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I always remind people to clear the loose straw from their job sites for several reasons. The first reason is always fire protection. The second is for slip protection. The third and new reason is for snakes!
I live in an area with rattlesnakes among other less dangerous ones. I was clearing out a bunch of loose straw today from the area below the last workshop site. In that process, I came across two snakes who were less than pleased to see me. Neither one was a rattlesnake, I was happy to see, nonetheless, I jumped a few feet when I found them. So, be sure to clear the loose straw away, especially if you live in an area with dangerous snakes!
About the Author
Andrew Morison is a specialist in straw bale and green construction. He has shown thousands of peple how to build their own straw bale projects through his comprehensive series of instructional straw bale, concrete foundation, and plastering DVDs. You can chck these out at http://www.LearnStrawBale.com.com.
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July 17th, 2008 at 3:09 am
I can hardly look at the snake photo,much less run across one in real life,(yikes)!!Thanks for the reminder,and heads up…..
July 20th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Great advice! Any thoughts on how to dispose of old bales? My wife and I are building our own straw bale home in Colorado and unfortunately purchased our first set of bales too early in the process and were not able to keep them clean and dry through the winter. As a result, they became moldy and we had to purchase another batch. Now we’re stuck with lots of old bales, and although I’m sure they’re making a nice home for many of our forest friends (fortunately no snakes at our elevation!), we need to get rid of them. We’ve contacted the highway department, but they need certified “weed-free” straw for their drainage and erosion control. Local ranchers don’t want the moldy bales for animal bedding and we really don’t want to add to any land fills (though it would decompose better than most of the trash).
July 21st, 2008 at 11:58 am
Richard,
The best thing is probably to put an ad on http://www.freecycle.org (check for a local group on that site)and just let them go. If you think you might be able to get $1 or 2 for them, then an add in the local paper is the best idea and focus the sale towards a farmer looking for mulch for large beds or winter crop cover. Good luck.
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:46 am
STRAW IS GREAT FOR CREATING ORGANIC MATTER IN YOUR SOIL BY TILLING IT IN, IT ALSO IS GREAT FOR MULCHING AROUND TREES & SHRUBS