help get rid of my snakes....

[4mickey2]

alright, all my warm weather friends, i have a problem... what do i do about the snakes that are coming into my yard?

i heard moth balls don't work. they say that you should get rid of the food and shelter. alright...hmmmmmm i have pine trees/hello...

food, well there are toads hanging out in the back yard. don't know how to get rid of them. there isn't a pond nearby or anything. not sure why they are there..

i don't want my dogs to get bit or my wallet to get any thinner. so, what do i do. i picked one up today with the shovel and took out to the field behind the house. it was kind of cool. the snake was starting to eat a toad. the toads body was just inside it's mouth. the back legs were still out. but when you looked at the snake you saw the toads head. kind of freakish looking.

but, anyway, i tossed the snake out in the field and it dropped the toad. the toad is fine. i think it was a little stunned. i followed the snake into the field. but, i don't know what to do to keep them away from our house.

any thoughts.... anyone.....

 

[VACAMPER]

you let it go? murder it...i hate snakes.

 

[ntsammy5]

Get a mongoose

 

[4mickey2]

dh wouldn't do anything with it. while i am out in the field, pretty much chasing this snake away, he is yelling "just kill it!" "take the shovel and just slice it in half!"

i am yelling back "you come out here and just kill it!"

he yells back "i'm not doing that. yew..."

some big bad man he is hey...

 

[vick]

What kind of snakes do you have?

 

[4mickey2]

slithering ones... i know they are two different ones. the one today had brown spots on it.

the other one a few days ago had bright stripes...

 

[auntie]

........................


__________________

 

[We4mickey]

C'mon Cheryl, Jeff wouldn't kill it? I can remember a night of him and George chasing a mouse in the cottage with skewers and cast iron skillets. Scared of a little snake. Oh, and by the way.... I won't be coming to visit until they are gone.

 

[medic9016]

Not sure if this really work, but some of the older folks around us swear by it. Put turpentine in a spray bottle and spray around the property line.

I know for sure lead poisoning works. Something around .40 caliber in the head area should do it.

 

[LONE-STAR]

You have to kill them (snakes) or they will keep coming back. Try to get rid of there food source. A 12 gauge works great.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Instead of looking at them as pests, I would look at them as a food source. Meat on the hoof, so to speak. And now, with Barbeque season upon us, a whole world of culinary possibilities opens up.

 

[Gatordad]

the only good snake, is a dead snake.

 

[auntie]

Instead of looking at them as pests, I would look at them as a food source. Meat on the hoof, so to speak. And now, with Barbeque season upon us, a whole world of culinary possibilities opens up.

 

[Gatordad]

just got back from Petsmart, they looked at me funny when I tried to buy a mongoose. thanks for nothin.

 

[vick]

just got back from Petsmart, they looked at me funny when I tried to buy a mongoose. thanks for nothin.

 

[BRDof3]

just got back from Petsmart, they looked at me funny when I tried to buy a mongoose. thanks for nothin.

You could tell them that, if they don't sell you a mongoose, you'll just have to go out and buy a 12 guage. They would either change their mind and order you a mongoose, or call the ATF on you. Either way you wouldn't have to worry about the snakes any more.

One problem solved, now on to the rest of the world!

 

[des1954]

Okay - snake queen stepping in!!

The snakes in your yard are most likely garter or grass snakes and will in most cases slither away from you.

Does it look like this?

Or this?....

If so, those are common garter snakes and cannot cause you any harm. Actually, they are very helpful in controling really unwanted critters.

The critter most near and dear to a snake's belly is field mice. You're in Wisconsin, the weather is starting to warm up, the field mice are roaming rampant now getting ready to make more field mice. It's a virtual snake smorgasborg!!

Spraying turpentine is a deterrent, but it is also dangerous. Don't do that.

Ultimately, just ignore them. They might scare you if you come across one, but that'll be all that will happen. If by chance one of your pups tangles with a snake and receives a bite, care for the wound as you would any other. I guarantee the dog will not mess with another snake again - but chances are they won't mess with it to begin with. Snakes can slither quickly when they feel threatened.

There is one venomous snake in Western Wisconsin called the Timber Rattler, and it looks like this...

It lives mostly on the bluffs of S.W. & W. Wisconsin and will only make it's dwelling place in crop fields when their favorite food (a.k.a. field mice) are abundantly present. This is actually a protected species.

If the snake is in your yard my bet it that it's the garter snake. Just leave it alone & it'll go away. No need to chop it with a shovel.

This is your science lesson for the day. Class dismissed!

 

[ntsammy5]

Instead of looking at them as pests, I would look at them as a food source. Meat on the hoof, so to speak. And now, with Barbeque season upon us, a whole world of culinary possibilities opens up.

Those snakes are too small - now this one would grill up fine.

 

[kc5grw]

I killed 2 in my backyard Sunday.

A relative of this guy had been hanging out in my lawnmower shed. He was about 2ft long Sunday when I decided he need to not live any longer.

A friend of this guy, about 3ft long or so bought the farm when he decided to camp underneath the mower deck of my riding mower and I engaged the blades. Whump, whump, whump, whirrrrrrrrrrr

I usually don't worry about the rat snakes. They do a pretty good job at controlling the rodents around the area and I probably wouldn't have executed the guy had he not decided to hang out under the mower.

The copperhead on the other hand, well he's a different story.

 

[ntsammy5]

When I was at Ft Hood we had a rattle snake hunt every spring - all the macho guys went out with .22s, .38s and .45s. Not me, I had my .357 along but I carried a 12GA with #8 shot. Not gonna mess with those bad boys