Photos of Local critters that I hate. Sometimes hate is good

[Ricochet]

Me and my wife and kids were camping creekside at Adventures Unlimited, back when Bubba was in diapers and Sissy was barely in kindergarten. We woke up early and I went wading. I was worried about broken glass underwater, being in an established long term campground, so I'd put my canoeing boots on first. Thank God. I'd walked right past a half foot baby moccasin in the grass at the water's edge and not seen it. I turned around to say something to the family and saw it hit the water and come right for me under the water and I jumped and pinned it right to the floor and watched it wiggling and biting. I hollered for a knife, thinking machete, and bless my little girl's heart, she throws me her Girl Scout pocket knife...... talk about a humbling experience. I was so proud of her! At the same time realizing some irony. I'd taught her to keep a pocket knife and that she could handle just about all daily business with her scout knife, Macgyver style, and here I was, Super Dad in her eyes, being put on the spot by the little girl to handle business and do battle with a poisonous snake with her 3" blade! I swallowed a little pride and accepted that challenge and really carefully dispatched the thing underwater, point blank. At arguably the most poisonous time in a moccasins life cycle, when they're most likely to dump a full load into the bite, here I was proving it to the family that Dad wasn't scared and that a scout knife was all you really needed. "Stupid, stupid, stupid" screaming inside my head. And then "hey, look at me, I did it." Moral of the story Ricochet: bring enough knife.... everywhere you go in the swamp that is the whole state of Florida. My first moccasin I killed after coming home from active duty was right downtown Milton at the corner of the Short Stop/Shell station and the bike trail. Full grown snake in plain view of the police station, town hall, etc. etc., and I'm wailing on it with a brand new dull $5 flea market "Hecho in Mexico" machete that I'd bought the first weekend home at the Pea Ridge Flea Market, because I knew it would be needed, because the whole dang state of Florida is a swamp. Be ready.

Thank you for that personal story!
I was unfortunately raised in the city and came to the conclusion in my adult life that the rural life would have been better for me.

The "career woman" life style robbed me of what I really wanted to be; a Mom and a capable wife ( I think a lot of "modern" women my age are bitter about that but will not admit ) - capable with nature and mastering my natural enviroment as you so well trained your daughter.
No city career beats that, in my opinion.
I was sold a "feminist" dream that wasn't my dream.
I will use your daughter's example to re learn a different attitude.
After all, I would rather face and live with God's creatures of the swamp rather then The Swamp creatures of the city. ( sooo many snakes on the grass in my last job...)

I want the rural life. It may be a little late to start at 50 but I can't stand the city critters anymore.

 

[FrommerStop]

Thank you for that personal story!
I was unfortunately raised in the city and came to the conclusion in my adult life that the rural life would have been better for me.

The "career woman" life style robbed me of what I really wanted to be; a Mom and a capable wife ( I think a lot of "modern" women my age are bitter about that but will not admit ) - capable with nature and mastering my natural enviroment as you so well trained your daughter.
No city career beats that, in my opinion.
I was sold a "feminist" dream that wasn't my dream.
I will use your daughter's example to re learn a different attitude.
After all, I would rather face and live with God's creatures of the swamp rather then The Swamp creatures of the city. ( sooo many snakes on the grass in my last job...)

I want the rural life. It may be a little late to start at 50 but I can't stand the city critters anymore.

Hey life begins at 50

 

[Molon Labe]

High water does make snakes move. I think the ones that I get are looking for good hunting habitat. Moccasins will often leave the water and live like a copperhead that they are closely related to in the uplands.
I had a bulldozer operator tell me of one pasture that he cleared of stumps and swore each stump had a water moccasin living in it.
Water moccasins are voracious eaters and will migrate looking for a better place, even in the middle of the day. Once they find a place that they like, they will hang out in it. I had a mature adult once was living around a pile of pine logs that I had seen for months and did not realized what it was. As I walked the fence line, I would just the see the tail of a snake disappear into the underbrush. I was mowing along the fence line one day and saw the full snake. I was in better shape then. I got out of the small snapper with a machete in my hand and as I ran past the snake left the machete buried in the snake and the ground severing its spine and I kept going. That snake was foraging in the back yards of my neighbors. Normally they are not aggressive, but if you do not know that they are there is when you get bitten.
I had a young one once stand on its tail when it saw one of my dogs approach it. I put a 9mm through its mouth making it into a good snake. I like having my dogs around since they can be good at spotting snakes for me.

