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WEe have quite a bit of toads that we enjoy because they keep the bugs under control. My neighbors keep trying to run off the free insect control! DH was devasted last night to have backed over one of our little visitors; he was so distraught as he watched it die. :(He also gets very alarmed that his workers kill snakes and bunnies at work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Python
We get quite a lot of frogs and toads in our garden too. Our cat brought in a frog the other night. I thought it was dead as it was just lying on the floor with it's little hands over it's eyes. I picked it up and it jumped out of my hands. It landed on the floor and promptly covered it's eyes again! I managed to catch it again and put it outside in the garden. It covered it's eyes again. Poor thing must have thought it's end had come. It realised nothing was harming it and hopped off. Probably came from next door neighbour's pond. The same night a saw a large toad. I caught him and put him in a safer location in the garden. I like these animals because they do so much good in the garden. We also get Slow Worms. They're good at eating slugs and garden pests too.
I don't understand why people do this - and don't think a thing of it, especially snakes. There is a story on CNN.com about a 5 yo child who was killed by a stray bullet, fired by a policeman who was shooting a snake out of a tree! It's a tragedy that the child was killed - but why was he trying to shoot the snake out of the tree in the first place??? Seems simple to me - leave the snake alone and NO ONE GETS HURT.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama
Cute little Hedgie.
I love the critters that eat the pests.
We've got snakes, toads, and frogs around here, too.
But not all the critters eat the pests. Some of the critters ARE the pests!
Now..if I could just train deer to eat ONLY the weeds, I'd be very happy.
;)
IF Jane- I believe it may be a cultural thing on the snakes. They are not scared of them (which is the reason most people kill them), they just hate them. I am not a fan of snakes, but I let them go about their business. If it were poisonous and trying to harm me, maybe I would do something but most likely I would call some kind of wildlife control.
The bunnies they view as a pest at the nursery but DH prefers to catch and release them; not kill the little guys.
La, la, la, la, la!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama
I'm not listening!!!!!
Bunnies are for luvin' not harming!
We had out-of-season permits for deer and multiple other "pests" back on the farm. Had a gun too. But my Dad could never bring himself to shoot anything. Not even the possums, which were an invasive imported species in California. Nor the turkeys which were not only invasive and non-native, but also edible. He maybe killed a gopher or two, and some flies and mosquitoes, but otherwise he only used catch-and-release traps. Catch'em. Drive off into the woods. Let'em go. Once we think the "pest" may have been a mountain lion. Whatever it was left claw marks at shoulder height on one of the redwood trees. It also took the bait out of the back of a possum-sized trap, pulled the chicken thigh out and left the trap snapped but empty. And it growled rather loudly around the house for a couple of nights, the first of which my ds and the neighbors' son were out in the yard in a tent :eek: But still, we never shot anything. We were invading their territory, not they ours.
So what do you use to keep moose away from a garden? Haven't started a garden, but the little trees are more like a stick with one leaf. :eek:
The poor snake is the most maligned creature on this planet - yet they are the most gentle and shy. Most snakes would much rather slither away than even defend themselves. We don't get rattlesnakes over here, but even rattlers will rattle their tails. I've been in the same room as a captive Diamondback Rattler and his rattle was so loud, he left you in no doubt to what he was. They rattle their tails to tell you to go away. They, like the vast majority of snakes will not attack you. The exception being the Black and Green Mambas. They are very territorial and have been known to give chase. Even Cobras will warn you off by rearing up and displaying their hoods (been close to a couple of Cobras - in the same room as them although they were in their vivs). You back away from them and they'll quickly put the hood down and look for an escape route.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama
People are indoctrinated from an early age that snakes are bad, and that is kept alive by the Christian Old Testament Adam and Eve.
I can tell you something, if any of my pet snakes turned round and told me to eat this delicious, red apple I think I'd be hot-footing it to the nearest pyschiatrist!
Oh, sorry Jake. It was a green apple...:o
PS. Haven't seen the hedgehog tonight:(
My guess is the same as we finally did to keep the deer out -- 7ft high, very sturdy fences.Quote:
Originally Posted by chickwhorips
Venison and redcurrant sauce...MMMMMM:)
We went camping in the Ouachita National Forest last night. Me and the boy, and we rode this morning around some fire roads.
We had a bear visit our campsite while we slept, I think--I didn't see it, but I smelled it and heard it get in the trash cans about 50 yards away. I've never smelled a bear before, but it was close and there for a long time. While I was half asleep, it didn't occur to me that it might be a bear--but when I awoke, I remembered the smell! YIKES!
It's kind of a musty, musky, skunky odor, moist smelling. Not a skunk--I know those. It was so strong it must have been right outside the tent. Anyone know what a black bear smells like?
Karen
I think if I was ever close enough to sniff a Black Bear, the overwhelming aroma in the air would definitely NOT be from the bear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuckervill
aaaw, hedgehogs are so cute!
I was out late the other evening in our neighbourhood, which is very quiet and mostly car-free, and saw this small "rock" trundle over the path. Their legs are so tiny you can barely see them... It was a young hedgehog, and when we got close he didn't curl up, just froze where he was and pretended to be a real rock :rolleyes: I guess running is out of the question with those tiny legs.
And just a few metres further on there was another, larger "rock" in the grass that hadn't been there the day before. Very very cute!
http://www.wildlifeuk.net/who-has-a-...ehog-t-59.html
http://www.wildlifeuk.net/feeding-hedgehogs-t-322.html
Two of my favourite threads from a site where I am a moderator :D .
East Hill