death by any snake. Twice last year he called me and frantically asked me to grab a gun and hurry over to kill a snake in his yard. I go over (unarmed) to find a garter snake. He freaks out when I catch them and take them over and release them in my garden. I tell him that most snakes are harmless to people and to just leave them alone and if one begins chasing you to run as fast as you can back into the house, since snakes can't turn doorknobs. Hahaha
|
April 27, 2017 | #312 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
|
Quote:
I actually had a snake chase me once in my backyard on Padre Island. I have not idea what kind of snake it was, but that sucker came up out of the green and black water enclosure for our water system when I took the lid off. I jumped back and it came at me all the while I ran like crazy to find it right behind me. That was scary! I hate snakes, I don't want to kill the good guys but I'll be danged if I won't if I have too, lol.
__________________
In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
|
April 27, 2017 | #313 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 6,794
|
One of the blessings of our blissful island life.... no snakes!!
|
April 27, 2017 | #314 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b
Posts: 1,110
|
I had a small Burmese python and a large black snake growing up. The black snake struck a couple times but always with his mouth closed.
In high school, I got to go to Hood College for a field biology course. We trapped and pelted mice and then I took a black snake out of its cage. I learned the importance of washing my hands! With that said, sneaky snakes still scare me in the garden - I never expect them! |
April 28, 2017 | #315 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Indianapolis Area 46112
Posts: 857
|
i would still be running!
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|