New Shop Buddy

[Russianwolf]

Went to the shop to do some clean-up today as I had some water infiltration during the last storm (mostly int he storage area since I had gotten most of the sawdust up already), and as I was walking I stepped on something that shouldn't have been there. I caught him and took a pic, I'll turn him loose in the shop after I get everything cleaned-up so he can keep the other critters at bay.

He is upset about being stepped on though.


He's about 18-20 inches long, but I'll measure him later. Either a Garter or a Ribbon.

[jonmulzer]

Nice! My father could have used one of those in his shop this winter. We were cleaning up in there and re-arranging some things when I fired up his shop vac and it blew tons of dust out the exhaust. It appears some mice made a nest in there this winter and chewed up his filter. I even mentioned that he needed a snake to keep in his shop. My father is thoroughly terrified of snakes so he did not find that amusing at all.

[Uncle Cracker]

Probably an Eastern Garter. Range distribution data I have for the Common Ribbon show it only in 7 WV counties, with nothing closer to you than Mineral County. Eastern Garters, however, are known to inhabit every WV county. Put 'em side-by-side, though, and you almost can't tell 'em apart...

The drama today will probably induce it to move elsewhere, but if it stays, that means there's plenty of food (not necessarily a good thing... ).

[Russianwolf]

Well, the storage area is now 3/4's empty and the back of my truck is full. So it'll likely leave soon as there won;;t be anywhere for food to hide.

[jussi]

Maybe you can rent it to your neighbors as a pest removal service.

[billwmeyer]

That would be a huge safety hazzard in my shop. If I saw it I would probably try to jump on top of my BT while it is running.

Bill

[JoeyGee]

Let's see...you posted it at ~5:00 eastern, and it's now almost 10. I would be just about pulling myself off the ceiling, long after I had begged LOML to get rid of it.

I HATE snakes. I don't care how small they are.

[Alex Franke]

Holy cow. Isn't that the infamous Middle Appalachian Shop-Dwelling Viper of Peril??

That would have just freaked me out. It looks a little like one I discovered about a foot from where my (then) 1 yr old was playing out in the back yard. Don't know what it is, but it scared the you-know-what out of me.

I sure wish I could tell the friendly snakes from the dangerous -- it might be nice to have one hanging around -- like you say -- keeping the critters at bay.

[Russianwolf]

Hey ya go Alex, you just need to learn the six that are venomous (Coral, Copperhead, Cottonmouth, and a triple threat of rattlers in your case)

http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC...s/snakes.html#

[stormdog74]

Nice! My father could have used one of those in his shop this winter. We were cleaning up in there and re-arranging some things when I fired up his shop vac and it blew tons of dust out the exhaust. It appears some mice made a nest in there this winter and chewed up his filter. I even mentioned that he needed a snake to keep in his shop. My father is thoroughly terrified of snakes so he did not find that amusing at all.

Easy solution - cat - unless he is afraid of them too!

[jackellis]

The fearless adventurer Indiana Jones summed up my feelings about slithering critters when he said, "I hate snakes".

I'm also scared to death of the ones I don't recognize, which is most of them.

[Uncle Cracker]

It's called ophidiophobia. Help is available...

[BobSch]

It's called ophidiophobia. Help is available...

Yeah — a long stick!

[lebomike]

To me there is only one good snake and tha is a DEAD snake. I hate them also, no matter what kind or size.

[jspelbring]

Critter control

I don't have any snakes, but I've considered bringing one of our ferrets out to the shop. The only problem would be that they STEAL. I can never find a pencil, or the right tool as it is!