More Hoboken Wildlife
22
May
And no, not a typical Friday night!
One incident was captured by local artist Frank Hanavan, who witnessed a mini-crowd gathering around this tiny garter snake on Washington St. last week. He said it had come from the carpet store, and was trying to get back into any nearby door. They were poking it with one of those shelf-grabbing sticks. This, in addition to another dead one he saw near the viaduct were the only two snakes he’d seen in 25 years in Hoboken! He didn’t hang around to find out what happened. If our flooding problems continue, maybe we’ll see the Loch Ness monster next?
Next, I saw this brazen opossum milling around the trash cans near Court Street. It had no fear as I could have walked right up to it. I guess the rubbish is that good there! Unlike that girl that was crazy afraid the last time she saw one in her backyard, I think I could have taken this bastard!
What was the last (non-human) specimen you saw?
May 22nd 2007 - 09:49:07 |
My question is, was there an empty politicians suit and tie lying around nearby the slithering snake?
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May 22nd 2007 - 10:01:55 |
They don’t run away 411.
An Opossum when attacked can play dead, or “play possum.”
When using this defensive strategy, they might drool and emit an unpleasant smell which discourages the attacker, and makes them less appetizing.
If further threatened they will hiss and show their sharp teeth. They can climb pretty good since they are the only non-primate to have an opposable thumb, and they also use their tail for climbing too.
I don’t think you want to get bitten by one of those.
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May 22nd 2007 - 10:17:59 |
I used to live on Monroe St and I saw a couple of Opossum’s over there. They make some nasty sounds when they get pissed. Kind of like a cat-hiss only louder.
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May 22nd 2007 - 10:21:53 |
My apartment has been taken over by ants since the flooding
we had the exterminator spary and no luck. 
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May 22nd 2007 - 10:22:33 |
BokenGuy wrote:
Although on second thought, I guess I’m lucky it’s ants and not snakes!!!
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May 22nd 2007 - 11:05:51 |
BokenGuy wrote:
try boric acid
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May 22nd 2007 - 11:36:29 |
We have ants and termites. About 2000+ termites swarmed through the living room floor 2 weekends ago. Thankfully I rent but the management company isn’t doing a very fast job of getting rid of them so we use Raid before going to bed at night. I love adding that to the bedtime routine!
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May 22nd 2007 - 11:40:58 |
the last non human specimen i saw in hoboken was chris campos
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May 22nd 2007 - 11:54:33 |
ownedby3 wrote:
use a residual insecticide. it should keep killing them for weeks. spray all around the doors, windows, pipes, the kitchen floor and anyhere you see them come out. just don’t use around pets or kids. you could also fire off a bug bomb. i would also bomb the basement if you have access.
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May 22nd 2007 - 11:58:11 |
Every morning I see the groundhog that lives at 8th and Hudson somewhere in that green hill leading up the Stevens Tech parking lot. He’s completely unphased by people and obviously really tame, although I’d never pet him. He’s been living there for years.
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May 22nd 2007 - 12:09:23 |
sah wrote:
There are 5 or 6 that live in the hill behind the fraternity there. Whenever they see me walking the dog they run into their holes between the railroad ties. Last time a baby one was too small to climb the ties and ran around the yard looking for a place to hide.
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May 22nd 2007 - 12:09:31 |
I’ve seen rabbits on the Hudson Tea Building lawn on two occasions.
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May 22nd 2007 - 12:35:38 |
We saw a baby skunk in the SW corner of Hoboken. Very cute but wondering around the street looking confused. I was very frightened it would be hit.
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May 22nd 2007 - 20:39:04 |
That ticket writer is trying to figure out where to stick the summons before she calls the boot truck!
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May 22nd 2007 - 21:35:03 |
About ants: the prior answer about boric acid is correct. You can get a product called Terro Ant Baits at Home Depot or the hardware store on Wash/2nd. It contains Borax which is similar. It has almost no toxicity to people but it will destroy apartment ant colonies better than any exterminator.
About snakes: no surprise. This area was once loaded with snakes. Witness the origin of the name Secaucus.
I recently read this autobiography of a NYC cop who was a 15 year old worker on a Dutch ship who decided to make a go of it in the USA in the 1880s. After he jumped ship (in Hoboken), he fled to the cliffs where he hid for a few days until they stopped looking for him. There he noted a small shanty town and tons and tons of snakes “and they all wanted to get a good look at me.”
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