Hate is a strong word.

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Depends on the situation. I was on an Italian mountainside and suddenly confronted by a snake that reared its head in attacking position. I had nothing on me to use for protection so I turned to my natural instincts. (Some might have fled but I felt that might lead to a sudden attack).

I drew on my knowledge that dogs respond to the tone of voice, rather than the words....so I spoke slowly and softly to the snake. The attacking position is due to the snake feeling threatened. I tried to reassure the snake that I was not about to kill it....then, slowly, walked away!

Let me guess what your reply would be? Shoot it? That was not an option I had and the snake had every right to be there since the mountain was its home, i.e. it was me that was trespassing.

Snakes don't have ears. They do not have an "attack" mode unless provoked by a moron. (see TV sensationalist, ie the Crocodile Hunter) They get defensive. Their first instinct is to leave.

LOL, have you not paid attention to my avatar? I don't shoot snakes or run them over. I move them from harms way, venomous or not.;) Unless of course they are invasives.
 
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Yes of course dogs learn words...but, as I said, they respond more to tone than the words. Try saying "good doggie" in a shouting, scolding voice and you will see! I am spiritually focused and used my intuition regarding tone of voice. Voices emanate a resonance i.e. a vibration - it is universally so.
Also, my tactic worked!
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Well, again, snakes aren't dogs and don't respond the same way to people. And correlation does not mean causation, i.e., the fact that you did a thing does not mean the next thing that happened was caused by what you did.
 
Snakes don't have ears. They do not have an "attack" mode unless provoked by a moron. (see TV sensationalist, ie the Crocodile Hunter) They get defensive. Their first instinct is to leave.

LOL, have you not paid attention to my avatar? I don't shoot snakes or run them over. I move them from harms way, venomous or not.;) Unless of course they are invasives.
I know they don't have ears but noise vibration is a soundwave and these are picked up by their skin, muscles and bones that carry it to their inner "ear".

It was in attack mode, like a cobra...i.e. raising its head upright so it appeared in the shape of the letter L. I hadn't provoked it at all...just came across it suddenly at very close quarters.

I am glad to hear you do not harm them. :)
 
I never get bit by mosquitos, but DH gets totally bit up. I told him it's because he eats a lot of sweets and I don't.
They say that Avon Skin So Soft Bath Oil will keep them away.

I cannot remember the last time I was stung by a mosquito.
My wife gets stung each time she ventures outside it seems.
We have come to the conclusion beer is my repellent. Since I drink lots of beer, it seems to maybe have something to do with mosquito's lack of interest in me.

:clap: Did you remember all your stings, or did you write this in a diary? Just curious. You appear to have a helluva memory!!! My dad kept bees, they were all over the farm, and of course stings are going to happen. My dad would quietly remove the sting and send us on our way. No to-do was made. I guess baking soda slurry would've been nice, though...

Hornet stings are not the same as honey bee stings. Hornet stings hurt so bad, it could make a grown man cry. Hornets are also very aggressive if you get anywhere near or disturb their nest. Be it in the ground or hanging from a tree.
Not to mention certain individuals can die from any sting. So, stings are a bigger deal than you make them out to be.

No, I got your "point" loud and clear. Instinct is what drives creature behavior. It is human stupidity that makes them "HARMFUL". I get all warm and fuzzy every time some moron gets bit trying to kill a venomous snake.:ROFLMAO:

I tried to explain to someone on another forum that his dog was not bitten by a copperhead, by describing what happens after a crotalid envenomation. He couldn't grasp that the venom begins the digestive process, causing necrotic tissue damage. His dog had some swelling and redness in the "bite" area and was "fit as a fiddle" the next morning. The guy had let the dog out at 10:00 PM to potty, heard a yelp and the dogs paw had some redness and swelling. He went outside, saw a copperhead and killed it with a shotgun. Even though he didn't witness the "bite", the copperhead was the culprit. You just can't fix stupid.;)

Snakes don't have ears. They do not have an "attack" mode unless provoked by a moron. (see TV sensationalist, ie the Crocodile Hunter) They get defensive. Their first instinct is to leave.

LOL, have you not paid attention to my avatar? I don't shoot snakes or run them over. I move them from harms way, venomous or not.;) Unless of course they are invasives.

It seems this hate for snakes is alive and well here in the south.
A shovel being the choice of weapon in most cases with a gun shot coming in second.
Purposeful running over of any kind of snake is considered "doing the right thing". I was reprimanded once for swerving to miss a snake crossing the road.
I have come to the conclusion as to why this feeling is so prevalent.
Remember the story about Adam and Eve?
I have this feeling it really just boils down to the belief that all snakes are inherently bad.
 
PF, that spider is adorable.

I seem to have missed getting the gene that makes us afraid of snakes and spiders. I have never been afraid of them. I grew up in California where there are black widow spiders and rattle snakes. I learned to respect those, without fearing them. I have been the accidental aggressor to each of those. I remained calm and wasn't bitten. They went on their way.
 
