Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Cliffh on July 15, 2015, 11:28:46 PM
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My workshop/storage shed is a 20'x20' corrugated metal building with a few holes in it, holes big enough for the occasional mouse or frog. I'd posted a while back about keeping snakes out of it, and then pretty much forgot about it since I didn't see anything to worry over-much about.
For the first time in 8 years I have proof there's a snake in it.
Three walls have 18" deep shelves starting at ~4' off the floor, then at the 6' & 8' marks, the top shelf in the back is ~4' deep. Of course all of the shelves are full to overflowing. Then there are the open rafters with long stuff stored on them, and "stuff" (workbenches, lumber, welders, radial arm saw, bandsaw, etc) along all four walls. Yesterday I had to get something stored on one of the top shelves, no problem, got it and got off the step stool. This morning I went to put it back, as I was reaching to the top shelf I noticed a snake skin going from the top shelf to the next one down (the one at eye level when on the stool). Needless to say, I didn't put the item back on the shelf.
Using a combo hoe/weed popper I was able to get the snake shed down intact. It measures 34"-35" long.
I called a local snake removal "expert" (at least according to his online ad), he will come out this far from Dallas. The drawback is in the charges: $130 to inspect the area and tell me about abatement (as if I couldn't figure that out on my own), or if he sets glue traps and spreads a repellant he'll not charge the inspection fee - just the fees and taxes for the traps and repellant of ~$400. For the $400 he'll do both the house and shed. We didn't discuss whether or not I'd get to keep the traps.
I'm not going to pay $400 to have someone remove a snake. I also don't have the time/resources to remove everything from the shed looking for the damn thing. So, I have a couple ideas:
1) Fill a bucket with ammonia. Toss in a chlorine tablet. Run for the door & slam it shut. Leave the door shut for a couple days, then open it for a day and let everything air out. Questions on this method: how much of each chemical to use to fill ~5,000 cuft? How corrosive will the resultant fumes be, ie will the fumes cause problems for any/all the stuff (Xmas decos, power & hand tools, tiller, mower etc)? This has the possibility of leaving a snake carcass in a hidden spot, in a non-environmentally controlled metal shed during a TX summer. But I'd be willing to put up with a smell for a while - it'd let me know he's no longer among the living.
2) I've got a couple small tires headed for the dump. Instead, I could douse 'em with gas, lay 'em on the floor and throw a lit match at 'em. That should create enough smoke to fill the shed, hopefully causing said snake to seek fresh air. No real downside to this one except for the smell of burning rubber, which I've lived through before. Just not sure it'd work.
For tonight I've left the lights and radio on and threw some mothballs around. The mothballs most likely won't do anything for making the snake high-tail it outa there, but they may help keep the other critters out. I also tossed out a couple/four rat traps in possibly likely areas, just in case. I'm going to pick up a few glue traps tomorrow - which are basically what the "expert" was going to use, minus the chemical attractant.
My biggest concern, besides getting rid of this bastard, is knowing he's gone.
A few ideas considered and rejected for various reasons:
1) Detcord - hard to get a hold of
2) Nuke from orbit - even harder to do than detcord
3) Burn it to the ground - insurance company might have a problem with this
4) Build another workshop and let the snake have this one - SWMBO has a problem with this, although she has said we (I) need a larger workshop
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I'd actually recommend mom's method. Take an old blanket or towel, toss in the dryer. Get it nice and warm. Place warm blanket inside shed, wait about 20 minutes. Snake will probably be in the blanket.
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What kind of snake ???
If non venomous, you might want to keep him/her around to catch mice =)
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What kind of snake ???
If non venomous, you might want to keep him/her around to catch mice =)
And train him to fill out complicated insurance forms.
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What kind of snake ???
If non venomous, you might want to keep him/her around to catch mice =)
Couldn't tell for sure from the shed skin. If I had to guess I'd say it was probably non-venomous. The size of the head looks like the same diameter as the body, no obvious bulging, and the markings are (IIRC) like tiny (~1/8" or less) black diamonds in lines running the length with the rest of the skin clear.
My problem is that I'm scared by snakes. Very scared. As in "I don't want to go into the shed" scared. I left the hoe/weed popper outside the access door for the next time I enter. I can't get any work done with the hoe in hand. Irrational I know, but that's how it is.
The towel idea has potential. Question though - the shed's pretty warm already, in the high 90's by the middle of the day. Is the snake likely to leave his already warm nest for something that's possibly not much warmer?
