Best way I've found yet to deal with snake problems!!

[Robinsong]

Team work!!!

 

[suttonhollerchk]

Love the minnow trap idea!!! Can't wait to try it!!
Awesome team work by the way too!!

 

[epeavey1]

Did they kill the snake? Ellen from Georgia

 

[RWise]

Team work!!!

Luv it! Was there anything left of the snake?

I am going to try this minnow trap idea, I have at least 1 arround and lately I have been having problems with snakes. I have killed 2 7 foot lond in the hen house this last week. Not to mention 16 eggs from under a broody, 5 chicks also under a hen, 3 golf balls, a nest of dead abandonded eggs that I had not disposed of as yet (those must have been really tastey). I keep a pipe at the door for such findings, and the head roo no longer even squaks when I put the light on a snake, first time he yelled for an hour!

I would be afraid of moth balls, I used them years ago as an octain booster!

 

[epeavey1]

Moth balls work as long as you have good ventlation in your coop, if not moth balls I used a 22 rifle and it works even better. This is my coop and the snakes come from the woods behind it, also since I have a big dog on a zip line at the bottom of the woods it has helped. If anything moves he barks and barks so the deer haven't bothered with my garden this year. This is part of my flock a big rooster named Road Runner and his hens, we have a total of 10 hens in this area. I have some younger hens that are housed in another area with 4 young Mallard ducks and one older duck and one older black hen. Ellen from Georgia.

 

[xeking]

When we moved to our property many years ago, the copperheads were so bad, that if we came home after dark we parked next to the porch and jumped from the truck to the porch. My husband brought home two speckled king snakes and turned them loose in the yard. It took them 3 years to clean out the copperheads and I found one dead entwined with a dead copperhead, I know their bite won't kill the king snake, it must have paralyzed it since the bite was right on the spine. But the other king snake was always around and grew to 6', and was a great source of enjoyment to my kids, who would wait at the end a building and stick their foot out for her to crawl over as she got to the end of the foundation. I tried the minnow traps at my daughters farm, she has a 5' long copperhead bigger around than my calf, who hides when I am there (with my shotgun) and didn't catch anything. She has king snakes now and two hognose snakes (we call them puff adders locally) and we haven't seen a copperhead now for 2 years.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Team work!!!

Love this one LOL I bet the snake is thinking it would have been safer in the minnow trap

 

[Triple Willow]

When we moved to our property many years ago, the copperheads were so bad, that if we came home after dark we parked next to the porch and jumped from the truck to the porch.  My husband brought home two speckled king snakes and turned them loose in the yard.  It took them 3 years to clean out the copperheads and I found one dead entwined with a dead copperhead, I know their bite won't kill the king snake, it must have paralyzed it since the bite was right on the spine.  But the other king snake was always around and grew to 6', and was a great source of enjoyment to my kids, who would wait at the end a building and stick their foot out for her to crawl over as she got to the end of the foundation.  I tried the minnow traps at my daughters farm, she has a 5' long copperhead bigger around than my calf, who hides when I am there (with my shotgun) and didn't catch anything.  She has king snakes now and two hognose snakes (we call them puff adders locally) and we haven't seen a copperhead now for 2 years.

Bringing home the Speckled Kings was a very wise thing to do! That is always my recommendation for snake problems -king snake! The Speckled King is known as the king snake that is the most aggressive about killing other snakes. The one you found dead might have been struck in a vital organ - heart or lung. In almost 50 years I have only seen one venomous snake here (copperhead, now deceased) but I know they are out there because my dog was bit by one while in his run in the backyard. A knot in his throat swelled up as big as a grapefruit! The vet said he almost didn't make it. I do have lots and lots of rat snakes (gray and black) and other kinds of non-venomous snakes. I sure could use a couple Speckled Kings myself. They will do a better job at getting rid of other snakes than you could ever dream of doing yourself. Have the Speckled Kings had any encounters with your chickens?

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

When we moved to our property many years ago, the copperheads were so bad, that if we came home after dark we parked next to the porch and jumped from the truck to the porch. My husband brought home two speckled king snakes and turned them loose in the yard. It took them 3 years to clean out the copperheads and I found one dead entwined with a dead copperhead, I know their bite won't kill the king snake, it must have paralyzed it since the bite was right on the spine. But the other king snake was always around and grew to 6', and was a great source of enjoyment to my kids, who would wait at the end a building and stick their foot out for her to crawl over as she got to the end of the foundation. I tried the minnow traps at my daughters farm, she has a 5' long copperhead bigger around than my calf, who hides when I am there (with my shotgun) and didn't catch anything. She has king snakes now and two hognose snakes (we call them puff adders locally) and we haven't seen a copperhead now for 2 years.

I was wondering if you or your daughter lived in Florida of close to there? Copperheads just don't get that big but the Florida Cottonmouth does and while it gets darker with age (or size) it is a beautifully colored snake and looks very much like a copperhead,

I caught one on a boy scout camp ground in southern Alabama years ago I kept it for a while then released it in a swamp it was just too pretty to kill LOL However, when I decided to keep it my wife at the time wasn't very happy about it so I had placed it in an aqurium with a locking lid but she still made me put two heavy houseplants on the top so the snake couldn't get out, Later (like 2am) I woke thinking something just moved against my back, I lay there a while trying to decide if the place I felt a bit of pressure was just the covers or was it something alive, then it shifted up towards my head a few inches, I was facing my wife so I very carefully woke her up and informed her that there was a snake in the bed with us laying against my back and to ease slowly out of the foot of the bed, when she started moving the snake let out a blast of hissing and I said I think it's Bilbo but to go slow in case it wasn't, (Bilbo was our 8 foot burmise python) When she turned on the light it was in fact Bilbo who had decided to slide his cage door open and go for a stroll, After my wifes laughing/crying/rant I was required to duct tape the cottonmouths cage and after a few days that wasn't enough I had to take it away LOL

 

[Triple Willow]

I was wondering if you or your daughter lived in Florida of close to there? Copperheads just don't get that big but the Florida Cottonmouth does and while it gets darker with age (or size) it is a beautifully colored snake and looks very much like a copperhead,

I caught one on a boy scout camp ground in southern Alabama years ago I kept it for a while then released it in a swamp it was just too pretty to kill LOL However, when I decided to keep it my wife at the time wasn't very happy about it so I had placed it in an aqurium with a locking lid but she still made me put two heavy houseplants on the top so the snake couldn't get out, Later (like 2am) I woke thinking something just moved against my back, I lay there a while trying to decide if the place I felt a bit of pressure was just the covers or was it something alive, then it shifted up towards my head a few inches, I was facing my wife so I very carefully woke her up and informed her that there was a snake in the bed with us laying against my back and to ease slowly out of the foot of the bed, when she started moving the snake let out a blast of hissing and I said I think it's Bilbo but to go slow in case it wasn't, (Bilbo was our 8 foot burmise python) When she turned on the light it was in fact Bilbo who had decided to slide his cage door open and go for a stroll, After my wifes laughing/crying/rant I was required to duct tape the cottonmouths cage and after a few days that wasn't enough I had to take it away LOL

You must have a good woman or a crazy one (no offense intended). LOL No way in h-e-double hocky sticks I would sleep in a house with a cotton mouth or any other venomous snake! Shoot, I don't think I could sleep! It or me one would have to go. I could have bad dreams thinking about this too much. lol