How do you get rid of snakes?

[Thamnophis]

People keep replying about mothballs, so I'll take a minute to try to explain how idiotic this is.

So you take a small wire cage of mothballs and place them around "cool, dark places", or you just sprinkle the mothballs around on the ground. Imagine a snake coming upon them. Lets just say, for arguments sake, that the snake just hates the smell of mothballs. (There is not a shred of evidence anywhere in the world that even suggests snakes don't like, or avoid mothballs). But assuming they do - what do you suppose the snake thinks when it discovers the mothball?

Do you suppose it thinks to itself - wow, I should leave this property because I can tell these people use moth balls! Or do you think it just moves two inches to the left or right then continues ahead? In which case the mothballs would do absolutely nothing to deter the snake?

I don't mean to be rude, but it is amazing how people keep responding "mothballs seem to work for me" when their perception is obviously completely unscientific. Its spring, snakes come out, they throw out the mothballs, summer comes, snakes are less obvious. Their misguided conclusion that the mothballs worked is so obviously wrong, I'm amazed they don't get it.

I used to be amazed that primitive people believed in witch doctors. But seeing how willing people are to believe in witch doctor type remedies for snakes, I'm really not surprised anymore. I guess if your desperate enough, and unscientific enough, any solution - even an ineffectual one, is better than nothing.

What did P.T. Barnum say?

 

[thaiturkey]

I'm surprised to read that you can even buy mothballs these days.

I wouldn't dream of disagreeing with you, Thamnophis, but not all of the world's phenomena can yet be explained scientifically, if only because no-one has bothered to test it all. Do you have proof that there is no scientific basis for the moth ball remedy?

There are dangers involved in the use of mothballs for anything:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothball

 

[Thamnophis]

Quote:
The burden of proof lay in the hands of those who make the assertion!

I've heard these assertions for decades. People may be interested to know that the only "active" ingredient in moth balls or the product called "Snake Away" is napthalene. The "professor" who came up with Snake Away designed a totally lame experiment which he claimed "proved" the effectiveness of his product. Of course, it didn't - couldn't even be reproduced by scientists who tried.

But this guy is retired now - sailing the Caribbean on a boat paid for by gullable people scared to death of snakes. The prof is a smart guy - knew how to turn people's irrational fears into a big fat bank account for him!

I've put mothballs in cages with snakes - they couldn't care less about them. Crawl over them like they were not even there.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Folks, the thing that I have learned about those who want to tell you that things are they way they are is that they mostly want attention. Up until this point no one has responded to the nay-sayers. Let's just leave it that way. Those of us who have used things and have had them work for us know. Just let them rattle on or type on in this case.

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln


Now where were we?

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
The burden of proof lay in the hands of those who make the assertion!

I've heard these assertions for decades. People may be interested to know that the only "active" ingredient in moth balls or the product called "Snake Away" is napthalene. The "professor" who came up with Snake Away designed a totally lame experiment which he claimed "proved" the effectiveness of his product. Of course, it didn't - couldn't even be reproduced by scientists who tried.

But this guy is retired now - sailing the Caribbean on a boat paid for by gullable people scared to death of snakes. The prof is a smart guy - knew how to turn people's irrational fears into a big fat bank account for him!

I've put mothballs in cages with snakes - they couldn't care less about them. Crawl over them like they were not even there.

A very fair point about proof.

Do you happen to know the name of the guy's boat? 'Customers' Balls' perhaps?

If anyone is interested, I have patented a sign that says 'No Snakes' in a simple language used by snakes. I offer a complete package of signs in this language, mounted on patent poles, that include notices such as 'Keep Of The Grass', 'Beware: Large Male Moths' and 'Snakes Are Delicious'. Please PM me for prices and shipping costs.

I also send with each order a dvd showing how the signs can be used to kill snakes with a single blow to the head.

I also have a 'Keep Of The Grass' sign suitable for college students' baseball caps.

It's written in a nice psychedelic kinda font.

 

[shchinchillas]

Keeping snakes away:

You want to make the area as unlivable as possible for snakes.. Do you have old boards, tin, tall grass, wire, fire wood etc laying around? If so, clean it up. Snakes love to hide in places such as that. Secure your birds, and predator proof the pen. A snake can fit in the smallest of holes. When you have prey animals, predators are going to come around. It's nature.

I don't agree with the killing of snakes simply for hunting and finding food. Yes, they are killing our birds, our pets etc- but they aren't coming on the property thinking "Hey, I know these people have PETS there, lets go kill them". They are killing, and eating them to survive.. and it's not their fault they have easy access.

I also think people should take the time to educate themselves, and see why snakes(and other predator animals that are simply killed) are actually beneficial to nature. Snakes will take care of a rodent problem, Opposums will take care of bugs, small rodents, and are usually non-aggressive to humans. People tend to kill something they don't know, and don't understand. For example I was at work last week and someone came running in "Don't go by the well! There was a copperhead there, but it ran before we could kill it!". 2 days later they come back "We killed the copperhead!!". They killed a harmless garter snake, that was more then likely the reason we no longer have a mouse problem in the office... Had they done research they could have identified the snake in question, and known it was harmless to people.

 

[Thamnophis]

Quote:
I think you have the right idea! You can try to tell people the truth for decades - why not just take advantage of their ignorance and make a good living selling them crap that doesn't work?

There is, apparently, no end to the ignorant in the world....

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
That's seems like excellent advice and common sense. Thanks.

We have some difficulty in that we are surrounded by snakes' natural habitat and, for several months each year, green stuff grows very quickly. Our turkeys free range during the day time. We often see snakes of all sizes but, so far, nothing very dangerous. The birds have never been troubled by snakes and, given our surroundings, I suppose that either we have been very lucky or there is actually no great risk from them. We wouldn't kill unless we or one of our animals was under threat. From my experience, a snake will escape quickly from danger unless cornered. The curious approach of a turkey might be just enough for that to happen.

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
I think you have the right idea! You can try to tell people the truth for decades - why not just take advantage of their ignorance and make a good living selling them crap that doesn't work?

There is, apparently, no end to the ignorant in the world....

Do you enjoy Monty Python?

 

[shchinchillas]

Quote:
You are right 9 times out of 10 a snake is going to get away from something threatening, then go on the attack. In regards to people, they are more afraid of us then we are of them. Even most venomous snakes if they bite only do whats called a "dry" bite and don't release the venom because they know we are too big, and it would waste their venom that they need for food they can actually eat. Your younger snakes(babies/adolescents) are typically the ones who use the venom, as they haven't learned not to waste it yet. Granted either way when bitten by a venomous snake you want to go the ER-never risk it.


Also--do you have water near by? (pond, stream, etc) We are having a heat wave, and it hasn't rained in days. People are noticing that snakes are coming into lawns/towns etc that they normally stay away from in search of a water source-- Peoples inground pools, fish ponds etc.

I have noticed that as we keep our chickens free-range and their "coop" so to speak is a room inside the barn, they seem to doing fairly well. They have access outside 24/7, but tend to take refuge with either the goats or the horses, perching on the gates by them. Raccoons, Opposums etc are going to stay clear away from the horses.