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I'm confused, I thought the OP was a male. ???
=D =D =D
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I'd actually recommend mom's method. Take an old blanket or towel, toss in the dryer. Get it nice and warm. Place warm blanket inside shed, wait about 20 minutes. Snake will probably be in the blanket.
Oh hell no. Then who grabs the blanket. Does that person get bit in this movie or just lose all fecal matter?
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Geez "guys" it's a freaking snake. Be nice to it, feed it, train it to harass your neighbors.
Or, just go ahead and hike up your skirts and squeal like a little girl.
Or you could get one of any number of commercial snake repellants.
Another alternative is to get couple of mongoose (mongeese? Mongooses?) And Riki Tiki Tavi their narrow asses.
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I suppose that spraying # 4 birdshot at all cardinal and ordinal compass points inside the shed would be overkill.
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Try the blanket idea, at night. Throw blanket in, you wait outside with small tactical nuke, or wrap detcord with the blanket. When snake appears and gets it on with the blanket, detonate.
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So, we're just done with "detcord", right, that's not a thing anymore? ???
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You might try calling some of the more conservative churches in town.
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More than likely the snake is gone, if the shed is 90 degrees it is too warm for the snake to be comfortable. Probably went in the shed to shed it's skin because its a protected environment, then left to go find cooler areas. Snakes are exothermic so they maintain the temperature of the ambient temperature, if its hot they are hot, if its cold they are cold.
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That's easy. Adopt a mongoose.
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Get a dog that likes to hunt.
Our office in town had some sticky traps (bigger rat traps) and found a copperhead snake stuck on it one morning. It didn't kill it, but it did hold it. You might spend $10 and get some of the rat traps and lay them out where you think the snake may travel. Don't be surprised if you catch other stuff also.
We have had issues with mice in our office trailer here (can't keep any food around or in drawers). The sticky traps seem to be the most effective traps. Put them in cubby holes or against the wall where the mice tend to travel. I have thrown away a couple traps with two mice stuck side by side.
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Everyone has their fear, and I respect that. I fear communists and hippies, for example, and have a hard time not dousing them with soap or napalm.
Try the warm blanket approach on a cool night. Put the blanket in a long box. Leave on its side so the snake can get in. Tilt up to check for snake. If it contains a snake, tape the box shut, drive far away, release snake. If you want to kill the snack, run your exhaust into the box. Or set the box on fire.
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If you want to kill the snack, run your exhaust into the box. Or set the box on fire.
No, no, no. Put air holes in the box and ship COD to LadySmith. I like snakes (of the no-legged variety). =)
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You might try calling some of the more conservative churches in town.
I C wut U did there.
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You could try to lure him out with some root beer ;)
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Everyone has their fear, and I respect that. I fear communists and hippies, for example, and have a hard time not dousing them with soap or napalm.
Try the warm blanket approach on a cool night. Put the blanket in a long box. Leave on its side so the snake can get in. Tilt up to check for snake. If it contains a snake, tape the box shut, drive far away, release snake. If you want to kill the snack, run your exhaust into the box. Or set the box on fire.
Shovels are probably the best anti-snake weapon (non firearm) commonly available.
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That's easy. Adopt a mongoose.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Frapgenius%2FRikkiTikkiNagaina.jpg&hash=484c291d6927c00b52caeee00e350e056edd211b)
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And train him to fill out complicated insurance forms.
Wouldn't he have already gotten that training in law school?
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You people are really slipping, to miss a Monty Python reference like that. =(
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You people are really slipping, to miss a Monty Python reference like that. =(
Well, it would also need to be trained to mix concrete.
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If you want to kill the snack, run your exhaust into the box. Or set the box on fire.
Some snakes taste pretty good.
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The box idea is a good one. Mom's solution to the snake in a blanket problem was to get us kids to retrieve it.
And yes, you'd want to use a warm blanket when it's colder out.
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Take the skin to a herpetologist at a university.
If it is not venomous, forget about it.
Put out rat bait to reduce its supply of prey also.
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Everyone has their fear, and I respect that. I fear communists and hippies, for example, and have a hard time not dousing them with soap or napalm.
Question:
When did we start bathing commies? Napalming hippies is OK, but bathing (or even hosing down) commies seems to put one a little to close to those progressive cooties.
stay safe.
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If you dissolve enough soap in your gasoline, you don't have to decide between the two.
