Florida Gardening: everyone be careful out there, 2 by trackinsand

trackinsand wrote:
i despise having to kill a snake but when a Coral Snake is feet away from my house/garden...it has to go.
i've killed two this week.
remember to wear gloves and boots, especially in mulched areas. this snake is nothing to fool around with. they are secretive and don't want a confrontation...they want to get away from you but if you accidently step on one or are digging in the dirt/mulch, they will bite.

for newcomers to florida, the Coral Snake has a BLACK, blunt, round nose like a earthworm. "nose black, get back" the coloration on the body goes all the way around, no white belly and the yellow & red touch each other. "red and yellow, kill a fellow". there are several snakes which have similar coloration but are not venomous.

if you can, keep your head and determine if what you see is a Coral Snake and not a King Snake or Corn Snake.

first pic is right side up and second pic is belly up.

ps. wanted to add that a "dead" snake can still bite due to nerve impulses so never handle one of these snakes. use a shovel to pick up and dispose of.

This message was edited Aug 3, 2012 9:50 AM