To build a house in Stilbaai

[TheLastGreen]

My grandparents are building a house in Stilbaai and they have invited me and my brother to help. (We have 2-3 months off from next week Wednesday, so why not?)
So I guess I might make a thread of the journey to build a house in Stilbaai

Now I may have some questions on homesteading and everything that comes with it, so I'll love some input from you guys
My first question is about snakes. Snake protection. Here where I live in the Hoëveld, there isn't much snakes in the capital, perhaps the odd rinkals (highly venomous) in a vlei where no one lives, but I don't plan on going anywhere near there.
The fields of Stilbaai have rooipense galore, but they share it with some of the deadliest snakes on the continent.
Like the
Cape cobra
(Highly venomous causes cardiac arrest and nervous system failure)
Puff adder

(Dangerous viper with an extremely high mortality rate)
Berg adder
(An exception in the viper family, has neurotoxins)
Boomslang
(Now excuse my language, but this is one f'er you don't mess with. Highly venomous, venom causes death by bleeding out of every hole in your body)
Rinkhals

(False cobra, is venomous)
Black spitting cobra

(Cytoxic venom, can spit)
(All of the cobras and rhinkals can spit)
Now you may ask, Frans, why do you still want to go? After compiling my list... I am thinking about it.
The snakes are unavoidable because we will have to do bushwacking where the house will go, (we may or may not even see a snake, but I don't want to take any chances) so any advice is appreciated!

 

[Maggie3fan]

You want advice on the snakes? Is there a snake proof something? Man, you kinda make it sound yucky, but oh so beautiful.

 

[TheLastGreen]

Yeah, I was wondering like, what should you wear to stop snake bites, should it be like long pants and thick boots? (My grandparents say you should wear jeans and shoes, but I'm not sure how good that'll work)
I'm sure the place is beautiful, (can't wait to find a rooipens bugger in the fynbos), it's kinda like our farm in the Drakensberg, there are snakes, but I've only seen two there, when I was about 3 years old and one that hid in some grass in a stream.
The Stilbaai area has areas of land owned by other people but its far away from one another, so there are neighbours, one such neighbour almost drove over a cape cobra, and that's when the snake thing hit me

 

[Blackdog1714]

Snake Guards for the calves and boots for feet and ankles. Oh and and this. It works for mines so should be okay for the UNBELIEVABLE amount of poisonous snakes.

 

[TheLastGreen]

Yeah, the ranges overlap with those snakes so it is an intresting place???

 

[Maro2Bear]

Looks like a pretty darn nice area…l keep the progress reports coming. How large of an area will the property sit on. ?

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[TheLastGreen]

1 hectare so about 10000m², hopefuly we don't have to cleare the entire area, then I'm sure we'll see some snakes...

 

[ZenHerper]

Yes. As much leg and arm protection as you can manage. And a welding face shield.

Heading into the hot weather, they'll be quite grumpy. And fast. You'll be slowing down, but they'll be speeding up.






So glad to have met you! =DD

*popcorn*

 

[TheLastGreen]

Good news!

Look what our neighbour, found! BABY ANGULATES! My heart melted when I saw this (They have been placed back where they have been found)

 

[Lyn W]

I can't imagine why anyone would want to live where snakes live, but my advice would be don't kill any because it was their home first, so try to relocate them (either the snakes or your grandparents)
You'll need a long pole with a noose on the end and a big sack and possibly a suit of armour!!!

 

[TheLastGreen]

Of course, but it runs in my grandmothers blood, her side of the family loves to have their own piece of land, to build their own house just like the house in the Drakensberg, so no amount of snakes wil stop them???
But you are right with keeping them alive. These ecosystems are very diverse and fragile, I even wondered if I see some wild angulates, should I soak them, give them some rocket etc. But I think the best would be to leave them be, I don't want them to become tame and then they can't survive, but I'm not sure?

 

[TheLastGreen]

Now that I think about it, should I just leave them be or should I feed them rocket, endive etc, provide a large shallow water bowl (The problem is I think the latter would attract other animals, like snakes) and I won't be there all the time through out the year. Are there any experts on this? I know that @Sterant @Markw84 @Tom have temperates, should I just leave them be?

 

[Blackdog1714]

Now that I think about it, should I just leave them be or should I feed them rocket, endive etc, provide a large shallow water bowl (The problem is I think the latter would attract other animals, like snakes) and I won't be there all the time through out the year. Are there any experts on this? I know that @Sterant @Markw84 @Tom have temperates, should I just leave them be?

I am for planting native plants they can eat and create a very nature looking water source. Basically create a little oasis that would attract the torts. You will always have other animals using the area so don't fret over it

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In north America. We have special "SNAKE BOOTS" to guard against mostly Rattle Snake bites. They are fairly high and made of either thick leather or Kevlar.
However I'm not sure how effective they'd be against a big Cobra. And Rattle Snakes either flee when you approach them. Or they rattle to warn you not to get any closer......
Which is nice of them.

 

[TheLastGreen]

These are luckily "wild snakes", so they'll flee if you come close, but the last thing you'd want is to step on a sleeping cobra, or one that didn't see you, or one that can spit... but this is a last resort if you keep bothering them, so the chance is low. But all I can think about is one slithering up and hiding somewhere...

 

[jeff kushner]

I would suggest selling the property after salting the land with small DIAMONDS....to generate interest.

Full disclosure...........I am just a wee bit biased b/c I'm allergic to Antivenin (or "antivenom"-either is correct and when one finds they are allergic, it does involve "coma") so meeting a snake that you call "native" would likely make me "dead" or at least to have a really bad day.


Wow, these aren't your small North American Timber rattle snakes (most BadA snake in North America) but the "real deal in death": how it was described to me before we went to Belize a couple years ago....9 venomous native snakes and 2 hospitals in the county!!!...,and make no mistake folks,,,,,,when a King cobra rears, he is as tall as a man, if bites you, it's in the face, not the leg. Same with the Mamba....it looks to eye to eye before it strikes if cornered....let that sink in................LOL

Best of luck brother....my ex lived in Johan for a few years before we met....she's be disgusted to know that all the snakes are still there and I'll be only too happy to tell her! She left preArp in '77............when the Maasai would eat you if they caught you, or so the kids were told <LOL>!


jeff

 

[TheLastGreen]

These snakes would make me dead too if they had the chance???
But Jeff... think of the angulates! As far as the eye sees, a paradise of torts galore... and a few snakes... but torts galore!

 

[jeff kushner]

That is a beautiful place and I'm teasing bout the snakes....I still pick up several varieties in the wild we get around here. Keep in mind that we don't find out that we're allergic to antivenin by being afraid of snakes, do we?

When Peg got back from S.A. and we met, she told would not walk in grass taller than her shoes........maybe she wasn't as "scaredy cat" as I had perceived, apparently she had good reason!

LOL

 

[TheLastGreen]

I have even better news, the house will be built on the edge of Stilbaai, and guess what tort lives there?
P t tentorius

Hopefuly we'll see some!

 

[TheLastGreen]

So it begins! We're on our way to Graaff Reinet, about 800km away. Currently in the Freestate, the view is fields and fields for hundreds of kilometres