Yesterday Helpers... Unwelcome guest

Yep! This is what were have to tolerate here in Florida.
The snake is a pigmy rattler. I believe the spiders is a Huntsman

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Keep them down there Roy, I hate both of those.

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Roy. Thank you for the ride-along yesterday. I had great time and learned quite a bit. Your help and mentoring is greatly appreciated. I’m also very pleased that it was not me that came face to face with those critters:) I guess it is just a part of the job here in N. Florida.

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I’m impressed Sir Roy.
Pretty sure it’s a Hunstman.
They will bite & have venom to immobilize their prey, but usually will defensively retreat & run away.

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Holy Cow!!!

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Thank you!

Those don’t bother me so much. I can handle pretty much anything I run into… except cockroaches!!! And those enormous monsters in FL??? Nope nope nope… I’m out. And they fly!!!

My sister tried to convince me that they were palmetto bugs… :roll_eyes: :flushed:

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My fear of snakes has turned into a dedication to be able to ID their species. Luckily it’s not a venomous pygmy rattlesnake, but a non-venomous juvenile eastern rat snake. No less startling though.

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It looked like a dusky pigmy rattlesnake to me.

It’s tough sometimes with the juveniles because their marking look a lot different than the adults.

pantherophis alleghaniensis

Not just fly, fly at you!

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I know you can tell by the eyes, but sometimes it is hard to get a good look. This one did have a large triangular head.

Its dead now! LOL! :laughing:

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Personally, a snake is a snake and spider is spider during my inspections. I don’t take time to identify, but I’m very aware and wary when I see any presence.

There was an inspector in in our local area that got bit by a copperhead in a crawlspace just a few months ago. Life flighted to a hospital for treatment and evaluation because of our rural area, but turned out ok. Insurance cost probably 30k or more.

So I don’t try to be a “Real Man” when it comes to these types of critters. If I come across them in the open, I try to send them on their way. Any evidence in subject areas like crawlspaces, I use my best judgement of personal safety.

Regarding the OP’s identification on the species of snake, looks close enough to me to send it on it’s way. However, I have to agree that it looks more like a juvenile rat or racer snake. All the spotting is similar to a rattler, but the body shape trends more to the other. Rattlers have a thick body with a shorter taper going into the tail. Rat and racers have a similar thick upper bodies, but their tail tapers start sooner and end up longer and thiner at the end.

Time to go have another…

It looked close enough to me …Shovel time…
That spider freaked me out more than the snake…

I’ve tried the shovel. Doesn’t always work the first time for me.
I would need a longer shovel for a rattler.

Well, how does it taste?

We call it a snake gun. The Judge.
Chambers .410 shot shells

image

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You can always slap a saddle on one and see if you can ride it for 8 seconds…

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