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Take the skin to a herpetologist at a university.
If it is not venomous, forget about it.
Put out rat bait to reduce its supply of prey also.
Yep :)
We rescued a bull snake from an old refrigerator that we were using for outdoor storage on our property :angel:
But rattlesnakes get shot on sight >:D
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Take the skin to a herpetologist at a university.
If it is not venomous, forget about it.
Put out rat bait to reduce its supply of prey also.
A liver specialist??
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A liver specialist??
No - an STD specialist. duh.
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Yep :)
We rescued a bull snake from an old refrigerator that we were using for outdoor storage on our property :angel:
But rattlesnakes get shot on sight >:D
I have heard decent sized rattlesnake skins can be worth a little money.
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Do you know anyone named Patrick?
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Take the skin to a herpetologist at a university.
If it is not venomous, forget about it.
Put out rat bait to reduce its supply of prey also.
The snake has herpes???? ???
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The snake has herpes???? ???
Now I really don't want it to bite me or mine!
How hot is too hot for a snake? I can heat that sucker up if need be.
No ideas on how corrosive the ammonia/chlorine gas would be?
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Now I really don't want it to bite me or mine!
How hot is too hot for a snake? I can heat that sucker up if need be.
No ideas on how corrosive the ammonia/chlorine gas would be?
Didn't see till just now.
Cl gas is ***VERY*** corrosive. It'll be hell on your tools. Enough of it might actually render a sheet-steel shed unsafe for use.
When I was at the water plant several years ago, we had an incident (another shift, fortunately - I was out of town for it) where one of our guys mistakenly directed a Polyaluminum Chloride delivery driver to hook up his hose to the inlet for one of our banks of Sodium Hypochlorite storage tanks. PACl is a mild acid used in water clarification, NaOCl is a mild base used for water disinfection (and is about twice the Cl concentration as household bleach, for the record). Both are added to the same water, but in low concentrations and at different times. Here, a few hundred gallons of PACl were batch-added to several thousand gallons of NaOCl before the mistake was caught. Result - significant heat generation, salts gunking up the three NaOCl tanks on that side, and enough Cl gas to etch and corrode every metal fitting and surface in the room. Which we were told later was actually a pretty low concentration of Cl gas, considering the amounts of chemicals involved - most of it was contained in the NaOCl tanks. Total cleanup cost was about $250K.
For this reason among others, don't do it.
(BTW - guy did NOT get fired, although he did lose his new position as a Lead Operator and went back to being a senior worker bee on that shift. Ended up leaving the company for another water plant with a different company about a year later, IIRC.)
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Do you know anyone named Patrick?
I know of a couple of Patricks, but I haven't talked to either in a while.
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I knew a guy who worked at an ammonia plant once. He said the inspiration for the old video game Q-Bert must have been someone spraying ammonia liquid on a snake. He said they don't like that at all.
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I donno. $400 to make sure Jake Nolegs is gone for good sounds cheap to me....
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Didn't see till just now.
Cl gas is ***VERY*** corrosive. It'll be hell on your tools. Enough of it might actually render a sheet-steel unsafe for use.
When I was at the water plant several years ago, we had an incident (another shift, fortunately - I was out of town for it) where one of our guys mistakenly directed a Polyaluminum Chloride delivery driver to hook up his hose to the inlet for one of our banks of Sodium Hypochlorite storage tanks. PACl is a mild acid used in water clarification, NaOCl is a mild base used for water disinfection (and is about twice the Cl concentration as household bleach, for the record). Both are added to the same water, but in low concentrations and at different times. Here, a few hundred gallons of PACl were batch-added to several thousand gallons of NaOCl before the mistake was caught. Result - significant heat generation, salts gunking up the three NaOCl tanks on that side, and enough Cl gas to etch and corrode every metal fitting and surface in the room. Which we were told later was actually a pretty low concentration of Cl gas, considering the amounts of chemicals involved - most of it was contained in the NaOCl tanks. Total cleanup cost was about $250K.
For this reason among others, don't do it.
(BTW - guy did NOT get fired, although he did lose his new position as a Lead Operator and went back to being a senior worker bee on that shift. Ended up leaving the company for another water plant with a different company about a year later, IIRC.)
Well.... damn. Something had told me it'd most likely be corrosive, but I never thought it'd be that bad. Thank you for saving my tools, and possibly the entire workshop.
