Gerald, K5GW asks:
> Say, I have always wondered about snake oil: Is it supposed to attract
> snakes?,repel snakes?, made from snakes? or what?
I don't know about snake oil, but can tell you something
that makes snakes mad. They don't like paint from an
aerosol can. Back in the mid 1970's I lived in a hillside
house that was on a full basement. My shack was in the
basement. Returning from Field Day, my son and I were
unloading equipment. Something moved on top of my back
basement wall, which was made from cider block. There was
a snake up there. I took a 6' long steel bar, which coal miners call a slate
bar, and prodded the thing trying to crush
it. The snake slithered down inside the block, but poked its head out and was
looking at me. I would jab, it would duck
down inside the block.
No way I could leave a snake inside my basement wall.
What to do? There was a can of red insulating spray paint
on the workbench. I grabbed the can, and sprayed the paint
inside the block. Instantly, the snake came out of the block, down the wall to
the floor, and charged me. I jumped in a chair which fortunately was handy,
and killed the snake with
the metal bar while it was on the floor, between legs of the chair. It was a
big rattlesnake.
I figure WD40 would have had a similar effect.
There is more to this story.
My wife and sons went grocery shopping later that day. I started thinking that
where there was one snake, there might be another. While they were gone, I
checked out the basement carefully again. Sure enough, on top of the block
wall about 12' from where the first snake was, there was a second one. This
one was coiled up and chose to fight it out with me from his (or her) position.
I managed to kill it with the metal bar but with considerable difficulty.
Another huge rattlesnake.
I found the snakes had crawled through a gap in the sill plate on top of my
basement wall.
So, don't spray a snake (especially a rattlesnake) with spray
paint or WD40 unless you have a place to run or something to climb on to get
away from the thing.
73 Charlie N8RR
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