|
|
Post by flhuntress on Jan 27, 2004 22:31:51 GMT -5
there was a diamondback in the yard today..."was" being the keyword.
it was under two foot long (only 2 rattles) and i was wonderin' if any of y'all knew how old it was and if i should be worried about more showin' up? my goose is the one who saw it first...thankfully it wasn't the dogs.
|
|
|
|
Post by senecabow on Jan 28, 2004 7:20:06 GMT -5
The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is about a foot long when born. The snake you had in your yard is maybe two years old.
Keep an eye out for others.
BTW
The Diamondback is tasty. use your favoite fish batter and deep fry. Yummy
You need to find one a little larger --- More meat.
|
|
|
|
Post by benhuntin on Jan 28, 2004 8:16:46 GMT -5
Where theres one there are others.
Sounds like a young snake, maybe a couple of years old.
Around my house the biggest problem is the pygmy rattlers. I probally kill 5 or 6 every year around the yard.
|
|
|
|
Post by hunt4fun1 on Jan 28, 2004 9:41:20 GMT -5
Yep....I was gonna say what ben said.
In Florida, there is a large population of pygmy rattlesnakes. A mature pygmy is about 1 1/2 foot long and rarely have more than 4 rattles.
If it had several dark rings around it's tail, it was most likely an Eastern Diamondback like Seneca said and it was a little one. Those Easterns get pretty big.
|
|
|
|
Post by flhuntress on Jan 28, 2004 10:53:14 GMT -5
that sucks that they'll be more....don't they live or breed or whatever it is they do in colonies?
there's no doubt that it's a diamondback...at first i thought it was a pygmy so i had to get on the internet and search for pics...i hate being wrong...lol.
is there anyway to get rid of them?? i'm scared for my dogs more than anything.
|
|
|
|
Post by hunt4fun1 on Jan 28, 2004 11:00:56 GMT -5
If you do have a den some where, find it. Take a pump sprayer and put a little gasoline in it. Stick the nozzle of the sprayer in as far as you can and pump a little gas in it. It won't take much. Be ready to dance!!  You'll need a long forked stick in on hand and a machete in the other. Make sure you whack em a good 2 inched behind the head so as not to contaminate the meat with poison.....that is if you want to eat em. Rattle snakes eat very well. If you have no desire for the meat, the next best way is to pop em with a .22 with some snake shot. Cheap stuff at Walmart. |
|
|
|
Post by hunt4fun1 on Jan 28, 2004 11:02:40 GMT -5
NOTE:
You need to keep a good distance from them. They can strike 2/3 of their total body length.
|
|
|
|
Post by Biggie on Jan 28, 2004 12:40:01 GMT -5
Maybe a 12 guage with some good old lead shot.... hell just call ds he will have something to kill um.
|
|
|
|
Post by flhuntress on Jan 28, 2004 13:31:09 GMT -5
y'all are smokin' crack....lmao...there's NO way i'm gonna that...y'all are insane.  |
|
|
|
Post by benhuntin on Jan 28, 2004 14:21:31 GMT -5
Keep your grass mowed, brushpiles burned,etc.
Basically make your yard as inhospitable as possible.
I started doing this and I quit seeing the snakes right by the house. These snakes are usually after food like toads and lizards. Dont give them the habitat and they will leave. Usually.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markwhiz on Jan 28, 2004 16:28:12 GMT -5
Definitely keep the yard trimmed and debris cleaned up. Also, keep your garage doors closed.................... I've had 6 footers come right on in my a garage a couple of times!! I guess you could also try to transplant some king snakes & indigo snakes to your yard.......................... they like rattler meat too.  |
|
|
|
Post by hunt4fun1 on Jan 28, 2004 16:54:59 GMT -5
Good point...garage closed.
I find one or two a year insde my garage and I keep mine closed.
|
|
|
|
Post by GoTres on Jan 29, 2004 10:52:36 GMT -5
I guess someone will be calling McKinney P.D. to report the shotgun blast when I find them in my yard.
Machetes aren't long enough.
|
|
|
|
Post by flhuntress on Jan 29, 2004 13:09:25 GMT -5
the problems are:
-can't shut the garage cause that's where the goose runs when she gets scared or she wants to nest.
-can't keep the yard trimmed cause there's way too much land....the yard around the house is kept up but the rest of the yard is natural...(palmettos/oaks/palm trees).
-there used to be black racers here...and MONSTER ones but the stupid bimbo next door put out rat posion to kill the rats...haven't seen the bigboys in awhile now...on occassion i'll see a lil one.
|
|
|
|
Post by hunt4fun1 on Jan 29, 2004 13:54:34 GMT -5
Well looks like you gonna have a snake problem. ;D
That's part of livin in the sticks.
|
|