The $400 is only good for up to 90 days, that's as long as the repellant lasts, then he'd have to come out again to lay down more.
Instead, I'll be closing the access points and setting my own traps baited with some of the many, many frogs that have appeared this year. A bunch of glue traps surrounding a bowl of water with a screen cover & a frog in it, rat traps here & there, glue traps spread along the walls, on the shelves and under the equipment will at least bring me some peace of mind. I may even make a low door (short enough to step over) to cover the doorway while the actual door is open - the door's open most every day I'm working outside.
I'd have preferred a quick & dirty solution instead of dragging it out over days/weeks but one's gotta do what one's gotta do.
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Snake-A-Way Repellent Granules
We where in field and the tent we where using had a 4 foot rattlesnake in it. We put some Snake-A-Way Repellent Granules around the tent walls and the snake went for the door later that night. I help him out the door with a broom.
I don't care about snake normal , but i was sleeping in that tent and didn't want company in my sleeping bag. lol
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Would putting a new rope lasso around the shed while the snake was still inside keep the creature from leaving? Don't want to suggest the tried and true cowboy deterrent until you are sure the snake is gone.
stay safe.
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$400 to give you 90 days to snake-proof your shed and then lay down your own repellant (probably available at your local Wal-mart =D) and you can be sure that it's not you having to deal with Jakie Noshoulders.
Sounds cheaper then the recreation of WWI in your shed (and shifting winds could be a bad, bad, bad thing.) and having to deal with a extremely pissed off, (and glued to board) possibly venomous, snake.
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having to deal with a extremely pissed off, (and glued to board) possibly venomous, snake.
I can think of a couple cool things to do in this situation. At least three involve the guy with the subwoofers that works late shift.
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Since the snake shed measured a max of 35" the glue traps will be attached to stout sticks at least 48" long, except for those placed out in the open. Those will be staked to the dirt floor. I'm going to assume a 3' snake is fairly powerful, and I have a tendency to over-engineer things, so the stakes and sticks will be strong.
I'm not sure if snakes can dig or not (thinking not) but even if they do I'm not concerned about the dirt floor. Previously I added some length to the walls taking them at least 12" below grade. It hasn't been long enough for the galvanized steel to deteriorate to a significant degree.
I can think of a couple cool things to do in this situation. At least three involve the guy with the subwoofers that works late shift.
There are a few on my "list", but none near by have done anything bad enough to rate something along those lines.*
I haven't read a lot on repellants but with the exception of ads most everything says that the commercially available repellants don't work. Supposedly there are some available to the pros that are effective. I may give some a try though, just 'cause.
*There are some on the list who're lucky enough to live too far away.
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If half the snakes body is stuck to a glue trap, he won't be able to move well. Sort of gets in the way of the normal locomotion. However, I have seen mice halfway stuck to the smaller traps drag them across the room. They still can't go anywhere. Just watch where you are putting your feet until you check all the traps. I assume you are doing that now anyway out of concern the snake is right under your work bench.
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I hate snakes. I f*cking hate snakes. Working in a pond 3-4 weeks ago that I knew had water snakes in it and I probably saw a piece of wood floating but I couldn't do it. I had to get out of there because it looked a bit like a snake.
That said the active ingredient in every snake repellent I've seen is sulfur. Smells like rotten eggs but apparently it works. Save the $400 and buy some yourself.
Now as to firearms, and keep in mind I'm admitting I'm a totally irrational fellow when it comes to snakes... them #12 shot in .38 spl or .44 mag or other such revolver cartridges aren't a horrible idea. I forgot about them until just now. I might dig them out and bring some to work. I f*cking hate snakes!
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Yeah, I figure if he's got a glue trap stuck on he's gonna be "unhappy". Might even be a bit snappy.
Earlier this year I did a little searching for the .38 snake shot, couldn't find any. If you run across a supplier it'd be nice to know who they are.
Looks like sulfur is easy to get. Might have to get a pound or two & dust it around the inside. Ought to smell real good with the mothballs.
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There isn't much you can do with a snake where it won't be snappy if it isn't dead. the glue trap does the job of immobilizing the snake so you don't have to get in a hurry killing it.
But repellent is good. I would still put glue traps or other stuff down to catch mice or whatever is bring in the snake.
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Hate to spool you up, but why do you think there is only one? And if you get the "one", why do you assume another one won't take it's place? Creatures look for a good place to live, a food supply, water, shade, etc- very hard to keep out a creature from a place that meets the criteria.
