Poisonous vipers? Are you for real?
Not when you live in the desert and do not know where they might be lurking. I had enough trouble in the SoCal mountains, and from what my brother tells me, it is a lot worse in the desert, with them moving about to escape the sun and then come out to hunt. He likes to let his cats patrol.
Our family Weimaraner got bit on the nose from a rattler, I am not of the disposition to let them live.
You never know where you will come across one. They are not cuddly little Boa snakes, but stuff that will put a very serious hurt on you. Especially if you are hours away from an ER.
I smash centipedes for the same reason, though we have friends that would not think of harming the damn things.
I assume you mean venomous vipers.
Yes, I am for real.
Sorry about the dog.
Are you aware that they have “snake proofing” classes for dogs?
You know as well as I do that the snake bit the dog in self defense.
They never just up and attack something for kicks.
Obviously, the dog made the first move, hence the very effective training classes.
So what if they are “lurking”?
And by lurking, you mean exhibiting the normal temperature regulating behavior of all ectotherms; moving from a warm spot to a cool one and vice versa.
You chose to live where you do, did you not?
Were you unaware of the native wildlife?
We’re up to our asses in Timber rattlers but I’ve only heard of *one* fatality, and that was after a guy -sat- on it when he climbed back into his CAT.
Copperheads galore, too.
Be aware of your surroundings, scan for snakes and walk around them.
Leash your dog.
How hard is that?
Connecticut declared war on their native rattlers and the mice that are the primary vector for Lyme disease [and the rattlers’ favorite food] flourished and spread.
How’d that work out for everyone?