Over 90 Venomous Snakes in Den Underneath Northern California Home

I have a book in my library entitled "THAT VANISHING EDEN, A Naturalist's Florida" by Thomas Barbour.

In the introduction, he states:

My book is purely for the casual visitor seeking relaxation who wonders what the country was like before it was reduced to the condition in which he sees it today.

A large part of Florida is now so devastated that many of her friends are disinclined to believe that she ever could have been the Paradise which I know once existed.

That book was published in 1944.

The reason my family moved there in 1968 was because my dad got a job driving one of those enormous dump trucks with 12 foot tires. They were clearing out for Disney. I went with him once. I was 9 years old. Thing did not have a/c and you had to close windows while they dumped muck into bed. I remember watching crane lift up fallen tree's and all these animals come running out. And snakes galore! They really did destroy that area down there and killed so many animals.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

My wife's family lived in the Georgetown area.

Just asked as copperheads are in basically only two locations in DE , near Wilmington and way further south at Trap Pond. Not common either place. I think some popped up here and there in that southern location, but not in Georgetown.

No doubt he was knocking off water snakes ... of which many people say are cotton mouths.

If anyone wants to read a REALLY interesting book about the history of Florida, check out this one ->

FINDING FLORIDA, The True History of the Sunshine State, by T.D. Allman. Published in 2013.

Especially eye opening about Disney and how they basically created a separate country right in the middle of Florida.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

I have a book in my library entitled "THAT VANISHING EDEN, A Naturalist's Florida" by Thomas Barbour.

In the introduction, he states:



That book was published in 1944.

Geez , 1944 ... if he saw it now it would kill him on the spot.

The changes to the NJ Pine Barrens since I first went there in 1972 are also depressing. Some of my spots are still there , untouched as they are so remote from making them worthwhile to develop that Timber Rattlesnakes , Pines , etc are still there.

Depression really sets in for me when I think of my past springtime hunts at Okeetee, Good Hope and Chelsea Plantations in SC that are gone with the great friends I used to meet there to hunt Diamondbacks and Corns. First the new owners of the plantations no longer allowing snake hunting followed by the Best Western and other chain motels and restaurants taking over the little town of Ridgeland.

I'm glad I'm as old as I am and not 19 years old and starting my quest for herps with the way things have been destroyed, ridiculous laws shoved down your throat by F & G and 'snake hunting' to most people being reduced to looking into deli cups rather than stump holes, just to catch a glimpse of scales and being happy about it.

I'm glad I was born no later than I was !

Isn't it something how all the developers killing animals aren't held responsible for any of it yet transporting your captive produced animals across state lines .... animals who's bloodlines go back thirty years or longer ... can get you thrown in jail or a huge fine ? How than this happen ?

It just shows just how corrupt everything has become.

Originally Posted by JimM

Isn't it something how all the developers killing animals aren't held responsible for any of it yet transporting your captive produced animals across state lines .... animals who's bloodlines go back thirty years or longer ... can get you thrown in jail or a huge fine ? How than this happen ?

It just shows just how corrupt everything has become.

Unfortunately, the people who pay for damage to wildlife/habitats/the general environment don't tend to be the people who did the damage. There are no chemical company CEOs living on a Superfund site. The island nation of Kiribati is contributing nearly nothing to global warming. And so on.

Also unfortunately, this is nothing new -- novel situations, but the same pattern.

Originally Posted by Socratic Monologue

"some snakes are released onto ranches as a form of pest control at the landowner's request"

I like this part. We need a service like this where I live.

Funny- I know Al. He is been so busy with the fires (rodent pops went way up…guess what followed?) that I have been moving rattlers as well (he did one for me this summer, I have done two since at my school). So nice to have locals who know they mean no harm and control rodents…that said I won’t be diving into a den anytime soon, but I can handle one safely for the snake and myself.