Its venomous, aggressive, AND endangered...what do you do?

[Matejka]

2 ft Velvet tail.
He kept getting closer and closer. Within striking range.
Yesterday afternoon about 3, all my birds squawking and running from barn like they're lives were in danger. They gathered at the propane tank discussing it and looking at the barn.
We were on our way to town, I did not go to barn. I figured local kitty upset em. 2 hrs later, we're home, girls still by house.
7 o'clock I go to put them up, they follow me to barn then stop and start fussing.
2 fr velvet tail staring at me. I am between it and chickens. No protection nothing to defend myself except a 2 ft kids rake I use to clean coop.
I step back, it moves forward. Same thing again. He's within striking range.
What would YOU do?
I restrained him with kid rake called for help and relocated.
Just now killed a in bathroom.
Not my day.
Stay safe

 

[chickentrains]

what would I do?

scream and run.

 

[Callender Girl]

Wow! You had quite the day, didn't you?

I admire that you stayed calm enough to pin down the snake until it could be moved. I have always liked snakes, and here in the country, I get a chance to pick up and remove quite a few. But I deal mostly with garters and wannabe-scary bull snakes -- who like to shake their rattleless tails -- never something like yours.

Thank goodness no one -- you, the birds or even the snake -- was harmed.

Your bathroom intruder reminds me of my only scorpion experience. We were staying in one of the "Sunday houses" in the Texas Hill Country, and I had just stepped into the tub. I pulled the shower curtain and guess what was in the tub with me? I screamed so loudly that everyone in the hills should have heard me. My traveling companion killed the scorpion.

The next morning, as we were having coffee out on the patio, a parade of fire ants marched by. There's a lot of things I like about Texas, but certainly not all of its smaller inhabitants.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

The Timber Rattler is protected in Texas but not listed as endangered. Some government goob here in East Texas decided about ten years ago to release hundreds of baby Timber rattlers back into the wild. Now they are everywhere and a threat to live stock and people. We have some real winners running things ......

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

What would I do?? Shake from fear, scream for my life, turn run and hopefully not trip (like in a horror movie) then change of underwear. You have some scary creatures in the South. Personally I don't react well to creeping, crawling, swarming stingers or slithering. Glad you are safe. Maybe carry a bigger rake and wear boots.

 

[citymeetscountry]

I wear snake bite boots almost any time I walk in the backyard these days. Not sure what I would have done. Probably froze. I guess it would have also depended on how my girls acted around it.

YUCK to the scorpion! We moved out here in June and in Sept my husband comes upstairs around 10:30 when I was almost asleep and tells me he just almost stepped on a scorpion in front of the fridge. Ooh I got the heebie jeebies. We ended up seeing/catching 5 within 2 weeks the coolest was the one caught in a spider web in the garage.

 

[Matejka]

I wear snake bite boots almost any time I walk in the backyard these days. Not sure what I would have done. Probably froze. I guess it would have also depended on how my girls acted around it.

YUCK to the scorpion! We moved out here in June and in Sept my husband comes upstairs around 10:30 when I was almost asleep and tells me he just almost stepped on a scorpion in front of the fridge. Ooh I got the heebie jeebies. We ended up seeing/catching 5 within 2 weeks the coolest was the one caught in a spider web in the garage.

I usually kill scorpions- 1 a day on average.
Most in 1 day was 4.
Had an exterminator come last fall for scorpions.
He asked was I sure I was killing that many?
Yup
He moved trashcan in utility room to spray under it, (he had just started to spray), and there were 2 scorpion .
He got the message.
We keep yard clean, no brush, and grass cut short.
You learn to deal with critters in the country.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

I usually kill scorpions- 1 a day on average.
Most in 1 day was 4.
Had an exterminator come last fall for scorpions.
He asked was I sure I was killing that many?
Yup
He moved trashcan in utility room to spray under it, (he had just started to spray), and there were 2 scorpion .
He got the message.
We keep yard clean, no brush, and grass cut short.
You learn to deal with critters in the country.

Black Widows are also a big problem here. You learn early not to stick your hand into anything without looking first.

 

[citymeetscountry]

I usually kill scorpions- 1 a day on average.
Most in 1 day was 4.
Had an exterminator come last fall for scorpions.
He asked was I sure I was killing that many?
Yup
He moved trashcan in utility room to spray under it, (he had just started to spray), and there were 2 scorpion .
He got the message.
We keep yard clean, no brush, and grass cut short.
You learn to deal with critters in the country.

Yes, I think our influx had to do with getting 20 trees cut down plus our house/property had been vacant for about a year or more before we moved in. We definitely shook up the wildlife moving in

 

[McChooky]

2 ft Velvet tail.
He kept getting closer and closer. Within striking range.
Yesterday afternoon about 3, all my birds squawking and running from barn like they're lives were in danger. They gathered at the propane tank discussing it and looking at the barn.
We were on our way to town, I did not go to barn. I figured local kitty upset em. 2 hrs later, we're home, girls still by house.
7 o'clock I go to put them up, they follow me to barn then stop and start fussing.
2 fr velvet tail staring at me. I am between it and chickens. No protection nothing to defend myself except a 2 ft kids rake I use to clean coop.
I step back, it moves forward. Same thing again. He's within striking range.
What would YOU do?
I restrained him with kid rake called for help and relocated.
Just now killed a in bathroom.
Not my day.
Stay safe

We don't call them velvet tails around here. We just call them rattlers.