Scared Me to Death

[LowRyter]

This morning I was taking out the trash.  I opened the front door and felt something fall on my head and shoulder.  I looked down, it was a small Garter Snake.

Then I really freaked out.

[Kev m]

We keep almost walking into our buddy "Bob" when we go out the back door.....


She scared the crap outta the kids the other day when I was coaxing her out of her hiding place to take this pic. FAST bugger.

[oldbike54]

 Just be glad it wasn't a rattlesnake 

 Oh , Bob is cool , we had a Loretta who spun her web across the steps everyday , it took months to convince her to move over a few
feet 

 Dusty

[Chuck in Indiana]

Bob's a beauty..

[Cam3512]

We keep almost walking into our buddy "Bob" when we go out the back door.....


She scared the crap outta the kids the other day when I was coaxing him out of his hiding place to take this pic. FAST bugger.

Wow, what kind of spider is Bob?

[Kev m]

Wow, what kind of spider is Bob?

The Google says she's a Marbled Orb-Weaver.

[Perazzimx14]

This morning I was taking out the trash.  I opened the front door and felt something fall on my head and shoulder.  I looked down, it was a small Garter Snake.

Then I really freaked out.

A good snake is a dead snake!

[Kev m]

A good snake is a dead snake!

NAAAAAAHHHH.

We were sitting on the dock a few years back when this beauty swam by:



They're AWESOME - keep the rodent population at bay:

[sib]

More snakes, fewer Bobs

[LowRyter]

A good snake is a dead snake!

Yep.  Besides scaring the crap out of me, I don't want them crawling into the house.  He was still snapping after his head was severed. 

If it wasn't in my yard, I wouldn't care.  In the past I chased a snake that got into another house that I owned.  He kept crawling behind the stove.  It took a couple of weeks to finally get him.

[oldbike54]

 Yeah , snakes and spiders are our friends , well unless you live in Australia , where apparently all of them are out to kill everything that moves 

 Dusty

[Sasquatch Jim]

Snattle rakes are supposed to scare you,  That's why they rattle in the hope that you will go away instead of causing them to waste their valuable venom.

[Lannis]

NAAAAAAHHHH.

We were sitting on the dock a few years back when this beauty swam by:

.....
They're AWESOME - keep the rodent population at bay:

They do that well.   Since we don't have any more cats living at the house, we have a couple snakes living outside, who live on the field mice, and the moles that burrow under the lawn and garden.    We don't begrudge the snakes the occasional "WHAT the ...?" that any human will let out when they almost step on one, or (more rarely) if one is hanging down in front you you!

No rodent problem here.

Lannis

[Perazzimx14]

Only rodent problem we have is Bun Bun lurking in the shadows laying in wait:

[Sheepdog]

We see lots of water snakes, king snakes, and coach whips around here. When my dad and I buried the drain culvert for the pond and filled in the ditch, all of the venomous snakes went away. Our place is pretty open, so snakes must take care to avoid raptors. I like having them around. The good they do in rodent control is worth losing an occasional egg...

[Mike Harper]

Concerning snakes there is a wide spectrum of lovers and haters with the good ones.  We cultivate the presence of Black Rat snakes, Bull Snakes, Garter Snakes and the like but obviously draw the line ate Water Moccasins, Copperheads and such.  If we find a good one we out we pick it up and bring it to the shop and turn it loose.  They are great at keeping the rodents out.

Now the scariest thing I can remember ever getting into the shop was way back in the early 70's when we had motorcycle bumper carriers that most shops sold.  A customer came into the shop and asked for a set so my wife gets a set from the shelf (still in the box) and laid it on the front counter while she rang up the sale. The customer opened the previously opened box and stuck his hand into the box to remove the carriers when he let out the most blood curdling scream imaginable and jumped back still screaming and looking pale and holding onto a bike sitting there. 

We all panicked thinking something hideous had gotten into the box when a strange kitten stuck his or her head out , looking around as if to see what was up.

The kitten had gotten into the parts room and took up residence without any of us ever seeing it.

Funny after the fact but that was about as close to ever witnessing a heart attack as I ever saw!

[DougG]

Talk about terror!  That's 6 1/2 pounds of fangs and fury right there.  Nothing, not nobody, not nohow gets past the beast.  Many have tried, many have failed.





Be well,
DougG

[Rick in WNY]

Only rodent problem we have is Bun Bun lurking in the shadows laying in wait:

Ka-klick! 

http://sluggy.com/

I hope you were referring to this one...

[s1120]

Only time I see a lot of them is when its a bad frog year. We get some, but we have a lot of wild life. We have a few hawk nests on our land and they do a pretty good job of keeping things in check.  That being said I walked out of the garage one day and had one of the hawks swoop down from the roof right over my head!!  That was a little scary.

[Turin]

Bun-bun actually not part of the rodent family. Lagomorphs or some such family.

[beetle]

Yeah , snakes and spiders are our friends , well unless you live in Australia , where apparently all of them are out to kill everything that moves 

 Dusty

Yep. I was chased for around 100 yards by one of these Red Bellied Black Snakes when I was a kid. They're cranky. This one in the pic was 6 feet long.

[bigbikerrick]

Talk about terror!  That's 6 1/2 pounds of fangs and fury right there.  Nothing, not nobody, not nohow gets past the beast.  Many have tried, many have failed.





Be well,
DougG

Hey Doug, what breed doggie is that? Chihuahua? Sure is cute!
Rick

[DougG]

Hi Rick,                                                                                9-26-19

She's a toy fox terrier.   Here is pic of her after successfully defending the kingdom.  It's exhausting work.





Be well,
DougG

[Griso8V]

I am scared to death of snakes, even the harmless ones.  I have several run ins with our local California native rattlesnakes over the years and I still have nightmares.  Even the harmless grass snakes give me the whim whams.  BUT I never want to hurt them and I just let them be.  They are very useful.
I read an article a few years ago about rattlesnake bites in the Western US, California, Arizona, Nevada.  Most of the victims of a bite were:  1. Male, 2. Intoxicated, and 3. Trying to either capture, play with or kill the snake.  I thought it was kinda of funny... 

[Muzz]

I'm just pleased we don't have them here in NZ!

[Knuckle Dragger]

Yep. I was chased for around 100 yards by one of these Red Bellied Black Snakes when I was a kid. They're cranky. This one in the pic was 6 feet long.

Magnificent!  What a beautiful creature.  I notice that s/he flattens out when agitated just like our Tigers or Asia's Cobras do!  Another few weeks of warming sun & we'll be fully into Joe Blake season here too.

[Perazzimx14]

Snakes around here flatten out when they get run over.

[Kent in Upstate NY]

Last year my burglar alarm went off. It surprised me as I had not armed it. Went to the electrical panel to try to shut it off. Saw a weird cable and it moved when I touched it. I pulled out an 18 inch Garter snake! Let it loose outside.

[kingoffleece]

My cousin in CO was bit by a rattler in the ankle taking out the garbage.  messed her up right good and she still feels the effects almost 10 years later.

[Guzzistajohn]

This thread reminds me of an old Jim Stamford tune. Did you spot yourself John????