The joys of small wonders of nature

[Buttoni]

Well buttoni, apparently it ain't to bad now.two things I learned years ago.1st wasp leave their stinger and the sack 2nd scratch that spot seeing how that removes the stinger.i ain't allergic to the stings.but it helps by removing the stinger.less pain n all.

I thought that and tried to remove, but the dark sting mark wouldn't yield to my attempts. But I Googled and this says that wasps don't leave their stinger sac behind like bees do, therefore the same wasp can sting you multiple times!

copy/pasted:

What Types of Wasps Sting?
There are roughly 20,000 species of wasps, but not all of them sting humans. As with bees, only female wasps have stingers. Unlike honeybees, wasps don’t lose their stingers. This means it’s possible to be stung multiple times by the same wasp.

Later at the clinic, they said it looked pretty bad and gave me a steroid shot to stop the histimine chain reaction. Said to keep an eye out for a possible infection at the sting site.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We live in the mountains here, so we're surrounded by nature. Most days we see deer and elk. Occasionally we get a bear, coyote or fox in the yard. Hawks, owls and eagles are common. Most critters I don't have a problem with. The only exception is rattlesnakes. I shot one a couple days ago just off the back deck.

 

[Buttoni]

We have Copperheads on our property. Neighbors have told us they've been bitten. I've personally seen a copperhead twice in the 5 years we've owned our 42acre BOL, but service/repair men have told us they have seen them as well.

We get the occasional racoon, more, armadillo, red fox, gray fox, cayotes and a troublesome gopher network in the general 5 square mile radius of us.

 

[DrHenley]

I thought that and tried to remove, but the dark sting mark wouldn't yield to my attempts. But I Googled and this says that wasps don't leave their stinger sac behind like bees do, therefore the same wasp can sting you multiple times!

copy/pasted:

What Types of Wasps Sting?
There are roughly 20,000 species of wasps, but not all of them sting humans. As with bees, only female wasps have stingers. Unlike honeybees, wasps don’t lose their stingers. This means it’s possible to be stung multiple times by the same wasp.

Later at the clinic, they said it looked pretty bad and gave me a steroid shot to stop the histimine chain reaction. Said to keep an eye out for a possible infection at the sting site.

Red Paper Wasp stings rate a 3 on the 4 point Schmidt Pain Index for a single sting. I think the only stings that rate a 4 are the bullet ant and tarantula wasp stings.
The venom from a red paper wasp usually kills some tissue which creates a small ulcer at the site of the dead tissue. This is where you have to watch out for infection in the dead tissue.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We have Copperheads on our property. Neighbors have told us they've been bitten. I've personally seen a copperhead twice in the 5 years we've owned our 42acre BOL, but survice/repair men have told us they have seen them as well.

We get the occasional racoon, more, armadillo, red fox, gray fox, cayotes and a troublesome gopher network in the general 5 square mile radius of us.

I usually kill 5-10 rattlers a year, just around the house. When we first moved here I killed more. This is all in the area around the house, barn, garden/orchard, fur shed and the other out buildings. I keep the area cleaned up and the brush and weeds mowed down. I guess when the area dries out around here they're attracted to the moisture.

 

[Cindyd]

Rattlers scare the heck out of me...thank goodness I have not seen one in the last 8 years since I moved where I am now (even though we have them here).
Back in 2004 though had a basset hound encounter a pigmy rattler and he (butch, the Bassett hound) did not survive ...my partner larry's greyhound got upon a rattler too at his place several years ago that did not survive it..
Burrrr! All snakes spook me, but rattler's downright give me the woollies!

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

We get rattlers quite often. My husband pins them picks them up with his gloved hands and walks them out into the woods and lets them go. Copperheads, cotton mouths, even had a coral snake in my front foyer once (in the house). About a month ago, removed a 4' rat snake out of the laundry powder room. We recently bought a snake stick specifically for that purpose.

When you hike you wear your snake boots and walk with a walking stick which you plant soundly on the ground as you walk. The snakes don't like you any better than you like them. My dogs know the command "leave it" because there are a lot of things they should not be playing with here.

I don't mind much as long as the snakes stay OUTSIDE (had one under the bed one night...yeah that was fun).

When we first moved into BOL 1, there were no worms. No bees. No bats. Very few large birds or spiders (still lots of mosquitos). Didn't see a single snake or even roadrunner for the first three years. Not quite sure what was going on. We started keeping things a lot more natural on the property, stopped spraying etc and within two years, I started having worms in the ground, plants were flowering and growing and everything else seemed to come back. It was great to see.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

We kill the poisonous snakes. Don’t want them around here. Non poisonous we just leave alone. Why take the chance of one of the grand kids getting bit by a poisonous snake?

 

[DrHenley]

Here in Columbus, the only poisonous snake I've ever seen in the yard (a copperhead) was viciously attacked by a mob of birds.
At the BOL, we see cottonmouths regularly. We "terminate with extreme prejudice."
Any other kind of snake we have a working truce with: they leave us alone and we leave them alone.
The cottonmouths don't abide by the truce, so we don't either.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

We kill the poisonous snakes. Don’t want them around here. Non poisonous we just leave alone. Why take the chance of one of the grand kids getting bit by a poisonous snake?

Generally, they stay away from the areas where the kids, horses and dogs would be...every once in a while they get near.

