I just had a neighbor that got bitten on the finger by a copperhead while he was weeding his garden by hand. This is North Texas and we have a LOT of copperheads and mocassins around, and they are a constant hazard. Last month, I killed two coppers and one mocassin, and the mocassin was a very close call.
Anyway, I just thought I'd post this as a caution to remind folks that critters lurk under them thar rows of stuff.
Anybody else here had a close call, or a bite, while gardening......?????
Delurking to add my two bits: A cheap snow shovel works wonderfully as a long handled "dust pan" for picking up leaves. Just scoop the shovel under the pile and use the rake to hold the scoop of leaves for transport. I live in Maine, and that trick has cut my clean up time in half when all those pretty leaves hit the ground in the fall.
I also live in Texas, and I can attest to the FACT that there are at least Copperheads just south of Conroe, Water Mocassins in Orange, Coral snakes in Spring, black widow and brown recluse spiders in Tomball, scorpions in Kaufman and alligators from Orange to Conroe.
The stories of poisonous snakes, and other things, at least in Texas, is no myth: I have seen all the aforementioned reptiles and anacrids in person. Granted that not all the animals were in a garden, but some were in the back yard, some in small creeks in a neighborhood and under the shrubery at an apartment complex I lived in. The scorpion was even in some stored bedding. Imagine crawling into bed with one of those! I saw a community of black widow spiders in the water meter housing where I used to live. I took the cover off to read the meter and there were about a doxen or more female black widows there-all protecting egg sacs.
I have found that caution is the best policy when it come to working and playing outside here in the great Republic of Texas. Be careful when it comes to moving leaves, wood, or even when picking berries or other fruits and vegetables. It could very well save a visit to the Vemon MD.
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