BUT- here is what I would do- go to goodwill and buy a cheap electric blanket and put it on the floor. If it gets cool there at night it may make a snake cozy and Bob's yer uncle.
Or get a live rat and tether it somehow, maybe put it in a cage the snake can get into but the rat can't leave.
I have opposite problem- used to have some plywood laying around on the ground with forty or fifty garter snakes living under them. I moved the plywood, the snakes are gone and there is an infestation of pocket gophers now.
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My Dad raised some guinea birds once. Had about 40 of them in a chicken coop. The rat snakes were small enough to get through the chicken wire at night to eat a couple chicks, but we caught a couple that were then unable to get back out after eating. Might be an option for a snake trap.
I'll leave this here also. =D
(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/nope-12.jpg?w=500&h=375)
Okay, maybe the glue traps wouldn't be enough for this one.
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Now for snakes in a chicken house where they are stealing eggs I have a fun method.
Get medium size fish hook and some stout wire leader. Attach the hook to the leader and poke a hole in the egg just big enough to slip the hook in and then seal up the hole, a couple drops of superglue will work. Secure the end of the leader, put the egg back and wait. I've gotten a few big black snakes with that trick.
Just for the record, I won't hurt a nonvenemous snake unless they are stealing eggs or other such dastardly deeds.
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Here is some "stuff of nightmares" for CliffH to enjoy =D
I went out this morning to finish moving the last of an old compost pile in the back of my yard and found a few surprises buried in the compost.
4 large clutches of snake eggs No idea what kind but the eggs ranged from a large-ish chicken egg size to medium/small size
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi23.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb398%2FFLHRI-OK%2F20150722_084959.jpg&hash=a02f7abc2991a689d34c6693c19b5c74bfa5060e) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/FLHRI-OK/media/20150722_084959.jpg.html)
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi23.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb398%2FFLHRI-OK%2F20150722_090057.jpg&hash=5fb3f9f545105a8a8bca3bd6873d48c7dcc64bfc) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/FLHRI-OK/media/20150722_090057.jpg.html)
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi23.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb398%2FFLHRI-OK%2F20150722_085841.jpg&hash=dee050ce66605735f3679f49077d7611b6d9f4c5) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/FLHRI-OK/media/20150722_085841.jpg.html)
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi23.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb398%2FFLHRI-OK%2F20150722_084719.jpg&hash=fa33daabacae69b67a842587608dfc4e9c27ad87) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/FLHRI-OK/media/20150722_084719.jpg.html)
If you might be a tad squeamish skip this next picture.
No idea what kind of snakes they were other than dead by the time I got done with them for size reference they are laid out on a railroad tie.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi23.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb398%2FFLHRI-OK%2F20150722_090158.jpg&hash=c2f29dc37610ee5806f8346fb38b33c78a1cb1ee) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/FLHRI-OK/media/20150722_090158.jpg.html)
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Those are the ones I see eating the mice that scare the pink elephants. Never knew before that the elephants were wearing team uniforms.
stay safe.
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Yesterday was my Saturday, spent the entire day snake/frog/mouse-proofing the shed. Half a can of spray foam, ~12' of rubber, a few 2x4's and a lot of screws. I'll have to keep an eye on the materials used to see how they're holding up in the weather and/or chewing but for now it's secure.
Distributed 16 glue traps in various areas in different configurations based on the location and put out 4 rat traps. None were disturbed this morning, but the day's still young.
And even though there are a lot of areas for snakes, etc to hide in there I'm pretty sure there is/was only the one. If it's the one I'm thinking of, I saw him out in the far north corner of the (5 acre) lot sticking his head up out of a hole in the ground watching me on the riding mower. Also saw him once a few years ago on top of the compost heap, we stared at each other for a while until he headed north.
[Wizard of Oz]It did not lay eggs, it did not lay eggs, it did not lay eggs.[/Wizard of Oz]
Unfortunately, for a few reasons, the night time temps now-a-days only drop into the high 70's. Not exactly cool.
Still want to build a short screen door and set a baited trap but that's going to have to wait for another day. The damn water heater let go this morning so (my) Sunday's going to be taken up dealing with that.
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If you really want a horror story of snakes the Dark Continent has great ones.
