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| Baby snake on a sticky trap in the house! |
A closer look revealed a different critter stuck in the quagmire of ooze. A freaking baby snake! Are you KIDDING me? How in the world did THAT get in the HOUSE?!?! Grrr! Several weeks of spraying insecticide in and around the farmhouse appear to be negated by a long week of constant raining. (Although I must confess, the baby snake did have a weird coolness factor.)
The grass is back up to above the ankles. The bug population has exploded and now I have snakes in the house. I killed two wasps in the house today too. We are back to square one. I really don't want to pull all the baseboards off and seal the entire house. I don't even know how much longer I'll be here. I could be living in my own trailer in a week or two. Time to nut-up and deal (no offense ladies).
About the only GOOD news upon arrival is that a cousin has dropped off an extra brush hog that he found somewhere. I'll be able to hook the Old Red Belly up to it and go to town on all this brush and sticker grass...as soon as I have time.
I got my first electric bill in the mail today. Four weeks of running the window air conditioner (sometimes two, one doesn't work very well), regular light usage and random electronics plugged in (ham radio charger, laptop, fan, etc) and I'm looking at $78.81. I'm looking forward to a day when I have my solar panels set up...yes sir I am.
~OJD
The baby snake probably came in after the bugs.
ReplyDeleteWe call those palmetto bugs down here. They like moist areas. And if they've had run of the house for a while you're going to have to wait them out. Boric acid will help behind cabinets, floor boards, fridge and stove.
Breathe deep. You can do it.
Breathing deep... breathing deep... CHOKING! CHOKING! LOL.
DeleteI think we should all invest in the sticky trap companies. Great invention. Just keep a good supply on hand.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteLook for Timbor or Borrada-D. Both are borate based, low toxicity pesticides. Basically the same as boric acid like KK said. Lowest cost is at pool supply retailers. Mix with hot water, filter and spray under the house with a pump sprayer. Also in attic, inside the walls or wherever you can reach. Rain washes it off, so don't bother with outside the house. Leaves little white crystals that repeal bugs, specifically termites and roaches. DG
ReplyDelete"Baby snake" looks like a ground (pygmy)rattler to me. Have them here in FL. Check with a native. You need to be cautious.
ReplyDeleteRemember that a solid color eye is ok, even though you don't want them in the house.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a slit eye, then it's poisonous.
With it being a baby, then that means there are probably more within the vicinity or perhaps a nest of them nearby.
You could not pay me to go into that place -- it was obviously a farm worker's cottage. Where is the big farmhouse that goes with that property? Is someone else living in it?
ReplyDeleteGrandpa built this to be his garage but until he built his house, he used this as a small cottage. He got Alzheimers before he could build the house.
DeleteNo reason there wouldn't be the same critters in the big house.
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, the first thing I should have done was pull all the furniture away from the walls and check for gaps in the baseboards. I suspect that this is where all the critters are coming from.
DeleteThat is definitely not a pygmy rattle snake; coloring is similar but the tail and head are wrong. Looks more like a corn snake or prairie kingsnake, both of which are docile and very beneficial for farms; they eat rodents and the kingsnakes also eat other snakes.
ReplyDeleteIt would really be to your advantage to invest in a field guide (I'd highly recommend the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians) so you know which snakes to kill and which to release so they can go back to work; being a good steward of the land and all.
Great advice on the guide. I will check Amazon.
DeleteZadok said what I was going to say. Find a regional field guide of dangerous critters. That was the first thing we did as we are in the heart of rattlesnake country...but heck lots of other harmful critters too.
ReplyDeleteEvery place has something. In spite of a comment above about not living there~we all must live somewhere. Learn what is harmful, what is not...and go forth.
In all things~ one can and does thrive...if with wisdom.
Jennifer
Thanks Jennifer!
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