snakes

reynoldston

Lawn Pro
Joined
May 23, 2011
Threads
92
Messages
5,705
It just seems for some reason this summer I have had more then normal snakes around my house and yard. I just don't care for them hanging around my house and my feeling is that the only good snake is a dead one.. I have been bagging them up live and giving them a throw into a drainage ditch that runs by my house with hopes they keep out of my yard and maybe drown in the water. Don't know what good a snake is other then they stink bad and they sure look healthy to me. I have been told that moth balls will keep them away so I will try that?? Living in NY state I don't think we have poison snakes I hope., but don't know how to tell the differences. Too bad I can't ship them all down to the southern states to all the snake lovers.
 

Russ2251

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Threads
1
Messages
341
Good thing snakes are good swimmers...they are there to stay my friend.
Snakes were once very plentiful here in Huntington NY.
I don't think I've seen one (wild) in probably 4 decades or more.
 

Scrubcadet10

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Threads
248
Messages
6,431
We've killed 3 copperheads and 1 cottonmouth around our house this year.
Dogs bark at them and I get a shovel and Kill em.
 

reynoldston

Lawn Pro
Joined
May 23, 2011
Threads
92
Messages
5,705
Good thing snakes are good swimmers...they are there to stay my friend.

For some reason they go to the bottom of the water so I was in hope they stay there or if they do swim go down stream. I have killed them with a round pointed shovel but don't care for the kill, blood, and mess.
 

bertsmobile1

Lawn Royalty
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Threads
64
Messages
24,647
Down here over 75 % of fatal snake bites are to the right forearm , hand or wrist
Why?
because wife tells hubby there is a snake
Hubby grabs the shovel and attempts to speer the snake with it.
Snake runs right up the handle cause it is faster than he is.
With a brown snake you then have 15 minutes to get the anti-dote and when you do it will cost $ 1500 for the first shot and $1200 for the second.
Even worse the idiot "heros" do it in short sleeves and no gloves.
All the snakes down here have short fangs so loose heavy clothing is the best defence .

Most snakes are territorial so it is just a matter of educating yourself about which are the "safe" snakes and which are the dangerous ones.
You then set your yard up to make it a prefferred habitat for the "safe" snakes and in most cases they will keep the dangerous ones at bay.

Down here I get black, brown , whip & green snakes plus diamond , carpet , and green tree pythons.
They pythons all get ignored, worst case is if you step or one or shove a naked hand into one the bite might get infected.
Pythons over 15' are a problem for babies under 1 but most wont bother you at all.
Right now there is 20' of carpet python in the roof cavity of the workshop so there are no pest birds nesting in there , well not for long anyway.
Every now & then I catch a glance of 10' hanging out of the eves in the morning sun.

The black snakes eat frogs, reptiles ( including baby snakes ) & eggs, they are shy so a 20' snake will slither away when they feel the vibrations of your footsteps or smell you coming.
So you put some frog ponds near the house with roof drains flowing through pipes into them and remember not to shove your hand up any pipe.
They will then inhabit the area around the house and keep the other ground snakes away.
The only real concession to them is always to stand to the side when you open a shed door so you are not blocking their escape.
A friend who is up country opens his garage door then walks around the back and strikes the wall a few times with a broom
Nothing odd to see 5 or more blacks scooting out the open door.

Brown snakes eat mammals so you put the chook shed on the other side of the frog ponds to the house.
Rats & mice come in over night to eat the seed that the chooks throw everywhere and the snakes come in to feed on the rats & mice.
It is all a matter of working with nature rather than against it.
We also provide nest boxes for Kookaburras & Magpies, both of which love baby snakes.

Trying to erradicate any species is a no win situation.
Firstly you will not do it and secondly you allow their natural prey numbers to build up to plague numbers.
A couple of snakes can eat a very large number of rats , mice, moles and other things that create havock around your property.
 

