DG Snake

[sidewinder22]

Completely agree with this, my point being that most snakes don't like being near a lot of human traffic. Even if the habitat otherwise suits them, if there's sufficient foot traffic (which I'm sure there is on busy courses) they'll tend to stay away from the traffic. Probably more likely to be staying in the shadows in the rough, in less traveled areas of the course.

Snakes don't care, they go wherever food and shelter are. Many urban areas have snake problems.

 

[eegor]

Maybe it's because I'm in Texas where you have to look where you're stepping all of the time due to fire ants and other wonderful critters. The snakes seem to be the least of our problems down here.

My interactions with copperheads have been - I see snake, I alert snake, snake sees me, snake sees that I want to go where it is, snake leaves without incident.

I fear the hornets, other wasps, asps and ants more than snakes.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

^ winner.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Many urban areas have rodent problems.

:hfive:

 

[dandaman]

The Bible starts off with a confrontation between a snake and Eve and that didn't go very well. :\

I don't think the bible mentions a snake in the garden of Eden, but a serpent instead.

 

[dandaman]

Agreed. My thought is that if I see on snake, there are probably dozens more in the area, and removing it---or killing it---aren't likely to make much difference in the odds of a snake-human encounter.

I'm curious as to how territorial snakes are, and how far they roam. ublicize it locally, just to remind people to be extra vigilant.

I've read recently that cooperheads are social snakes- meaning that if you see one it's highly likely that there are more nearby.

 

[dandaman]

I've seen a baby rattle snake one time and my friend kept trying to pick it up. I was praying she didn't get bit.

I sincerely hope that this is the least brightest of your friends. If not I seriously question the length of your life expectancy.

 

[DavidSauls]

Maybe it's because I'm in Texas where you have to look where you're stepping all of the time due to fire ants and other wonderful critters. The snakes seem to be the least of our problems down here.

My interactions with copperheads have been - I see snake, I alert snake, snake sees me, snake sees that I want to go where it is, snake leaves without incident.

I fear the hornets, other wasps, asps and ants more than snakes.

It's the first step in that sequence that worries me. If I miss it, through tall grass or underbrush or thinking about my last muffed shot, I may step on or very close to a camouflaged snake who won't do his part of the rest of that sequence.

But the real danger, from venomous and non-venomous snakes alike, is the ligament damage that occurs moments after I first see them within striking range of my foot. I'm not an expert in snake species identification, especially when my brain is occupying trying to levitate, run, and scream simultaneously.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

But the real danger, from venomous and non-venomous snakes alike, is the ligament damage that occurs moments after I first see them within striking range of my foot. I'm not an expert in snake species identification, especially when my brain is occupying trying to levitate, run, and scream simultaneously.

lulz

 

[BrotherDave]

A copperhead is one of the best snakes to have around. It won't bite you unless it has to (cornered or stepped on for example) and is great at reducing vermin. I've seen them on courses in the DFW area. If you stand still and look at them for over 5 seconds, they will slither or swim away... so you can get your disc.

Yeah, copperheads are really not that aggressive. I kicked some logs in front of the tee out of frustration the other day and lo and behold they were concealing a juvenile copperhead. It was deservedly not pleased with me. Unfortunately, the snake didn't scurry away and some dickhead had bashed its head in when I saw it again in my 2nd round.

 

[sidewinder22]

I don't think the bible mentions a snake in the garden of Eden, but a serpent instead.

Serpent literally means snake. The medical symbol has a serpent/snake coiled around a staff. If you want to argue that serpent figuratively means satan then at some point in time there was a connotation that snakes are evil when the term snake was coined.

 

[gcr_russell]

The only problem I still have with leaving the snake alone is that all of the scenarios are "most likely you see it, or it sees you, there is no confrontation, no one gets hurt." Most likely doesn't carry a good enough percentage of problem free results for me. Most likely everyone notices it. But that person with their headphones in who throws into the rough and gets bit? I don't care if he's the one in a million. Doing something about that snake when it's seen initially can help avoid that. I do value human life more than venomous snakes.

Not 2 months ago I had headphones in and walked by a playground on a hot day on the way to a field for practice. I had my crate of discs and headphones in. It was nearly too late when I missed stepping on a rattlesnake by one step. The little kids that wanted to use the slide later that day may not have been as lucky. They are more important than that snake.

 

[sidewinder22]

DG courses tend to attract snakes as they like brush piles, rock piles or walls, tall grass and underbrush, water, and rodents which are attracted to trash left on the course by dgers.

The only thing that drives snakes away is when their habitat is destroyed and the food sources are gone, or they know or think a predator has spotted it and is in danger, but it can either into flight or fight mode. Field workers and fruit pickers often get attacked despite the snakes knowing humans are around and in some areas snakes slither right over people that are sleeping. I've been chased by some aggressive rat snakes before on the course.

 

[gcr_russell]

I only feel this way about venomous snakes, by the way. Outside of that, live and let live.

 

[Hampstead]

Serpent literally means snake. The medical symbol has a serpent/snake coiled around a staff. If you want to argue that serpent figuratively means satan then at some point in time there was a connotation that snakes are evil when the term snake was coined.

While this isn't the place for such a discussion, serpent has other symbolic meanings beyond just a snake. For those so inclined, look into kundalini, in the kabbalah both serpent and messiah have the same numeric value, strands of DNA (The Cosmic Serpent : DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby) and on and on, but I digress...

 

[eegor]

I only feel this way about venomous snakes, by the way. Outside of that, live and let live.

A playground and a disc golf course are certainly different situations.

A rattlesnake is also much more aggressive than a copperhead.

I'm not a fan of cottonmouths at all. I think they should be removed from parks / life in general.

Rattlesnakes, being quicker to strike should be moved if possible. My grandfather was a farmer south of Abilene and considered the rattlesnakes as friends that kept his crops from being eaten. We would move them with a hoe as we worked the rows. They didn't seem to mind too much.

Not going into a panic is probably the best defense against being bitten/stung by any wild creature. I'm not a huge animal lover, but I don't think killing everything that we wouldn't want to touch is a good idea either.

Extreme positions on either side is most likely very, very wrong.

 

[BrotherDave]

I only feel this way about venomous snakes, by the way. Outside of that, live and let live.

I guess it's the snake's fault for being born venomous. :\

 

[grodney]

My daughter ran into this bigass (5-6 foot (message board length 8-9 foot)) rat snake at Elon in Charlotte the other day. At least I think it's a rat snake -- I don't know snakes from shinola.

 

[PMantle]

Was it fast? Looks a little bit like a racer.

 

[grodney]

Not overly?

Edit: wikipedia says the record black racer is 72 inches. This thing had to be close to that, so I doubt it.