I've spent a lot of my life as a civilian or in the military sleeping on the bare ground in a sleeping bag or wrapped in a blanket. I was always uncomfortable sleeping that way in coral snake country. I slept in trees and on top of canvas covered trucks to get off the ground.

I didnt expect this thread to be about killing snakes. Makes me sad. I like snakes. Such an important part of our ecosystem.

Ill close the door behind me.

worth1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 8:16 pm I've got coral snakes in the woods around my house.
And I know my snakes.

With the "red touching yellow" instruction, it;s pretty hard to not identify a coral snake.

Donnyboy wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 4:44 pm

worth1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 8:16 pm I've got coral snakes in the woods around my house.
And I know my snakes.

With the "red touching yellow" instruction, it;s pretty hard to not identify a coral snake.

Yeah but some people think that any snake that has stripe is a coral snake.
Red and black friend of Jack.

The most difficult snake for me to identify is the cotton mouth. I've seen them exhibit a variety of stripes on the body and color variations. Something common for me is an odor much like a skunk, but it isn;t always present They always have the "white" colored mouth but I;ve always been rerluctant to ask them to allow me to inspect their dental condition and surrounding tissue. I'm also reluctant to kill a cotton mouth because I am usually invading their territory instead of them invading mine.

We have a lot of elderly folks living in the general vicinty of our home. Most of the people use the app "nextdoor neighbor" to communicate information in our area. We get a lot of instant messages like horses and cattle on the road, cougar killed a calf, a rash of burglaries, lost dog and cats, and venemous snake sightings. I pay little attention to the snake reports because many people believe every snake is a rattle snake.
"
Many people regret selling their beautuful home in the subburbs and buying property in the "wilds" of the country. They seem to think they can call someone like a snake catcher who will catch and relocate snakes for them.

Worth, You probably know this, but in Peru; five different "Coral" snakes exist in nature. Each variety has some similarities to the other varieties. All are deadly venomous with similar, but different venom's which have different modes of attack in the victims body.

Donnyboy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2023 9:23 pm Worth, You probably know this, but in Peru; five different "Coral" snakes exist in nature. Each variety has some similarities to the other varieties. All are deadly venomous with similar, but different venom's which have different modes of attack in the victims body.

I know very little about snakes in other places but I've seen some in the zoo that would give me a heart attack if it bit me just from looks alone.
The things are as fat as fire wood.

The gaboon viper in Africa comes to mind.
It's got 2 inch fangs.

Yesterday a snaked zoomed past the walkway just in front of me. It was maybe four feet long. I didn't get a good look but assume it was a California Striped Racer? What other snake travels that fast?

Racers and coachwhips are said to be the fastest snakes in North America. Incidentally, I just moments ago had about a 4’ long coachwhip in my garden. It was too fast for me to catch. I like having the coachwhips around.

California Striped racers are known to eat rattlesnakes.