Another Shop Hazard

[Cedge]

I was peacefully working at the lathe when nature called. I stopped the lathe off and turned to walk into the house to take care of the problem. As I rounded past one of my work tables, I came to a skidding halt. There between me and the intended route was a very much alive 16 inch Copperhead. As soon as he saw me he coiled and let me know he was no happier to see me than I was to see him.

In a shop full of sharp tools, he was quickly dispatched to snake heaven. It was an excellent reminder that I do indeed share my place with more than a few entertaining raccoons. You can bet I'll be closely watching out for where I poke my hands. I made it to the john with dry pants, but it was a near thing...LOL

For those unfamiliar, a Copperhead is quite poisonous as any rattle snake, but he lacks the decency of giving the warning rattle. I'm just glad he was out in the open rather than hiding next to something where I'd have walked right next to him.

Steve
Who can now safely cancel the appointment for his cardiac stress test, bladder continance and sphincter muscle checks.

 

[Bogstandard]

Forget about what it could have done to you, think what you can do with it.

Snakeskin bling.

Bogs

 

[SignalFailure]

I've had some wildlife in the workshop recently but not on the same scale; a mouse who kindly nibbled a hole in my overalls and the cable on my 'shop vacuum. He'll go the same way as the last one I found in there if I catch him......splat!

 

[Metal Mickey]

Poision snakes Tah! :My wife came in today and brought me a cup of tea!

 

[tel]

Catch and release is my policy - just take 'em down to the creek out of harms way.

 

[Bogstandard]

Why live in countries full of poisonous wildlife, when we have enough trouble with poisonous people.

Move to the UK and cut the risk by half.

Bogs

 

[Cedge]

John
Naaaa.... my family got here on a one way ticket from there. I can deal with the snakes and I'm probably considered one of those afore mentioned people, but that English cooking would be the death of me...LOL

Steve

 

[tel]

AND .... we've all heard about them vicious 'edge'ogs and fluffy bunnies.

 

[Divided He ad]

I'd have tried to have it as a pet ;D

Here's my workshop buddy....

I feed him bugs to keep him strong ;D Moves like lightening



Ralph.

 

[rake60]

Just 50 yards from my back door there's a hiking/biking trail.
It was an abandoned rail bed that the state improves to turn into recreational
trails. The program is called "Rails to Trails".

We were taking the dog for a run back there on cool spring day and she ran
right past a small corn snake that was stretched out across the trail trying to
absorb some heat. It was only about 3 feet long and maybe 1" in diameter.
I told the wife to keep going so the dog wouldn't come back while I scared the
snake back into the woods. I picked up a small piece of a log and threw it at the
snake but missed my mark. The log landed in the middle of it's length bending
it into a 90 degree angle. I was not real happy with myself for that move but I
went back and dispatched it as humanely as possible. A corn snake won't hurt
you unless you REALLY pizz it off! In that case they'll rip you up but have no
venom to back up that aggression.

We do see a copperhead around here occasionally, but the timber rattlers are
more comman. A rattler won't kill you if you as long as you don't get stupid
if bitten. I would never intentionally harm any snake.

Now my Dad has a totally different out look.
If he sees a 12 inch long grass snake the pieces left over will resemble nothing
that of a living creature. :big:

Rick

 

[sparky961]

Where I live, the wildlife selection is quite nice. Although there have been a few confirmed reports of bears here and there, most people that you'd talk to around here have never seen or heard of such thing.

The most awesome sound is when you're outside at 2am, not even the crickets are making noise, and the howling starts. The pack never get too close though, no, they're always just off in the distance in the forest somewhere... but the sound is something to behold. It's eerie, but not threatening. Sometimes, you'd almost think it was just your neighbour's dog... but you know. You know that the coyotes just made the kill that will feed them for a the next few days.

Never seen one of them in my shop though.

My shop's in the basement, so aside from the bat that I chased around in my underwear one night, and the snake that was hiding (outside) in the sliding door screen, and the odd insect or two, my shop's pretty civilized.

I did almost step on a massive garter snake in my shed the other day. It must have been at least an inch in diameter, and 2 feet long ("it was thiiiis big") - which is about as big as I've ever seen them around here. Maybe she's pregnant...

-Sparky

 

[Rog02]

OK Snake stories? LOL

Since my shop is in the boondocks in the northwest corner of the Great Missouri Wildlife Refuge, I get considerable experience dealing with unwanted critters that find their way into my domain. Copperhead snakes are a very aggressive breed and they are known to enter buildings in search of warmth and/or food prey. Rattlesnakes on the other hand are rather shy creatures and prefer to withdraw from human presence if given the opportunity.

A simple trick we use to keep snakes of all persuasions from taking up residence, is to spread a few moth balls around under the benches and equipment. The phenols that off gas from the moth balls are irritating to the snakes and also seem to keep the bugs at bay. Cheap, easy and non toxic; what's not to like about that?

Besides the reptiles, we also have several poisonous spiders in the area. The spiders pose a greater hazard than snakes as they prefer dark recesses and will gladly bite a hand reaching into the material bin. A small bite from a brown recluse will definitely change your schedule, not to mention the profile of the affected area. The moth balls seem to help with the insect population as well as a little boric acid sprinkled along the walls will keep them from traveling under the shelves and equipment.

OK, I could tell you how to spray with all sorts of chemicals and yes, I do have access to the most potent insecticides and herbicides available and am licensed to purchase and apply them, but my pets are my children and I am amazed I don't glow in the dark or have a third eye in my forehead from the chemical exposure I have had in my lifetime. I still keep a 22 Mag loaded with snake loads as a last resort but the sound of a firearm discharging in a confined area is a tad hard on these old ears nowadays so I try to take the least toxic option available.

