HOW MANY SNAKES PER ACRE WHEN BALING HAY?

Here in SW Ohio, we don't have much of a snake problem particularly with venomous ones, but black snakes and garder snakes seem to show up just at the time I'm baling hay. I'll either find them cut up on the ground from the mower or cut up by the tines when tedding. If not there, I'll find them when I feed out the hay during the winter.

There's hardly anything that sinks worse than a rotting snake in a bale of hay. But, as far as I'm concerned, the only good snake is a dead snake.

What's your usual snakes per acre when baling hay?

Any unusual stories about snakes and hay baling?

Ken McWilliams
Dayton, OH

Northern watersnakes live in the hay shed and look much like copperheads but they are not very aggressive...so far.

Up home in western Wisconsin years back when hay was shocked and then forked up to wagons, people had to watch out for rattlesnakes which had crawled into the shocks and would ride up with the hay. The guy up leveling the load appreciated the warning, or so they say.

Ther was a black snake or Gardner snake in a bale on at least every wagon. I used to take a hay hook and pull the bale on the wagon, roll it once before stacking it. Of course when the wagon got full, you couldn't do this. I used to get the #$%#$ scared out of me. The owner who ran the baler used to laugh his tail off. Of course I would carefully set that bale up top for the barn guys!

I was always amazed how well a lot of snakes made it through the baler. Thanks for reminding me of that. This may be revisionest history, but always remember fondly the feeling of satisfaction at the end of a day of bailing.

take Care
Steve

It's also the reason a shotgun is standard issue in the fields.

I wish we had to worry about rain. All we've had to worry about this year is no rain.

These guys in the rice fields are the ones who have to worry. It's nothing uncommon to see hundreds of cotton mouths aday in the rice patches.

You have to be careful around here because for some reason the snakes seem to come to the vibration and noise of the baling.

When you get too close to a gator nest is when you have problems around here. That gator mama will tear a tire off a tractor in just a chomp. These gators will chase a tractor like a dog chases cars.

I quit picking up my hay after dark years ago when I picked a bale up with about 18" of moccasin sticking out. The only thing that kept me from getting bit was the way he was stuck in there he could'nt reach me.

The tough part of it is that you spend the next week or 2 jumping over sticks, old pieces of wire, and all ropes. Everything looks like a snake for a while.