BWH

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2011
Threads
31
Messages
345
Down here over 75 % of fatal snake bites are to the right forearm , hand or wrist
Why?
because wife tells hubby there is a snake
Hubby grabs the shovel and attempts to speer the snake with it.
Snake runs right up the handle cause it is faster than he is.
With a brown snake you then have 15 minutes to get the anti-dote and when you do it will cost $ 1500 for the first shot and $1200 for the second.
Even worse the idiot "heros" do it in short sleeves and no gloves.
All the snakes down here have short fangs so loose heavy clothing is the best defence .

Most snakes are territorial so it is just a matter of educating yourself about which are the "safe" snakes and which are the dangerous ones.
You then set your yard up to make it a prefferred habitat for the "safe" snakes and in most cases they will keep the dangerous ones at bay.

Down here I get black, brown , whip & green snakes plus diamond , carpet , and green tree pythons.
They pythons all get ignored, worst case is if you step or one or shove a naked hand into one the bite might get infected.
Pythons over 15' are a problem for babies under 1 but most wont bother you at all.
Right now there is 20' of carpet python in the roof cavity of the workshop so there are no pest birds nesting in there , well not for long anyway.
Every now & then I catch a glance of 10' hanging out of the eves in the morning sun.

The black snakes eat frogs, reptiles ( including baby snakes ) & eggs, they are shy so a 20' snake will slither away when they feel the vibrations of your footsteps or smell you coming.
So you put some frog ponds near the house with roof drains flowing through pipes into them and remember not to shove your hand up any pipe.
They will then inhabit the area around the house and keep the other ground snakes away.
The only real concession to them is always to stand to the side when you open a shed door so you are not blocking their escape.
A friend who is up country opens his garage door then walks around the back and strikes the wall a few times with a broom
Nothing odd to see 5 or more blacks scooting out the open door.

Brown snakes eat mammals so you put the chook shed on the other side of the frog ponds to the house.
Rats & mice come in over night to eat the seed that the chooks throw everywhere and the snakes come in to feed on the rats & mice.
It is all a matter of working with nature rather than against it.
We also provide nest boxes for Kookaburras & Magpies, both of which love baby snakes.

Trying to erradicate any species is a no win situation.
Firstly you will not do it and secondly you allow their natural prey numbers to build up to plague numbers.
A couple of snakes can eat a very large number of rats , mice, moles and other things that create havock around your property.

JEEZ!
I'll never again complain about the occasional (1-2 per year) Garter Snake or Bull Snake I encounter down by the garden.
 

7394

Lawn Addict
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Threads
84
Messages
4,608
Haven't seen any snakes for a good while, but plenty of brown rabbits find our garden easily enough. So we plant extra. :laughing:
 

reynoldston

Lawn Pro
Joined
May 23, 2011
Threads
92
Messages
5,705
Haven't seen any snakes for a good while, but plenty of brown rabbits find our garden easily enough. So we plant extra. :laughing:

Rabbits,raccoons, and deer I give up planting a garden years age and just buy local, just a lot easier and cheaper. I have a large cherry tree the when the cherry's get ripe the coons know when to harvest them in one night. I can't even feed the birds anymore because the wildlife just empty the feeds as fast as I can full them.
 

7394

Lawn Addict
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Threads
84
Messages
4,608
Rabbits,raccoons, and deer I give up planting a garden years age and just buy local, just a lot easier and cheaper. I have a large cherry tree the when the cherry's get ripe the coons know when to harvest them in one night. I can't even feed the birds anymore because the wildlife just empty the feeds as fast as I can full them.

Our back is all fenced off so Deer are not an issue, just rabbits & raccoons. The lil woman loves planting in the garden, so I just go along with it.
That & feeding the birds, that live in our birdhouse.

But we have hawks around, & I hate seeing a hawk take out a small bird..
 

Russ2251

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Threads
1
Messages
341
Squirrels are my nemesis.
They completely decimate my flower gardens.
I've eliminated over 30 of them...and they just keep on coming.
 
Top