The author Roald Dahl ("willy wonka and the chocolate factory" was his best known popular work) wrote some great tales of his upbringing in east Africa, the one that sticks in my mind was a guy running thorough waist high grass with a big mamba behind him supporting four feet of its body off the ground so it could keep it's head above the grass and see the guy. Apparently mambas are quite aggressive.
As a side note, he had an interesting life, he was a fighter pilot in Greece during the war, talked about moving the base every day trying to get out from under the advancing Germans.
And wrote some quite twisted adult fiction.
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RoadKingLarry, did you take those snake fetus' down to the local Planned Parenthood office? =D
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RoadKingLarry, did you take those snake fetus' down to the local Planned Parenthood office? =D
I thought about it but I don't think they wanted livers from their own kind.
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Y'all remember Law Dog's snake and other stories from his youth?
stay safe.
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If you really want a horror story of snakes the Dark Continent has great ones.
The author Roald Dahl ("willy wonka and the chocolate factory" was his best known popular work) wrote some great tales of his upbringing in east Africa, the one that sticks in my mind was a guy running thorough waist high grass with a big mamba behind him supporting four feet of its body off the ground so it could keep it's head above the grass and see the guy. Apparently mambas are quite aggressive.
As a side note, he had an interesting life, he was a fighter pilot in Greece during the war, talked about moving the base every day trying to get out from under the advancing Germans.
And wrote some quite twisted adult fiction.
Holy Crap!
I'm going to have to look into Mr. Dahl's writings.
Y'all remember Law Dog's snake and other stories from his youth?
stay safe.
Can't say that I do. I take it they're interesting?
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Can't say that I do. I take it they're interesting?
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146333
Scroll to Dec 18, 2002 to start. Then let me know next week when you climbed out of the rabbit hole.
Law Dog's blog is still up, but he's been almost completely silent for over a year. I miss his postings.
stay safe.
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http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/06/hey-get-out-of-there.html
Here's one of the stories from his blog.
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Here is the whole series, in order:
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/06/hey-get-out-of-there.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/06/hey-part-2.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/07/get-out-of-there-part-iii.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/07/okay-where-were-we.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/07/ratel-end.html
OMG but my sides hurt!
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Here is the whole series, in order:
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/06/hey-get-out-of-there.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/06/hey-part-2.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/07/get-out-of-there-part-iii.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/07/okay-where-were-we.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/07/ratel-end.html
OMG but my sides hurt!
I love that story, but you missed one part: http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2006/07/last-chapter-different-viewpoint.html, comes right after "Okay, where were we?"
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Ah! Right you are sir!
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Holy Crap!
I'm going to have to look into Mr. Dahl's writings.
Can't say that I do. I take it they're interesting?
Read "Going Solo" by Dahl; it's his autobiography of when he was a young adult. It's a fantastic book, but keep in mind he "enhanced" some of the stories (ie, lied).
"Boy" is his autobiography as a youth; also fantastic.
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Here is some "stuff of nightmares" for CliffH to enjoy =D
I went out this morning to finish moving the last of an old compost pile in the back of my yard and found a few surprises buried in the compost.
4 large clutches of snake eggs No idea what kind but the eggs ranged from a large-ish chicken egg size to medium/small size
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi23.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb398%2FFLHRI-OK%2F20150722_084959.jpg&hash=a02f7abc2991a689d34c6693c19b5c74bfa5060e) (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/FLHRI-OK/media/20150722_084959.jpg.html)
Pretty sure they are would have been non-venomous, I don't think OK has coral snakes.
bob
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You're probably right Bobr. Probably Black snake or King snake guessing by the size. I didn't so much destroy them out of any malice or fear, they just happened to be somewhere That wasn't going to be there anymore when I got done moving the dirt/compost.
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It's actually kind of neat that mom instinctively (maybe) laid the eggs in a compost pile so there would be a constant temp. She has probably been scouting your place for years. ;)
bob
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I started that pile 5 years ago with a load of fresh chipped brush I got from the county. I Added to it with another load 2 years later.
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Sorry about the delay, things have somewhat hectic here lately what with the water heater bursting, another SSDI hearing for DW, work, working on a used riding mower we bought & still trying to get 5 acres under control after not being able to mow etc. for a couple months (due to the above-normal rainfall, which of course caused everything to grow even more than usual).
Oh, and spending over 3 hours Saturday night cleaning up the threads on the oil filter nipple that somehow got bunged up inside the oil filter.
I've got all the links provided saved, maybe some day things will slow down enough to read 'em.
