Tricks for catching S. heros in the field?

[DubiaW]

I'm a purist and have always frowned upon the use of placing artificial structure for herping. Do your research and hit the field is my attitude. Law of averages usually will get you what you are looking for.

You know, a trash pile is a gift and a curse. I cuss out the people that dumped it there as I rush to flip it all over. I have lost plenty of good herping spots to desert cleanup operations. I commend you for your ethics but I am an opportunist. Nothing beats a trailer in the desert that has been ravaged by a microburst, "Score!!!" Unfortunately S. heros around here turn up their noses at stuff like that. Them mountain S. heros are just hillbillies that see a dilapidated trailer as home sweet home. They'suh easy mistress, them!

FYI: I spent the day with a Kentucky Hillbilly last Sunday helping a friend move. Didn't understand half of what he said but it brought out my southern accent. He even had moonshine and southern comfort. Fortunately I don't drink.

 

[Staehilomyces]

As a side note, the botanic gardens across the river from my apartment are conveniently very heavily populated with a Cormocephalus species, which I am yet unable to identify. While they are a little small for me to have much interest in keeping them, I may well make use of them by testing the efficiency of various traps. I have already used them to conclude that centipedes here have no breeding season, so they've been quite useful to me.

 

[DubiaW]

Never knew it was that hard. I used to find pedes while flipping, but only small Cormocephalus species. The funny thing is, I've read so many stories on the internet of big pedes, usually heros or subspinipes, finding their way into people's houses frequently, though usually being killed. Such a paradox it is that the pede haters get them coming right into their homes, but we are stuck discussing traps and lures to no avail.

It's always consider it good luck to bring someone along that is terrified by what you are looking for. Murphy's Law dictates that they will be the one to find it first. I used to bring my friend Albie along on rattlesnake hunts. He would shriek in terror every time he found a snake but he always found so many! He even made his own snake stick. It was eight feet long!

 

[DubiaW]

I have heard of a few plumbers around here finding S heros in water main vaults underground.

 

[Nephila Edulis]

I have heard of a few plumbers around here finding S heros in water main vaults underground.

That makes sense, anybody who's kept a centipede knows that they're great at getting in and out of tight spots and small holes. The humidity of a water main would definitely attract them

 

[Galapoheros]

If I remember right it was a 19A non-game licence gives you the right to road hunt and hunt easements in Texas. Don't quote me on the license number, it's been fifteen years since I bought one. I had to buy it to try to get out of a ticket for collecting a diamondback water snake, (which I wasn't doing at the time, only holding it). Almost everything in Texas is private property. If private property is the issue you just need to get to know someone with a ranch and you are golden. The non-game road hunting licence gives you the right to collect non-game herps, amphibians and inverts (maybe some mammals to). You can ask for it at Walmart, but you better look it up first because they are going to look at you like you are crazy until they find it in their catalogue. It took me about tem minutes to convince the clerk that it was there after calling Game and Fish to enquire how to get one. Yup. Walmart.

There was a major change in the law here in Texas around 2008 or 7, I don't remember, many snake hunters were frustrated over it here. The warden told me it was illegal to collect or disturb any wildlife along roads here. I had a tarantula but had found it on private property, the new law states you have to have a hunting license to catch inverts so the warden could have given me a $400 ticket, so he said. I didn't know and he thought the law was dumb so he gave me a warning ticket. I guess you could try to acquire a research license here. It's not enforced here much, only in problem areas like w tx where there are illegal crossings, drug trafficking and there were complaints of snake hunters slowing and potentially causing accidents. I just keep a low profile when looking for things.

 

[DubiaW]

I was listed on the NTRC TAMUK scientific collection licence back in 2002-2005. Didn't file the paperwork. It might be easy to get, especially if you are in college.

 

[Galapoheros]

It's been close to 3 decades since I was in college but I have been doing some reading about it and it does look like it would be easy to get permits. I came across a lot of "uptight" rules and regulations that probably most of us aren't paying attention to and there is probably little or no enforcement of some laws. I think they put many laws in the books just to have control over problems later with little intention of enforcing them in the mean time. I have connections as well but I haven't been up for hunting for the stuff lately.

 

[DubiaW]

It's been close to 3 decades since I was in college but I have been doing some reading about it and it does look like it would be easy to get permits. I came across a lot of "uptight" rules and regulations that probably most of us aren't paying attention to and there is probably little or no enforcement of some laws. I think they put many laws in the books just to have control over problems later with little intention of enforcing them in the mean time. I have connections as well but I haven't been up for hunting for the stuff lately.

It depends on the county in Texas. I recently lived in west Texas for three years. The particular county was sparsely populated and very few laws were enforced, they even released all the small time drug stops that the Border Patrol would turn over to the county because they didn't have the money to bother with them......

Wait a second. Does your name happen to be Blake?

 

[Galapoheros]

Yeah, as mentioned earlier, it depends on the situation, what the problems are at the time and bad apples in the bunch. My name is Todd, aka David.

 

[DubiaW]

Yeah, as mentioned earlier, it depends on the situation, what the problems are at the time and bad apples in the bunch. My name is Todd, aka David.

I thought you might be the guy that got me back into inverts about 3 years back. He lives in west Texas and hasn't been feeling good for a while either.