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| 2 More Fatal Fla. Gator Attacks Reported; Pitfall of protecting them? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 14 2006, 09:25 PM (515 Views) | |
| TexasShadow | May 16 2006, 07:12 PM Post #16 |
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Jane
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oh, I quite agree with this, too. I've seen some pretty dumb tourists in yellowstone over the years, and even here in TX, people get stomped by a supposedly tame deer now and then. they get them coming up into the yard and using the birdbath and eating a little corn and then try to pet them. growing up here in rattlesnake country, we were taught from toddlerhood to keep our eyes on the ground where we are walking and to be very careful sticking our hands in bushes or dark places outside. also to check places for black widow spiders. my dad was out working one day (border patrol) on foot and sat down to check out the country with his binnoculars. he sat there for quite awhile, and when he started to get up, he glanced around and there was a rattlesnake curled up in the shade of his body. said he didn't know he could jump 10 feet from a sitting postition.
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| abradf2519 | May 17 2006, 11:06 AM Post #17 |
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I got a serious bat problem. I reciently bought my FIL's house and am currently adding on to it to make more room for my family. The house is very old, parts of it were build in the early 1800's. As a result, it has more nooks and crannies than an english muffin. At dusk, it looks like a haunted house, with hundreds of bats flying in and out. I have a friend who is an exterminator. I asked him about getting rid of the bats, and he told me he could not kill them, or harm them because they are "protected". So what am I supposed to do? If a rabid one bites one of us, we could die. So far, they haven't been too much of a problem, but for the safety of my family, I would love to get rid of them. I am resigned to the fact that I have to get rid of them myself. |
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Alan Milan, New York, USA | |
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| passinthru | May 17 2006, 11:16 AM Post #18 |
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John - Gainesville, FL
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If you can find where they leave, plug up the holes after dusk when they are gone; the real danger, I would think, is the bat guano that is building up somewhere in the house. |
| Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money... | |
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| abradf2519 | May 17 2006, 11:44 AM Post #19 |
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My FIL has "been there, done that". They always seem to find another crack. They are very small, about 2 in long with wings folded. You are right about the guano. My son worked for my friend the exterminator and has experience dealing with the the guano, so I am not worried about that right now (maybe I should be...the cieling in the attic is bulging!). I was going to take care of the guano when the addition is complete, and we can empty out the attic. |
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Alan Milan, New York, USA | |
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| roscoe | May 17 2006, 12:24 PM Post #20 |
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There is a block company that mined a lot of a mountain but left aportion viewed from a road untouched. Then he applied for a permit to remove the other half exposing the mining operations and destroying a nice view. Someone found a nest or two of pygmy rattlesnakes . ( Protected species ) End of mining operations. Thanks snakes.
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| tomdrobin | May 17 2006, 09:14 PM Post #21 |
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They are protected because they eat a lot of insects. I used to work with a guy that had plans for bat houses, fairly simple to make. The plans can probably be found by searching the internet. Make them some houses to hang out in (literally) during the day, and they may leave your house alone. |
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| cmoehle | May 18 2006, 05:18 AM Post #22 |
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Chris - San Antonio TX
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Things are getting crazy... No end to gator attacks in Florida: Reptile eats family dog, woman cited for shooting another in self-defense Doctor shot gull that left unsavoury salad dressing I’m Sure He’s Harmless
(That was not me!) |
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Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
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| bikemanb | May 18 2006, 05:34 AM Post #23 |
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Liberal Conservative
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abrad, Now I know what your problem is, you have bats in your belfry. Tom had a good point, some alternate "hang-outs" and some strong temporary lighting in the infested place might do the trick. |
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Bill, Rita and Chloe the Terror Cat For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise. Benjamin Franklin | |
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| Tom | May 18 2006, 08:12 AM Post #24 |
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I would think you could get help from local or state. As this is a health problem. |
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| tomdrobin | May 18 2006, 10:12 PM Post #25 |
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I think the Doc got a bum rap. Too many do gooders and animal rights activists make it almost impossible to dispatch nuisances like this. |
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| passinthru | May 19 2006, 03:47 AM Post #26 |
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John - Gainesville, FL
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My wife got hit in the head one time a Jacksonville landing just outside the restuarant where we had eaten. We were getting back on our boat when the gull dropped a load. I almost seemed as if the bird did it on purpose.
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| Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money... | |
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| tomdrobin | May 20 2006, 08:55 PM Post #27 |
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I vacationed one time at a private resort on a small lake. I was surprised that the owner had strings strung up low to the ground on sticks over most of the beach. I asked, why. He replied it was to discourage the geese from pooping all over the beach. They had become overpopulated and public sentiment had prohibited culling the flock to a size that didn't represent a nusiance. I got swimmers itch from swimming there. There was a day when shooting a few of the geese would have taken care of the problem. But, now we've got all these grocery store meat fruitcakes that can't connect with the idea that we kill things to eat and for our convenience as long as they aren't human, complaining that we shouldn't cull (kill)the animals. |
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| passinthru | May 28 2006, 02:16 AM Post #28 |
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John - Gainesville, FL
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There was an article in our local paper that put alligator attacks resulting in death in perspective. This is based on the decade 1991-2000 Alligators kill 0.3 people per year in the US Sharks kill 0.4 people per year Cougars kill 0.6 people per year Rattlesnakes kill 15 people per year Dogs kill 18 people per year Deer kill 130 people per year Based on these figures, our interest in alligators is sorely misplaced. |
| Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money... | |
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| bikemanb | May 28 2006, 06:04 AM Post #29 |
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Liberal Conservative
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Actually fried gator tail is good eating. I figure we eat a lot more of them than the other way around.
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Bill, Rita and Chloe the Terror Cat For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise. Benjamin Franklin | |
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| cmoehle | May 28 2006, 07:02 AM Post #30 |
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Chris - San Antonio TX
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Well, John, you know, alligators are evil, and Bambi's cute. |
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Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
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said he didn't know he could jump 10 feet from a sitting postition.





1:03 PM Jul 11