As for the bats? Yes, I have bat boxes on the back of my shop and a couple in trees around the property. I have never had a bat come into the shop, though they swoop around the doors after dark. We have brown bats around here and they make short work of the flying insects attracted to the security lights. The barn owl box spelled the end to the deer and field mice problem, not to mention bringing hours of pleasure watching a mother owl raise and fledge her young.

This spring and summer has brought a doe and her twins to bed down in the tall grass behind the shop. I watch her graze in the morning and again at twilight. Whitetail deer are a public nuisance as they have become so over populated but, they are still wonderful to observe up close. I still can't help but wonder what she would look like splayed out on my cooker. 250 degrees for 10 hours? Dunno, never BBQed a whole deer.

While coyotes are common here, the scariest visitor I had was a raccoon that wandered into the shop late one night. Raccoons are notorious for rabies, so any contact with them should be kept to a minimum. The coon just set in the middle of the bay looking around and hissing, until a 3 pound chunk of CRS sent it running out the door.

It may be the uncivilized boonies, but I much prefer the wildlife at the shop to the soccer moms that PHREAK OUT when I light a cutting torch in the driveway at my home. If I chuck a 3 pound chunk of CRS at a soccer mom they scurry off and bring the cops back with them. :wall: I'd rather deal with the animals.

 

[jwsvandr]

No hazard but last week I had a pair of young robins come flying into the shop. One did a quick 180 and out he went. The other one did a left 90 deg turn saw the window and was heading for the high country, didnt work. I grabbed a large rag, threw it over the little bugger and grabbed him. Out the door he went. He took off and landed on the roof of the house across the street. He sat there for quite a while looking very confused and I could see his little brain working.

" OK what the H@ll Just happened, I was flying along, the air became solid, night time came, then it was daylight again. I must have been sleep flying because when I woke up in a different place then I remembered and to top it off I dont feel all that rested????".

 

[Cedge]

Back last summer I was at the lathe when a HUGE movement caught my attention from the corner of my eye. It was enough to make me quickly duck down to avoid being hit. As I gained a full view, I watched in amazement as a Red Tail hawk threw on the brakes and wheeled around to exit the garage. He'd made a dive for a small bird and the bird ducked into the garage to get away. That one required a few minutes for my heart to stop pounding.

The incident that nearly gave me a real heart attack was the night I stepped out of the garage into the darkness and something struck me at exactly zipper level.... and then ran up my body. It turned out that I'd stepped right into the glide path of a flying squirrel. I don't know which one of us it scared most, but I can tell you things were more than a wee bit intense for both of us, there for a moment or two. Let's just say it made for a real cold sweat experience.

Steve

 

[old-biker-uk]

Did stub my toe on a hedgehog (sort of short haired porcupine for those that have not come across one) while on late night barefoot wander around the garden - but that is about as dangerous as it gets around here.
Mark

 

[kvom]

I've had hummingbirds enter my garage and try fruitlessly to fly out a closed window. Luckily I have a butterfly net to snag them when they tire.

We keep a dish with dry catfood in the garage. When the mockingbirds next in the bush across from the door, they like to fly in, grab some kibble, and fly back out. They get pretty bold after a while.

 

[raym 11]

I have given up on the bird/catfood saga. So have my cats, they sit around dis consold and watch the birds peck away. A little chickenhawk came in last year.
After a fairly long battle cat & hawk were both bloodied but the cat finally
prevailed. Maybe that's why they don't mess with birds much

Raym

 

[Hexbasher]

John
Naaaa.... my family got here on a one way ticket from there. I can deal with the snakes and I'm probably considered one of those afore mentioned people, but that English cooking would be the death of me...LOL

Steve

what!!!! its the best.....i still miss the deep fried toast!!!!!though, i think the time spent on the Army Bases in th UK knocked afew years off me....

 

[Bogstandard]

TM,

It is called amazingly 'fried bread', and is one of the constituents of the 'Full English Breakfast'. The main lot usually (if you were lucky) consisted of bacon, eggs, sausage, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms and fried bread, with toast on the side. All with its own little lake of grease to swim in. It clogged your arteries better than anything else could.

The UK military I think, have the only so called chefs in the world, that can make everything taste like boiled cabbage.

To get back to this post.

I have just seen a deadly, rabies infested worm on the path in the garden, but that won't last long, we have real vicious sparrows around here, they will even take on big chunks of bread AND the snarling, voracious butterflies we are infested with in this part of the world.

John

 

[Kludge]

Well, darn. I feel like such a loser since the only things we have here are a centipede that I know gets to be about 6-7" long (I've heard of longer but never seen one) and has a painful (and slightly venomous) sting, and box jellyfish that come about a week after the full moon. A few places have wild boar but mostly they're domestic ones that have gone feral. We have one species of bat; a snake that's all of 6" long fully grown; mongooses; no raccoons, squirrels or chipmunks (which I miss); and a few deer on the big island. Oh, and a gazillion feral cats who may not be popular but do keep the rodent population in check (which the mongooses were imported to do but no one told them about that part of the deal.) There's no rabies in Hawaii and very little else of that order due to strict quarantine enforcement. All in all, it's pretty safe from a wildlife standpoint.

On the other hand, we have an assortment of birds, some of whom tend to be rather bold when it comes to food. It's not that natural food isn't plentiful - it is - but rather that people are such easy marks.

Best regards,

KLudge