When I was a very small child ( late 1940's,) I crawled up on a snake in a flowerbed by my house. I called to my mom who promptly dispatched it with a garden hoe. She called it a highland moccasin. Later I found it was also called a copperhead. I remember she cut it into 13 pieces and buried it in 13 holes in the yard. Something about old country lore I suppose.

 

[Gunin4m]

I would rather face and live with God's creatures of the swamp rather then The Swamp creatures of the city.

Now that's a statement worth re-using...

 

[fl57caveman]

Me and my wife and kids were camping creekside at Adventures Unlimited, back when Bubba was in diapers and Sissy was barely in kindergarten. We woke up early and I went wading. I was worried about broken glass underwater, being in an established long term campground, so I'd put my canoeing boots on first. Thank God. I'd walked right past a half foot baby moccasin in the grass at the water's edge and not seen it. I turned around to say something to the family and saw it hit the water and come right for me under the water and I jumped and pinned it right to the floor and watched it wiggling and biting. I hollered for a knife, thinking machete, and bless my little girl's heart, she throws me her Girl Scout pocket knife...... talk about a humbling experience. I was so proud of her! At the same time realizing some irony. I'd taught her to keep a pocket knife and that she could handle just about all daily business with her scout knife, Macgyver style, and here I was, Super Dad in her eyes, being put on the spot by the little girl to handle business and do battle with a poisonous snake with her 3" blade! I swallowed a little pride and accepted that challenge and really carefully dispatched the thing underwater, point blank. At arguably the most poisonous time in a moccasins life cycle, when they're most likely to dump a full load into the bite, here I was proving it to the family that Dad wasn't scared and that a scout knife was all you really needed. "Stupid, stupid, stupid" screaming inside my head. And then "hey, look at me, I did it." Moral of the story Ricochet: bring enough knife.... everywhere you go in the swamp that is the whole state of Florida. My first moccasin I killed after coming home from active duty was right downtown Milton at the corner of the Short Stop/Shell station and the bike trail. Full grown snake in plain view of the police station, town hall, etc. etc., and I'm wailing on it with a brand new dull $5 flea market "Hecho in Mexico" machete that I'd bought the first weekend home at the Pea Ridge Flea Market, because I knew it would be needed, because the whole dang state of Florida is a swamp. Be ready.

i have 7 machetes, all different styles, that way, i have one in each vehicle, one on the lawn mower, the tractor, and scattered the rest all around, inside and outside the house...
and i always have 2-3 knives on me most of the time.

saves shooting and rousing the dogs up...

 

[FrommerStop]

i have 7 machetes, all different styles, that way, i have one in each vehicle, one on the lawn mower, the tractor, and scattered the rest all around, inside and outside the house...
and i always have 2-3 knives on me most of the time.

saves shooting and rousing the dogs up...

My work pants for around my place have a smaller .38 loaded with shot cartridges. My dogs all retreat at the sound of gun fire, usually back to house that is ok with me. The last time, I had the cargo plants that I normally wear when going out to shop or such the .38 was not in them. I could not take the time to procure it and immediately went on search and destroy with what a I had. I typically use one shot at distance to anchor it and then real close and give bird shot from about 2-3ft directly in the head to make the head is no longer functional.
Some people will cut off a functioning head and bury it. Someone wrote he did that and walked about 15 ft looked back and his dog had dug it up and snake's head was dangling from the dog's nose. Make sure that the head is thoroughly smashed up.

 

[Duckyou]

All you need is a good broom handle or hoe handle. Grind the head in the ground until it is mush. Works better on chirt/gravel roads - but also works in dirt and softer soils.

mused to ride the 4 wheeler with one and dispatch the bad ones.

