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RE: Nisk Question(s)
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by pictigaster1 on March 25, 2009
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Good point Karl in Lubbock several ground squerrels were found to have the plague In a area snakes have been wiped out.Well there fleas did.
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RE: Nisk Question(s)
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by yoyoing on March 27, 2009
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Except for New Mexico, the states with roundups do not have Bubonic Plague (which is found in AR, CO, UT, NM, and CA).
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RE: Nisk Question(s)
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by FSB on March 27, 2009
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Karl brings up a really great point, and one that I often make in snake talks, which is that the Black Death was most devastating in the middle ages in Britain and Western Europe where there are relatively few snakes, and the ones that are there are not large enough to control rats. There are no more adept rodent killers than rodent-eating snakes... they are truly "smart" self-propelled mouse traps armed with highly sophisticated detection and tracking equipment (as well as a disposal bag) and they pursue their prey with a single-minded purpose unmatched in mammalian or avian predators. Snakes don't even take time off to raise their young... they lay eggs or drop babies and go right back to search and destroy mode. While I appreciate and see a lot of merit in Doug's point too, I have also seen black rat snakes emerge from a barn stuffed with rodents from end to end like a long stuffed sock, barely able to move. Unlike most mammals and birds, they can pursue rodents right down their tunnels and wipe out entire nests. Human pest control efforts are pathetic when it comes to rodents, which quickly learn about traps and poisons. As I have told so many apprehensive home-owners, snakes are the best pest control money can't buy - they'll clean out your rodents, dispose of the carcasses and not leave you a bill.
Of course, I've kinda jumped from rattlesnakes to rat snakes here, but like Doug, I also dislike the need to justify any animal's existence... it is the heighth of arrogance!
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RE: Nisk Question(s)
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by Buzztail1 on March 27, 2009
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Actually, plague cases have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5231a1.htm
Just not as many as New Mexico and California.
Your question was:
"How convincincing can one be that snakes are needed to address rodent control (for example as an argument against roundups)?"
I would say that "Snakes eat rats. Rats carry plague-ridden fleas. The plague has been found to be on the rise in the United States." is a very good argument for not wiping out natural rodent controlling reptiles.
Of course, we could also advocate the release of cats into the ecosystem which would also control the rodent population but would also carry the fleas and would wipe out all the rest of the wildlife that they encounter.
R/
Karl
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