Snakes

[dbs944]

We haven't been married for a long time but I'm finding out that my wife is terrified of snakes - and getting more so as she gets older. We were at Natural Bridge Va, walking along the wide edged path when some kids coming back said they'd seen some snakes further up the trail. DW stopped there and wouldn't go further, even to reach the actual rock bridge. I walked a mile or so further up and sure enough there was a small snake, 10' off the path minding its own business.

To me, camping is getting away and enjoying nature. So, I've resigned myself that any nature walks or hikes through the woods are probably going to be solo.

If you are really scared of snakes, are you able to push that aside and enjoy where you are? How do you deal with it? If you are the partner that may respect but aren't actually terrified of 'Mr. no shoulders', how do you deal with it?

The other post where someone found a snake in their camper would have resulted in putting a for sale sign on the MOHO and leaving it there.

I'm guessing reasoning (they are more afraid of you than you are of them) isn't going to work.

[bikendan]

photonanax3 wrote:
Dbs, I am also a dw that is terrified of snakes, can't see them on tv, I make my dh tear out those pages in a photography magazines i get...you get the idea. In this case, my dh would probably go ahead and if safe, get the snake out of the path. I would then probably tread very cautiously along the path keeping close watc but if there were more obstacles, I'd be done.

my wife is the same. after nearly 30 years of marriage, i've learned to change the channel as quickly as possible, if one shows up on tv. she's a musician and artist and easily visualizes snakes and will have nightmares if you even talk about them.
if we are hiking/walking in an area that might have snakes, i'll be ahead a distance to clear the way. but i know better than to take her for a walk anywhere that snakes may be a frequent issue.

i just bought one of those shrinking hoses on tv, for the trailer and she was getting edgy because she felt it was "snaky".

it's just something i've gotten used to except when we're at some street fair or beach walk and up walks someone with a snake around their neck. she will scream and nearly knock everyone down to get away. that reaction is still hard to get used to.

but you can never push the issue, it just makes it and you worse.

[3_dog_nights]

I'm in the process of doing some remodeling, today we took done a 8 x 42 section of porch roof, been on the house for 18 years. Found 2 6ft snake skins.
Told the guys I'm working with to keep their mouth's shut. I've found 5-6 the same size in the basment over the last few years. Used to have a problem with mice and chipmonks, haven't seen many the last couple of years.
Can't say anything about any of it to the wife, because they are all 12 foot rattleing anaconda's!

[dbs944]

I've even acquired a dislike over the years. I used to seek them out, bring them home. Now I see a garter snake (which is probably the least dangerous creature on earth) and I get a rake use it to throw the beast over the back fence.

That said, I wouldn't change a hike to avoid the possibility of chancing one. I had a king snake strike at me and it was amazingly slow - almost comical in the threat he thought he was imparting. I know they are pretty slow and if you are watching out there shouldn't be a problem.

[Pangaea_Ron]

I'm from the NW (Western WA) and don't normally encounter snakes (that are issues). My wife and I were visiting Vicksburg NMP, and walked to a battlefield through a tunnel under the road. As were getting into our car I saw a large copperhead crawling toward that tunnel. I talked with a park ranger about it later, and he said that the snakes love that tunnel in the heat of the day...Yikes, a part of the adventure!

When I was in Tasmania, they said don't worry about the snakes... they are all poisonous!

[Jim_Shoe]

I know that they eat vermin and that's a good thing, but it doesn't keep me from being scared to death of them, whether poisonous or not. I always figured that if I stepped on a bear's paw, I pretty much deserve what I get, but I could step on a snake by accident, with no malice in my heart and still get bit. Not all snake bites are poisonous, but to me, they're all deadly.

[naturist]

On one of my first dates with the woman to whom I've been married now for 44 years, we were wandering the pavilions at the state fair when we chanced into the state parks exhibit. You know how big those barns are at state fairs. Anyway, we entered one end and got about ten feet inside when she let out shriek and jumped backward completely out the doorway. It was a solid ten foot jump in a single bound, and no, she did not turn and jump, she jumped backward. It seems she had spotted the snake in a terrerium at the far end of the building.

Now snakes do not bother me particularly, although I do watch out for the sharp end. To her credit, she does not want to kill them or anything, knowing they keep mice down. And they have as much right to live as any other of God's critters. They just don't need to be near her.

[Tom_N]

My wife hates worms more than snakes.

[Steeljag]

Lol.....I can't mow my yard without seeing a snake or two.

[photonanax3]

Dbs, I am also a dw that is terrified of snakes, can't see them on tv, I make my dh tear out those pages in a photography magazines i get...you get the idea. In this case, my dh would probably go ahead and if safe, get the snake out of the path. I would then probably tread very cautiously along the path keeping close watc but if there were more obstacles, I'd be done.

Other than that, i don't know what to tell you. I'm an amateur photographer who spent 2 wks in the SW and luckily didn't come across any snakes, maybe I was lucky. I truly understand your wife's fear, but in this case, patience from my dh is truly a blessing.

[old_guy]

snakes are the most feared thing on the planet. blame it on the garden of eden if you like. I know I don't like them either. I just as soon plug one as look at it.

[raindove]

I have been terrified of snakes my entire life. If I saw one at my house, I'd be outta here. We have some acreage and I used to ride the tractor to mow. If I saw a garter snake, I was done... finished.... the end. And I was sitting high on an old, old tractor.

I used to not be afraid of heights, but as I've aged I've developed that "quirk", too. And that is getting worse the older I get. I can't even walk in a building higher than the 3rd floor any more. I break out in a cold sweat and freeze - I can not move.

Regarding nature hikes -- it will depend on what your wife feels comfortable with. It's not a situation that we have any control over. We go down by the river from time to time, just to sit and watch the boats out on the water. I am not terribly comfortable, as I am constantly scanning the ground for snakes.

If one is terrified of something to that extent, pushing them isn't the answer. No one will have any fun.