PF, that spider is adorable.

I seem to have missed getting the gene that makes us afraid of snakes and spiders. I have never been afraid of them. I grew up in California where there are black widow spiders and rattle snakes. I learned to respect those, without fearing them. I have been the accidental aggressor to each of those. I remained calm and wasn't bitten. They went on their way.

I fell into a three foot high red ant hill (lived in Guam at the time) when I was 4...it's strong in my memory. Dad used gasoline to get the ants off of me, to this day the smell of gasoline makes my stomach churn. Not crazy about ants, either.

I also had the experience of Daddy Long Legs using me for shelter in a rain storm...they were all over me.

Anything crawling on me is dead...
 
...It seems this hate for snakes is alive and well here in the south...


SO is severely snake-o-phobic. She won't even say the word or even look at them on TV. When she was young and married in North Carolina, she saw a snake in her yard. They soon moved back to Massachusetts.

I thought I was going to lose her when she saw one in the yard here a few years ago. But she has been strong and I'm still stuck with her. I mean blessed with her presence.
 
PF, that spider is adorable.

I seem to have missed getting the gene that makes us afraid of snakes and spiders. I have never been afraid of them. I grew up in California where there are black widow spiders and rattle snakes. I learned to respect those, without fearing them. I have been the accidental aggressor to each of those. I remained calm and wasn't bitten. They went on their way.


I'm not afraid of them either, and find both fascinating, and beautiful. They might startle me when I don't expect it, but I talk to both species as well.


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PF, that spider is adorable.

I seem to have missed getting the gene that makes us afraid of snakes and spiders. I have never been afraid of them. I grew up in California where there are black widow spiders and rattle snakes. I learned to respect those, without fearing them. I have been the accidental aggressor to each of those. I remained calm and wasn't bitten. They went on their way.

My dad had a boa constrictor as a pet when I was a small child. I took its skin to school for show-and-tell one year. Growing up in Michigan, garter snakes were everywhere. We didn't bother them. We have one living under our shed right now.

I also had a high-school friend whose boyfriend had a boa constrictor. She was terrified of snakes. I carried it around a party at his house once with it wrapped around my waist. She freaked out.
 
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Washington State is loaded with spiders. My in-laws paid me to clean out the webs on their property and in their homes. Extra if I killed a spider. I would have done it for nothing. I have no problem with killing crawlers, like spiders, roaches, centipede, silverfish, ants, any bug that can crawl around my home. And mosquitos don't stand a chance around me. They are dead before they know it. We have the Equine Encephalitis in this state every year. And there is always at least one death.

Add scorpions to that list. Found one in my kitchen sink in Texas. Poured scalding hot water over it until I was sure it was dead. Then I called my neighbor to please come and take it out of the sink for me. I was pregnant with Poo at the time. :angel:
 
It seems this hate for snakes is alive and well here in the south.
A shovel being the choice of weapon in most cases with a gun shot coming in second.
Purposeful running over of any kind of snake is considered "doing the right thing". I was reprimanded once for swerving to miss a snake crossing the road.
I have come to the conclusion as to why this feeling is so prevalent.
Remember the story about Adam and Eve?
I have this feeling it really just boils down to the belief that all snakes are inherently bad.


I have a different take on this... most folks have a hard time distinguishing one snake from another and while many are harmless, some are not. One of the big issues is that snakes often turn up in surprising places where you don't expect them. People know this and perhaps overact.

Years ago I was bitten by a copperhead in western NC. I was IN my house, in fact I was in my bathroom and sat down on "the seat". There was a snake behind the hinges and it bit me. I spent many days in the hospital and all these years later, still have a a visceral reaction to snakes, regardless of the variety. In my head I know most are harmless, still my first inclination is to get a shovel.....
 
I get the heebie jeebies with snakes when I first see them. Can't help it. :ohmy: We have the highly venomous Mojave greens out here, but I can only count on one hand the times I have seen one, in 40 years of living out here and roaming the desert.

Whenever I go walking in the desert looking at wildflowers and arrowhead hunting (sshhh, don't tell anyone :LOL:), I take my 5' long "snake stick". I tap it on the ground while I'm walking. It lets them know I'm there and too big to eat, and they can go on their way. They serve a very useful purpose in keeping the rodent population down.
 
I get the heebie jeebies with snakes when I first see them. Can't help it. :ohmy: We have the highly venomous Mojave greens out here, but I can only count on one hand the times I have seen one, in 40 years of living out here and roaming the desert.

Whenever I go walking in the desert looking at wildflowers and arrowhead hunting (sshhh, don't tell anyone :LOL:), I take my 5' long "snake stick". I tap it on the ground while I'm walking. It lets them know I'm there and too big to eat, and they can go on their way. They serve a very useful purpose in keeping the rodent population down.

We have noisemakers, only in our case we are letting the bears know...
 
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