 

[FrommerStop]

All you need is a good broom handle or hoe handle. Grind the head in the ground until it is mush. Works better on chirt/gravel roads - but also works in dirt and softer soils.

mused to ride the 4 wheeler with one and dispatch the bad ones.

there are stories of snakes in africa getting onto the axles and from their getting into the car. Africa as got some of the worst that I am glad do not yet live in Florida. The mamba is one and then there are spitting cobras.
Relative to running over snakes. Some years ago the road into the what was the ERML range followed a different route that took it closer the to escambia wet lands. On summer when driving a CJ5 jeep I drove over three water moccasins on a sandy dirt road. I broke the bottom jaw of three snakes in three separate incidents and could not understand why. On the third snake someone following me stopped as I was beating the third snake to death and told me what He had seen. As the tire rolls over over the snake, it struck the tire and the turning wheel broke the bottom jaw.
Edit: The wide tires of jeep on the soft sandy road did not otherwise injure the snakes except for breaking the jaw. Water moccasins are tough critters and will likely still be living the south after humans are all gone.

 

[Dave308]

I had a nest in my out building last year. I got stung twice until I finally found them. It looked like a cake hung upside down on a shelf. I have a full bee suit which I put on, walked in with three cans wasp spray and had a field day. They were huge. Went back next day finished off stragglers.

I see these what I used to call velvet ants all the time in the yard. I did t know they were wasps and can sting. I saw a video where they make a noise also. Glad I saw this post.

 

[Ricochet]

My WORST nightmare right here.
I would take a snake, a spider and a scorpion all on the same day over these.
You can't really shoot them, though I have seen some fat city ones big enough to shoot with a pellet gun.
Absolute crime they have wings and fly - this is just as wrong as snakes that can swim.
Just wrong.

 

[Ricochet]

Gross. Just gross.

 

[FrommerStop]

Gross. Just gross.

I hate ticks a lot more.

 

[Ricochet]

I hate ticks a lot more.

You made me look this up, lol.
Oh GAWD I feel this threat has taken a turn for worse..what happens if out of distress I dont pull the critter "gently" using a "slow" and upward steady motion?

 

[MarkS]

You made me look this up, lol.
Oh GAWD I feel this threat has taken a turn for worse..what happens if out of distress I dont pull the critter "gently" using a "slow" and upward steady motion? View attachment 91362

I don’t think I’ve ever used the slow steady pull. Any tick I’ve found on my body has been quickly removed and then killed and over 60+ years I’ve had way too many on me


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[Ricochet]

I don’t think I’ve ever used the slow steady pull. Any tick I’ve found on my body has been quickly removed and then killed and over 60+ years I’ve had way too many on me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My husband works as R&D formulation scientist for a local pet company and they just made a flee and tick product for humans. Dollar General and Walmart have palced orders.
But I also feel reassured you survived many attacks without anything.

 

[Raven]

My husband works as R&D formulation scientist for a local pet company and they just made a flee and tick product for humans. Dollar General and Walmart have palced orders.
But I also feel reassured you survived many attacks without anything.

That's ok, as much as I rub on my favorite shepherd, I'm sure I've been dosing myself with flea and tick meds the whole time unknowingly.

 

[Raven]

That's ok, as much as I rub on my favorite shepherd, I'm sure I've been dosing myself with flea and tick meds the whole time unknowingly.

And it works. Put two and two together a while back talking to my buddy "SafetyFirst" about how the bugs were killing him but not me and he wanted to know the secret. I'd never really considered it. And that's the only explanation

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

Watch out for these too. Very nasty.

 

[FrommerStop]

Watch out for these too. Very nasty.

Was that nasty or tasty. Looks like if fried with butter...........

 

[FrommerStop]

Ticks are the hardest to keep of the dogs and me. This yrs I have hardly seen any. They seem worse in late fall and winter in my aol. The preventix collars seem to work best, but not always. If the dog has short hair and is white the ticks are much easier to remove. I have been bitten enough that once they attach i quite quickly feel irritated and find them. Means I am becoming allergic to the bites. i got a case of tick fever overseas once. It was just like lyme disease.
One can buy a lot doggie and horse meds from Jeffers.