I have had time to check the glue and rat traps a few times, so far I've only caught a couple insects and a small lizard, and none of them have moved - so I'm feeling fairly confident he's gone, at least for now.
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Yeah, I figure if he's got a glue trap stuck on he's gonna be "unhappy". Might even be a bit snappy.
Earlier this year I did a little searching for the .38 snake shot, couldn't find any. If you run across a supplier it'd be nice to know who they are.
Looks like sulfur is easy to get. Might have to get a pound or two & dust it around the inside. Ought to smell real good with the mothballs.
Snake shot is something I'm interested in. Turns out there are copperheads around the (hopefully, closing is 8/31) new homestead, so if im out walking the pup, slithery thinks are going to meet their maker.
Specifically looking for 45ACP, in some thing that will hold together through a can.
Or should I just use 22LR and just hit them a bunch...
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You can get 22 Mag shot shells. They have bigger shot then the 22 LR stuff and more of it.
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Snake shot is something I'm interested in. Turns out there are copperheads around the (hopefully, closing is 8/31) new homestead, so if im out walking the pup, slithery thinks are going to meet their maker.
Specifically looking for 45ACP, in some thing that will hold together through a can.
Or should I just use 22LR and just hit them a bunch...
The .38 and .22 LR shot shells are pretty commonly available around here. I think .45 Colt is available too but not .45 ACP. I doubt it would cycle anyway - you'd probably have to load it directly in the barrel and drop the slide =|
There's not much vital area on a snake so killing them with a solid bullet is pretty difficult. It's sort of like trying to kill somebody by shooting them in the leg ;/ The sights are usually not even accurate at a typical range of maybe six feet.
I think maybe that I've killed a grand total of one rattlesnake with a pistol shot shell. Usually I see them when I'm on horseback and I don't have my gelding trained to shoot off of yet. Lots of bull snakes around but I don't hurt them :angel:
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.45acp snake shot at your beck and call. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/549829/cci-shotshell-ammunition-45-acp-120-grains-9-shot-box-of-10
Just remember that any shot out of any rifled barrel will donut very quickly. If standing "out of harm's way" aim to the left or right side of the head.
stay safe.
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.45acp snake shot at your beck and call. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/549829/cci-shotshell-ammunition-45-acp-120-grains-9-shot-box-of-10
Just remember that any shot out of any rifled barrel will donut very quickly. If standing "out of harm's way" aim to the left or right side of the head.
stay safe.
"Don't use with ported barrels"...I'm also thinking that means "don't use with silencer".
Poo.
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"Don't use with ported barrels"...I'm also thinking that means "don't use with silencer".
Poo.
They're just trying to stop you from complaining when all those little pieces of shott go clogging up thje works. If you can live with that I imagine everything would be just dandy otherwise.
Try it. I'll hold your beer.
stay safe.
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They're just trying to stop you from complaining when all those little pieces of shott go clogging up thje works. If you can live with that I imagine everything would be just dandy otherwise.
Try it. I'll hold your beer.
stay safe.
Nah, just means I'll HAVE to get a SALVO-12 to put on my UTS-15 and get some birdshot. Darn. Poor snakes.
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Midway has the .38 shotshells advertized also - but, like the .45's, they're on backorder and overdue.
I'm going to find out if their "Notify me" works.
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Lucked out a few weeks back & the LGS had .38 snake shot on hand. Bought 3 boxes of 10 - at $15 per box! Patterned at a few distances out of the 4" .357 - I can at stay at most 7 yards away and have a good enough pattern.
And it works. So far, only have one with the .357. Did get 3 others with the single shot 16 gauge - but it was a bit cumbersome to carry on the riding mower.
I was talking with my chiropractor about the problem. He told a story about how his grand-folks had an old well with a bunch of garden netting thrown down next to it - they'd find dead snakes in it all the time. Took some of that netting and tossed it behind the shed, took a few days but there's one to it's credit too.
Broke down and bought one of the commercial snake traps; it's a corrugated plastic box with glue traps and felt dots that spent some time in a cage with a bunch of mice. It's on one of the top shelves inside, along with a bunch of other glue traps I made using multiple rat-sized glue traps and cardboard - so far one of the home-made traps has produced one snake kill. Others have caught multiple lizards, crickets & a couple mice.
Between the multiple glue traps and numerous bug bombings, I'm hoping to soon be the only living thing in there.