Reminder to pay attention to things around you!
I was planting a few potted plants that we had picked up cheap maybe a month ago. I was planting at the edge of a large flower bed 20' x 60' that I don't go into after things start growing unless it's very cold days, because we have copperhead snakes. If I can't see my feet they don't go there. But I'm at the edge, so good right.? Planted the first 2 and dumped the last one out into my hand and a baby copperhead hit my foot and was gone. There were no others in the pot but I think I'm done planting for today. I'm not afraid of the one I watched leave, I'm worried about his brothers, sisters and mom and dad. I ones I can't see!
Comments
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Yeah, I'd be calling it quits for the day, too. With the way my week has been, the little bigger would have bitten me.
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OMG! I know how you feel. So glad there was a happy ending in that you didn't get hurt.
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I am glad you are okay. I am also glad that none of our snakes in our area are poisonous.
I admire and often wonder about those who live where they are. It marvels me how you can stay safe & how kids make it to adulthood. It is not a concept that I grew up with.
I have lived where there were rattlers, and I heard them, but I never did see one.
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I don't mind rattlers, cuz they make noise. But living in the south with these water mocs and copperheads and cottonmouths... no, i don't like it, not one bit.
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Ye, that last plant would have been discarded somewhere between the snake and the back 40. Bruce Jenner couldn't have caught me!
Glad you're ok. Those dang things know fall is fast approaching and they are looking for a hidey hole.
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I moved to Alaska partially because there are no snakes here. LOL Had too many close encounters in Florida.
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Oh goodness! So glad you're ok. You just inspired me to get my jungle of a garden back under control. I can't have those kinds of surprises too. Eek!
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Okay, so here is what I do - we have copperheads, water moccasins and rattlers. Get a minnow trap, Gee's style. You will need one fresh, unwashed egg. Sit that out there and within a day or two, you will have caught your snakes. Now, what we do where I come from is cut the heads off, skin and gut them (just like a fish), cut the meat into about 1-2 inch long sections and fry it, or grill whole. The meat is very much like white chicken meat, but it gets tough very quickly if over cooked. You can do a low, slow simmer in a curry, if you want to get fancy. The flavor is very good, very lean and clean tasting... not gamey or odd tasting at all. Use them as an asset - better than just killing them and wasting the meat. I'm pretty much live and let live when it comes to snakes, both poisonous and non. But, if they become a hazard, I eat them... and really enjoy it! Oh teriyaki marinated snake stir fry is AWESOME! @Ferg you'll get a lot of opportunity to make snake tacos and snake chili in TN!
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Gee's minnow trap
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judsoncarroll4 I will try the trap. Do you not have to worry about the venom?
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Not if you cut the head off.
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One time, around ten years ago, I almost stepped on a snake. I was visiting my Grandma(lived on the side of a mountain, Pennsylvania portion of the Appalachia's), and I was jogging up the lane to her house. I stopped half-way up, for no particular reason- I don't think I was tired. Well, I say "no reason", but I really think it was God intervening. I looked down, and right in front of me a snake was stretched across the path. If I had not stopped right then I would have stepped on it.
I actually thought it was dead; it was laying so still. I walked the long way around it then tossed a rock in its direction to see if it reacted. It was alive all right! My grandma's neighbor was watching, apparently, because he came out and tried to kill it. He told me later it was a rattlesnake- I don't know if that was true or not, but it made me very thankful.
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So then, for a northerner that doesn't have snakes large enough to eat, and not poisonous ones, how on earth do you take those out of a trap like that without getting bitten? I would be concerned about that before worrying about eating it and venom issues that way.
Thanks, @judsoncarroll4 for giving me a better idea what snake is like rather than just "it tastes like chicken." I still want to try it. It sounds good.
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The traps have a hook on the side that you would tie a line to if you were fishing. Put a loop on that so you can pick it up without getting fingers close. Then, if you are quick, you can open the trap, dump the snake out and pin it down with a forked stick or whack its head off with a hoe.... but, I prefer to put the trap in a bucket of ice water to either drown or slow the snake down with cold. Some snakes can hold their breath under water for an hour... so always be careful. You may see rattle snake wranglers on tv, who handle them like it is no big deal. But, they have probably all been bitten before... and that is one experience I'd prefer to miss!
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@bcabrobin glad that you made it through this experience in one piece. Not having lived in an area where poisonous snakes are problematic, I am not one to comment on the harvesting of snakes. Would there be a natural deterrent to keep snakes out of the area? We push animals out of their natural habitat and, or develop habitat that attracts these animals and then have to deal with them one way or another. Just wondering what alternatives might be available, if any.
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My momma has tales of copperheads and water mocs. I am happy our snakes warn you with their rattles. Glad you made it safe through this.
I learned so much on this post though--the snake trap and recipes to boot! Guys on my fire crew used to pin rattlesnakes after they came out to lay in the ashes of the fire. They would try to cut off their tails for the rattles--sad in MHO. This other crew member would pin them, catch them, and throw them off the trail to save them. Occasionally he would have me assist. One of the stupid things I did then that I would not do today. Rattlesnake bites are horrible. I am not sure what I was thinking.
We have some big snakes here that are "helpers", but even those I give a clear bearth. Eating chicken is a little easier, and you know, it tastes like chicken!
I know know how to catch snakes. A follow-up--how do we keep snakes out of places?
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I don't know of any way to keep them away other than keeping the grass short, they don't like crossing short grass areas the Eagles, chicken and cats see them. Which I try to keep it down, doesn't always work but try.
The area this one was in is an area I have wild roses, artichokes, goldenrod and a bunch of other flowering herb/weeds that I pick early before it grows up or after a frost so died off.
But this year has been a bad year for seeing them in weird places. I know 2020.
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That is a good warning, thank you! We have rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and coral snakes here. I was going to work in my herb bed which is way overgrown. It is a raised bed, 20 inches high. But that means nothing to them. I once saw a copperhead sunning itself on a strand of wire! It had looped it once only, and it was a big, thick one. Note to self: pay attention lol!
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I encountered more baby copperheads and adult copperheads this year than in any year I can recall. Unfortunately, I had to bury one of my dear goats, upon her passing. (Many toss them on the compost pile, but, IDK, I just can't.) My first strike with the shovel unearthed a chunk of mobile earth, the soil moved and churned, once I dumped the shovel. Close inspection revealed I had disturbed a copperhead nest. Yup. After thrusting the shovel blade into the area a few zillion times, I moved to a less occupied area to bury my little friend. Get the creeps even remembering how the earth moved!
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I'll just throw in that decapitated venomous snakes can still inject venom if handled carelessly. You want to bury the head deep enough to be be safe - without touching it - use a shovel.
Antivenom is expensive and I hear that the whole snakebite thing is rather unpleasant.
I've eaten garter snake once, cooked over a fire and shared among 18 people. It was bony, and I'd prefer not to do that again.
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@bcabrobin Wow! You are BRAVE. That sounds terrifying.
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Glad you are OK! Smart of you to be on the lookout and having a little one in the pot is pretty scary. Be well and stay safe.
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That is very scary. I am glad you had a happy ending!
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I'm so grateful you are ok! Once when I was younger my dad and I were out hunting and as we crossed the river a copperhead that we did not see was coiled on a rock. It struck out at my dad and thankfully he was able to jump back in time. I always remembered that. I've always been slightly nervous about going in areas of high grass but I have not yet spotted one in a garden.
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