We have found, that we move them and they don't come back. Five times in 21 years...we have had to do it.
The non-poisonous are the ones that get in my house on a regular basis. We generally visit the grand kids, so it really isn't a problem for us.
https://www.quora.com/profile/Colin-Sanders-2
I completely understand why you would want to kill them. We just have done it differently and had only the occasional stray now.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I kill every rattler within a quarter mile of the house. About 3 years ago our dog was bit by one. He survived so now we keep benadryl on hand. Last summer the grand kids were playing in the back yard and a rattler got within 6' from them before I seen it.
Any other snake is welcome here. Funny thing is with all the miles of fencing that I work on here I've never seen a rattlesnake out there yet.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

They go where there is food. Rats and mice, like human areas. Reduce the amount of food. Snakes who eat other snakes also eat rodents, less food for the vipers and higher risk to themselves to hunt and raise their young there and they just go elsewhere....where the hawks, eagles etc get a meal out of them.

 

[Mountain trapper]

They go where there is food. Rats and mice, like human areas. Reduce the amount of food. Snakes who eat other snakes also eat rodents, less food for the vipers and higher risk to themselves to hunt and raise their young there and they just go elsewhere....where the hawks, eagles etc get a meal out of them.

Its an ongoing battle for me to trap, poison and shoot all of the rodents that I can. The problem here is that we're surrounded by many thousands of acres of forest and meadow. For every chipmunk I kill 10 more move in. Its impossible to kill every rodent, especially since this time of year we have the only water for a large area, and that attracts rodents, rodents attract snakes.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I get it, believe me (that was why the rat snake was in my powder room! ) Our back yard at BOL 1 pretty much looks like this (not posting the actual on general forum)

And as the crow flies, we are about a mile from a National Wildlife Preserve. Critters are a way of life. I don't hold it against anyone for killing poisonous snakes...they are dangerous.

I do know though when my youngest daughter moved out with her cats, suddenly for the first time in 20 years we had rats in the house. Our dogs are good at getting them after the fact, but, the cats seemed to keep them away in the first place. Unfortunately, outdoor cats have a way of disappearing due to a high population of hawks and owls....

 

[Cindyd]

I have to add cottonmouths to my list and yes, we do exterminate the cottonmouths...sorry...we have a pond on property so they are regulars here.

Not exactly sure what kind of snake the attached pic is but my son was working on the property with the bobcat and accidentally got this one. Kinda covered in dirt so hard for me to tell. Anyone know what this one is? Big old rat snake?

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I have to add cottonmouths to my list and yes, we do exterminate the cottonmouths...sorry...we have a pond on property so they are regulars here.

Not exactly sure what kind of snake the attached pic is but my son was working on the property with the bobcat and accidentally got this one. Kinda covered in dirt so hard for me to tell. Anyone know what this one is? Big old rat snake?

Hard to tell because it looks like he is about to shed.

 

[HylaPicta]

Thanks for checking OW, yes I am ok. Staying vertical. Tending to business. Being in awe of nature. Working to stay positive, which in the long run, seems to help my vertical-ness.

Been in the USA for some months, but now it's getting cold and dark. Time to follow the birds back down to the tropics.

 

[Dave2001]

Thanks for checking OW, yes I am ok. Staying vertical. Tending to business. Being in awe of nature. Working to stay positive, which in the long run, seems to help my vertical-ness.

Been in the USA for some months, but now it's getting cold and dark. Time to follow the birds back down to the tropics.

Know the feeling, Just got home from spending Christmas in Aruba!!!

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Only got 1 rattler this year, the food source reduction plan works.
Barn cat got a couple rats, first time seeing rats in 5 years. But I have not some not aware neighbors up the road
Ground squirrels starting a comeback, but not near the house.
Gophers becoming the newest problem. Hope the king snakes come back.
Bobcats, coyotes, fox still show up on the trail cams. Spotting Lions but not on the cams.
Turkey are making a comeback. Deer and elk are increasing. Got a covey of over 50 quail in the box canyon behind the barn.
I kinda pay attention.

 

[Dave2001]

Only got 1 rattler this year, the food source reduction plan works.
Barn cat got a couple rats, first time seeing rats in 5 years. But I have not some not aware neighbors up the road
Ground squirrels starting a comeback, but not near the house.
Gophers becoming the newest problem. Hope the king snakes come back.
Bobcats, coyotes, fox still show up on the trail cams. Spotting Lions but not on the cams.
Turkey are making a comeback. Deer and elk are increasing. Got a covey of over 50 quail in the box canyon behind the barn.
I kinda pay attention.

We have so many deer, wild turkey and wild hog they are becoming a real problem!!!

 

[EastenerWesterner]

We have so many deer, wild turkey and wild hog they are becoming a real problem!!!

Turkey were a big pain a couple years ago. Then all of sudden population dropped. Example seeing 20+ a day down to 5. I suspect the coons or fox are getting in their nests. Or it could be that every Lion caught in a city, gets released into the wilderness area next to me.
Something threw the balance off.
Havent seen a hog in a couple years since my son left a gate open. One of my neighbors runs an eradication business and takes care of them up the road.
Deer and Elk have it tough around here when the wild oats turn brown in June. And they are battling cattle leases on park and watershed property for graze. Have been seeing more because they restricted the number of cattle that can graze the land because of drought.
Right now, I am seeing more cattle than ever because the drought restrictions were lifted.
Man made balance effect. I expect to have deer hung up on my fencing this year. Not pretty when all you find is a leg hanging.