Rattlesnake on Patio

P.S. Nonsensical Trivia!

What is THE most poisonous spider in the world?
A. Black Widow
B. Grandaddy Longlegs
C. Tarantula
D. Brown Recluse
First, venomous not poisonous.
Second, granddaddy longlegs are neither spiders nor do they have venom glands or fangs.
Third, the Brazilian Wandering Spider is generally agreed to be the most venomous spider in the world.
 
DING! DING! DING!
...AND WE HAVE A WINNER!

The most venomous spider (I haven't tested them! LOL!) is supposedly the Grandaddy Longlegs!
Their venom is supposedly THE most deadly, but they lack the mouth parts to deliver the venom!
Guys, I'm no entomologist nor expert.
Read that long ago and far away but I stuck it back in my "interesting file of useless information" for later use! 😀
 
DING! DING! DING!
...AND WE HAVE A WINNER!

The most venomous spider (I haven't tested them! LOL!) is supposedly the Grandaddy Longlegs!
Their venom is supposedly THE most deadly, but they lack the mouth parts to deliver the venom!
Guys, I'm no entomologist nor expert.
Read that long ago and far away but I stuck it back in my "interesting file of useless information" for later use! 😀
Thats what we used to hear as kids before the internet was around for us to fact check. It ain't true.
 
I've found they generally do everything in their power to try to get away. When I would pray weeds in college, we would have to tap them with a shovel repeatedly to get them to coil. Otherwise they were headed in the opposite direction.
 
This little guy was in the back yard last evening. Just a gopher snake but it had a cool pink tint to it. Scooped it up with shovel and walked it a couple hundred yards from our property.

Resize_0612211959-00_01.jpg
 
It seems quite symbolic to strike down a serpent with the same shovel Christ used.
My granddad would be amused. The fine hue on the handle is from eons of sweat dripping onto the handle and absorbing into the wood. I get lots of satisfaction using the old tools from my grandfather. He would be happy I used his shovel on the snake, even better if I had pulled out his old double barrel 12!, but neighbors these days don't cotton to that sort of thing.
@Rzrbk I love the wood on your killing piece, and the patina on the metal is lovely!
 
Yes sir! I like retelling stories too! LOL!

A few years back, the wife and me were cleaning up around the yard after mowing.
I heard her scream and when I looked up, I saw the black widow fall off her hand. We DO live a ways from reliable healthcare.
I had also heard of the "shock" thing.
My mind reeled as she grabbed her hand and came towards me.
I suddenly remembered the "electric" fence around our yard.
The fence charger "pulsed".
I told her, "Touch the ground wire, when the charger clicks, touch the bite to the hot wire!"
She looked at me askance and gingerly touched the ground wire and the charger clicked. She touched the hot wire as the charger pulsed again, shocking her bite.
"One more time!", I urged her.
Unfortunately, in her reluctance to be shocked again, she hesitated.
She touched the hot wire just as the charger pulsed.
It looked like a lightening bolt flew between her finger and the hot wire! 🤯!
Within about 10 minutes, you could not tell where the bite was, even though it was marked by a tiny burn mark! LOL!

My thoughts on the "shock" therapy for bites.
All "venom" is a supercharged protein. Bees, wasps, scorpions, snakes, whatever. That's why steak tenderizer works on jellyfish stings, it breaks down protein.
Protein is full of metallic ions.
It's my "uneducated" 🤓 opinion that the electrical charge upsets or neutralizes those metallic ions, making the venom ineffective.
A farmer who was subject to anaphylactic shock was mowing, hit a wasp nest and they swarmed him.
He was trying to make it to the house for his "epi-pen" when he passed out and fell down.
When he woke up, he was laying across an electric fence.
When he related his experience, word got out and it's been out there since.

DOES IT WORK?
I saw it happen! I even killed the spider to make sure it was a black widow.
My wife's hand never swelled, puffed up, turned red...nothing! ...and we sought NO medical treatment.
Was it a "dry bite"?
I dunno?

Use you own judgement!
Another remedy I'm fairly certain works is to put wettened chewing tobacco/snuff on a bee/wasp sting. It immediately removes the swelling and makes things feel better. As a kid, I'd fight red wasp around the house using a broom handle and often got hammered. You'd think I'd have been a better baseball player as I got lots of practice swinging at wasps as they came at me. I was extremely bored and Atari was not yet available. The wasps taught me more than the Atari would have.
 
Being bitten by copperheads seems like a family tradition in my family. My great grandmother was bitten twice, grandma once and dad was bitten on the hand as a teenager. My family comes from a long line of root diggers, green pickers, and berry harvesters. Lots of real "foxfire" Appalachian stuff in my family. Lots of time close to the ground in the woods puts you in a greater danger I suppose. But the snake bite tradition is one that I hope skips me!
 

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