[Amps] FW: WD-40 Is Not....

[Charlie Young]

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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