Adders in muckheap - be careful!!

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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I was talking to a local farmer recently and he said that apparently its quite common in the warmer months to find adders using muckheaps to rear their young! This is because the muckheap generates warmth, which they like.

OMG!!!

I just thought I'd better warn everyone. Oh the folly of our stupid legislators for giving these nasty poisonous snakes "protected" status; I can't imagine what they were thinking of at the time, but then we all know they never listen to the views of country people, ever.

Yesterday my dogs went digging in the muckheap; so perhaps not such a good idea to let them do that in future.
 
They are a part of our natural fauna and if you leave them alone they will not find the need to defend themselves. They naturaly nest in piles of rotting debris such as sawdust . Snakes are most dangerous when they sun themselves, often on a path for example, but if you give them enough time to move they will go rather than attack. I for one am glad they are protected.
 
We had Adders sunning themselves on the muck heap last year.
Scared the c..p out of me at first.
Just made sure they were aware i was there and they moved quietly away. They weren't a problem.
 
We have always had adders on our muckheap when its sunny and we find the hatched eggs sometimes,believe me Im petrified of them,I always make a noise when they may be around and I do think they are more scared of us and believe me thats saying something.
 
All part of the web of life, and like most things, unlikely to attack unless provoked. I suspect their numbers and they are at more threat from us through loss of habitat than many people getting bitten by them though I don't know how many people are bitten each year but I suspect many of the cases are from coming across them accidently and the same for dogs that get bitten too.
 
My little dog was bitten on his undercarriage late last year , by an adder, we don't know where he was when he was bitten, but every where we walk, they are found, they are even in the garden.
Most of the time, you wont even see them.
 
we have a log at the back of our muck heap which an adder came hissing out from under last year as me and my son were walking the dog in the field behind, scared the willys out of me, my son wern't bothered at all, I nearly bowled him over running away lol
 
Adders have suffered in recent years I believe, and their numbers are low, for this reason alone, I am happy that they are protected, most commonly you will find grass snakes who also like to inhabit and nest in much heaps, (they are completely harmless) and slow worms are also much more common.
 
competitiondiva said:
Adders have suffered in recent years I believe, and their numbers are low, for this reason alone, I am happy that they are protected, most commonly you will find grass snakes who also like to inhabit and nest in much heaps, (they are completely harmless) and slow worms are also much more common.
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Although, we have a lot of slow worms, adders, rare lizards and some smooth snakes in our area, i have rarely seen any grass snakes, it's usually adders that we see.
But i do agree they should'nt be killed, although i know some people still do kill them.
 
Ha, just remembered.
My OH bent down to pick up what he thought was an old dog lead that had been left in the garden, until he got about two inches away, then he realised it was an adder.
As he legged it out of the garden he shouted at me, there's an adder, get rid of it!

So i gently hooked it up with a garden rake and put it in an empty feed sack, and took it up the lane and put it in the hedge.
Did i get any thanks for saving OH, no i did'nt, bl:rolleyes::rolleyes:dy woos!
 
I nearly died last year when I picked up the black tarp covering my friend's bale of hay in her field, reached out to grab a slice and nearly grabbed a snake. Luckily it was a grass snake, not an adder.
I do agree that adders should be protected; they are a beautiful species, and don't aim to hurt, just to protect themselves when forced.
S :D
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I was talking to a local farmer recently and he said that apparently its quite common in the warmer months to find adders using muckheaps to rear their young! This is because the muckheap generates warmth, which they like.

OMG!!!

I just thought I'd better warn everyone. Oh the folly of our stupid legislators for giving these nasty poisonous snakes "protected" status; I can't imagine what they were thinking of at the time, but then we all know they never listen to the views of country people, ever.

Yesterday my dogs went digging in the muckheap; so perhaps not such a good idea to let them do that in future.
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We must be in the wrong neck of the woods for them. I wouldn't mind adders at all. Now, if someone said tarantulas nest on muckheaps, I'd give up horses!
 
See them quite often in the summer when I am out hiking in the Carngorms - they like to sun themselves on rocks. But you won't get close to them - they are very sensitive to vibration from your foot-falls and slip off before you can get close.

That's probably why you get close to them on softer muffling surfaces like a muck heap. Don't feel you coming

Even if they bite, it is unlikely they will get through your boots, and it's no worse than a wasp sting, unless you have an anaphylatic type reaction of course, but it is probably best getting it looked at by a GP or A&E if worried.

They are beautiful animals.
 
Gladly there are no snakes on the island or rats in fact (just the locals lol). We have deer but madly they swam here from another island a 10 min ferry ride away :D
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Oh the folly of our stupid legislators for giving these nasty poisonous snakes "protected" status; I can't imagine what they were thinking of at the time, but then we all know they never listen to the views of country people, ever.
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As a 'country person', you will also know, then, that an adder has all the potency of a bee sting, to most people. You will also appreciate how dangerous it is to mess with ecosystems because we find them inconvenient to us.

There are adders everywhere where I live. I find them on the muckheap, under upturned wheelbarrows and have even had Henry almost tread on one twice out riding. They're beautiful little snakes. I've got a fantastic close up of one that Henry nearly stood on. Let's see if I've got it on photobucket...
...ok photobucket is being a sh*t, so you'll have to wait!!!
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I just thought I'd better warn everyone. Oh the folly of our stupid legislators for giving these nasty poisonous snakes "protected" status; I can't imagine what they were thinking of at the time, but then we all know they never listen to the views of country people, ever.
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I'm all for giving adders protected status, their number have been running low for quite some time now. Adders (and other snakes for this matter) are perfect little beasties for providing good soils, natural pest control and maintaining the country how the "country people" would like it with a rich gene pool and a varied biodiversity!
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MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Oh the folly of our stupid legislators for giving these nasty poisonous snakes "protected" status; I can't imagine what they were thinking of at the time, but then we all know they never listen to the views of country people, ever.

Sorry for being a pain in the ass, but Britain has no poisonous snakes.

It does have one venomous species however ;)

TBH, most people are so unlikely to see them, its not something that people need worry about, and if you clatter around enough you are very unlikely to come across them. I think they fully deserve their protected status, as do most other protected species in Britain - wild spaces are being destroyed each year, plus it keeps me in a job ;) :D :rolleyes:
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Indeed it is the International Year of Biodiversity this year, so let's celebrate what we have left! Even the adders!
 
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