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Junior Member
 
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 2:18:55 PM
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| Growing up in ND, I was scared of snakes and all we had were garter snakes. Having spent 35 years in Az, backpacking and sharing shade space with rattlesnakes because both of us were too hot to move or bother each other and finding them on my porch (and once under my dining room table when we were remodeling), I actually like them all. I have a marvelous picture of my sons who had to help me rescue about a 1/2 dozen bull snakes who were mating in my newly planted wildflower garden and got caught in the netting. They each had 3 or 4 drapped around their shoulders. I miss them now that I am back in ND. Mary Ann
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 10/4/2009 9:56:18 AM
Posts: 13,
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| We only have a small mowed yard now and the rest is either nursery plants, barns or other items. Since my husband used to be in the lawn business he really hates mowing, so whatever it takes to make less mowing he is all for. We even for entertaining purposes don't have grass we used pavers, so the water still gets in the ground instead of run off, but there is no spraying and NO MOWING....
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Senior Member
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Last Login: Today @ 8:55:34 AM
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Growing up you could tell where the snakes were in the field. There would be these really long rows of perfectly straight rows of hay, then a big dip. The dip was where a snake was seen and the tractor driver mowing the field, saw the snake and would turn making sure the snake went through the conditioner reels of the haybine and thus killing it.
In my family, it is against family law to see a snake and NOT kill it. So far I have seen 3 snakes and have killed 2. A 66% kill ratio is pretty good.
Eat lamb...because 50,000 coyotes CAN'T be wrong!
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Starting Member
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Last Login: Today @ 5:50:53 AM
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| Around a farm snakes are a double edged sword. They are great for taking care of rodents that inhabit the barns and sheds. Problems arise when you are raising chickens. Snakes love eggs and chicks and are hard to train to eat only rats and not chicks. If you have no chickens then rat snakes, chicken snakes, king snakes and the other non poisonous snakes are ok I guess. If you have livestock then you need to be concerned about rattle snakes, copperheads, and moccasins. Our neighbors lost two dogs last year to canebrake rattlers. I almost grabbed a 3' copperhead that was hiding in my firewood this spring. My neighbor got me into snake hunting when I moved here. He makes a nice sideline capturing and selling them to a local dealer so I geared up for it and have caught my share. You would think we thinned the population but we still see snakes almost everyday here. Ken
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 8/30/2009 6:50:45 PM
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| Snake hunting as a sideline??? Cappy what do you do with the snakes? Didn't know there was a market for them - not that we have very many up here, I'm lucky if I see one or two a summer.
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Average Member
Group: Banned Members
Last Login: 11/1/2009 6:18:12 AM
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| Some time back a major garden mag published an artical about turning your lawn into a meadow. Long short, all my stone clients who did it, later asked me for a good exterminator. I don't have much "lawn". Our hay fields are all 10 feet from the house..but after 2nd cutting I mow them to keep the grass short. This is to keep the snakes, rats mice, rabbits and FLIES down. Snakes how no value here. I'd rather have bats than snakes.
Don't care if they eat bugs. They never get large enough to eat mice here. So a good snake is a dead one.
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Starting Member
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Last Login: Today @ 5:50:53 AM
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| We have a pretty good market here. There are several local internet dealers, a few local shops, and a serpentarium that will buy. One dealer wants all the poisonious snakes we can get. I suspect he sells them to some church but don't know and don't ask. Ken
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Junior Member
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Last Login: Today @ 5:47:51 PM
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On our 18 acres, we mow about 10 of them. I, myself, would be happy to let them be fields or to grow wild. MY wife, on the other hand, seems determined to keep nature under her control and she happily mows that land over and over. It gives her a sense of accomplishment when she feels all of "the mowing" is under control. She's as happy as a clam on her big club cadet with power steering going back and forth, over and over again. If we have a spell of bad weather and she can't get out to mow, she says "How will I ever keep up with all the mowing that needs done?"
I say " Don't worry, you can do it!". Then I sit in my lawn chair and watch as she happily mows, and mows, and mows...
(I did convice her to let an acre or two grow into meadow...it puts her on edge, but, you know, those meadows are beautiful to look at from my chair)
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Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 5:47:51 PM
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| I forgot to mention that we have snakes too. Just garter snakes, some as big a three feet long. They live in the areas that my wife doesn't mow and I am happy to see them.
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Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 5:47:51 PM
Posts: 154,
Visits: 124
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| I also forgot to mention that once I found one of our giant garter snakes trying to swallow one of our beloved toads. I rescued the toad, at least for that moment. It was tough trying to pull the toad out of the snake's jaws.
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