Where is the Best Place to live in Oregon (Eugene: renting, homes)

[RogueRiverRat]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

You and daveFR made me LOL!! I only recently moved to Newberg(love it, love Oregon!!) and had wondered what snakes are known to live here. Guess I should do my homework before summer. When someone mentioned rattlers.I was like....
No matter, I love it here and am here to stay. My new adopted home!!
Am from the gulf coast and we dealt with ground rattlers and water mocassins.......so I'll just watch where I walk. We tended to leave the non poisonous ones alone. They kept the rat population down

I don't know how or why that darn snake got so big, because he sure as to hell isn't eating any gophers in my yard ... small children? Maybe.

And please, relax. You live far enough north that you don't get these freaks of nature in your neck of the woods. All you have to deal with is a few gardner snakes, which are tiny and harmless.

[DreamWeavin]

LOL......your post are so refreshing and funny!!!

Originally Posted by RogueRiverRat

I don't know how or why that darn snake got so big, because he sure as to hell isn't eating any gophers in my yard ... small children? Maybe.

And please, relax. You live far enough north that you don't get these freaks of nature in your neck of the woods. All you have to deal with is a few gardner snakes, which are tiny and harmless.

[Oregonbeachlover]

This thread has gotten kind of creepy (crawly). I've lived in the valley (much of it in the country too) for 30 years and I've only seen garter snakes and one gopher snake. I've heard rumors that someone saw a rattler once, but don't know if that is true. I'm glad we really do not have to worry too much about the snakes. Hey, do we have poisonous spiders here?!

[MTNesters]

Originally Posted by Oregonbeachlover

This thread has gotten kind of creepy (crawly). I've lived in the valley (much of it in the country too) for 30 years and I've only seen garter snakes and one gopher snake. I've heard rumors that someone saw a rattler once, but don't know if that is true. I'm glad we really do not have to worry too much about the snakes. Hey, do we have poisonous spiders here?!

Oh, I hope not! We are thinking of moving out there and I'm looking forward to less buggies, spiders and snakes! One of my friends here unplugged some Christmas lights in her house the other day and found a snake wrapped around the electrical cord! She thought it was a coral snake (deadly poisonous) but luckily it was a scarlet snake! How's that for creepy-crawly?! I can sure deal with them better in my yard than in my house!

[RogueRiverRat]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

LOL......your post are so refreshing and funny!!!

My wife thinks I'm pretty funny when I act like a scared little school girl, too. One day I'll tell you how I tried to attack that snake with our car.

And Nester, I've lived in the PNW, the Midwest, Texas and SoCal, and the place with the fewest bugs and snakes surely is the west side of the PNW ... although flies seem to be freaky thick since I've moved back.

[MTNesters]

RRR
I am so glad to hear that there aren't many snakes and bugs in the western PNW -
now I think you should start another thread about that gopher snake when you have your first spotting of it in the spring(?) so that we can know "the rest of the story"! Highly amusing! Especially from a distance! Good luck!

[CalOrGal]

Originally Posted by MTNesters

RRR
I am so glad to hear that there aren't many snakes and bugs in the western PNW -
now I think you should start another thread about that gopher snake when you have your first spotting of it in the spring(?) so that we can know "the rest of the story"! Highly amusing! Especially from a distance! Good luck!

"the rest of the story"...how funny....whare y'all from? I've lived in Missouri for 2.5 years now and never heard of Paul Harvey before and they play "the rest of the story" every morning.

RRR...thanks for the open welcome..I remember there was a time when native Oregonians didn't welcome outsiders with open arms. We sure hope to find work before we head back. Is it true that GP and the rogue valley have the highest umemployment rate in the state?

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by RogueRiverRat

And please, relax. You live far enough north that you don't get these freaks of nature in your neck of the woods. All you have to deal with is a few gardner snakes, which are tiny and harmless.

Gopher snakes are equally harmless no matter what their size. There is a difference between an animal that poses a real danger and a phobia that exists in the mind of the unenlightened. Gopher snakes are protected by Oregon Fish and Wildlife and you can no more legally harm one than you can harm a bald eagle (OAR 635-44-130). There are people you can call to have the poor thing safely removed. Then it won't aggravate your phobia and it won't have to lose its rightful place in the ecosystem on account of human ignorance.

[tiffela74]

Or you can do like my poor mom does. She suffers from a horrific and paralizing phobia of any/all snakes. Literally. She has been through clinics/counceling/treatment/about everything and the mere sight of a snake on TV will cause her to leave screaming in a blind panic, hyperventelating and crashing into things. Fear of something isnt always ignorance. Sometimes its a real and true fear. I learned that as a child when she pulled up next to me in the car and I innocently held up the teeny snake I had just caught. She busted her arm trying to bash through the window on the other side of the car to get away from it.
anyhow, for a minimal fee (usually a dollar or a packet of cookies on hand) local neighborhood kids will remove the harmless snakes to an empty lot a few blocks up.

[Oregonbeachlover]

I had to chime in here with a snake story. I think some things are just in the genes. Snakes have always made my skin crawl....however I don't have it as bad as Tiffela's mom. One of my kids (a girl!) has always been obsessed with reptiles. Since we lived in the country, she spent her childhood hunting for creepy crawly things. None of the rest of us are like that! One day when she was about 5, I looked out the window at her beaming little face, and both fists were full of baby Garter snakes. As soon as that kid was able to move out and be on her own, she rescued critters and has snakes (a Burmese Python!) and lizards as pets. I don't go to her house very often!