What keeps SNAKES away?

[chickbird]

Quote:
powdered sulfur can be sprinked around and help deter non-poisonous snakes, must be reapplied at intervals....the cheap netting that is used to prevent birds from eating blueberries can be placed around your pen, when the snake tries to crawl thru it will entrap the snake, i've caught 3 with this.

 

[Bridget399]

Quote:
I had a severe snake problem in my area and took all this advice and it WORKED! You'd be suprised how cleaning up and using that spray foam can make a world of difference. I also put mothballs in old milk jugs with holes punched in them (to let the smell out) under places like my back deck and by the coop.

 

[Bedste]

There is HOPE.... I have seen the light! Thank you ...... all for your comments.......

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Thank you for starting this thread. I have had a few eggs missing (2 out of 5 under a setting hen) and now I am getting scared. I don't know what to do. I keep my chickens in these chicken stalls/coops at night. Can you look at this and tell me do you think that a snake can get through this

I am not hi-jacking your thread, I am just shaking in my boots that a snake will swallow all of my babies.

 

[KCNC06]

I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this, I didn't see it...but my chickens LOVE snakes! Almost as much as they like crickets, slugs, earthworms... Pretty much anything they can get their beak on. I caught one girl eating a skink (small lizard) last week. I told her skinks are our friends, not food. Anyway. They happily catch and eat snakes up to about a foot or so long. We don't have any poisonous snakes around here, only venomous copperheads. We do kill those if they're around the house. Relocating isn't worth the risk...look up pictures of copperhead bites before you judge-copperheads are also more likely to strike/bite than retreat.

I've read about some electro-thingy that you stick in the ground to scare off snakes but it's expensive!

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Quote:
Thank you for starting this thread. I have had a few eggs missing (2 out of 5 under a setting hen) and now I am getting scared. I don't know what to do. I keep my chickens in these chicken stalls/coops at night. Can you look at this and tell me do you think that a snake can get through this

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/6612_byc_house.jpg


I am not hi-jacking your thread, I am just shaking in my boots that a snake will swallow all of my babies.

I can't see anything specifically, but a snake can fit through any of the gaps on the ripple part of the corrugated metal if you didn't use something to fill that gap, and if you didn't bury hardware cloth along the bottom, snakes can slide under a little gap along the ground.

 

[bauers chicks]

I'm with KCNC06, a garter snake, approx 1 ft long visited the run Saturday - it did not last long. Last I saw, it was in 3 pieces. I almost felt sorry for a mouse that was trying to take a shortcut last week. My 12 layers are almost 1 year old.

 

[flgardengirl]

YOu can fill in the cracks in the corragated metal and other cracks with spray foam. I dont think a really large snake could get through the chicken wire on the doors but lots of other things can like raccoons, dogs etc. I would replace it with hardware cloth. DH and I put hardware cloth on the insides of our large coop windows and put a wood frame around the edges with strips of wood so it wouldn't come up from the sides. Then since we live in a rainy humid mosquito area we put screen on the outside and also framed over the edges of it to keep the mosquitoes out.

 

[mdbokc]

I like Liquid Fence Snake Repellent in addition to taking care of the mechanics of the coop/run..

http://www.liquidfence.com/snake-repellent-qt.html

 

[mcog]

Some of the oldtimers around here suggested putting a black hose down on the ground along the back of the yard. They said another snake will not cross it because they think it is a black snake that will eat them. It is an old wives tale but some people believe it will work. I dont know but you could try it. jeff

I had a black snake crawl up on me while washing my care one day. Probably due to me using a black hose. Lol. I chased the 5 footer away and did the same with the hose/ switched it for a yellow one.. so the black hose thing I can't use. Best thing is tidy up the fencing and food storage. If you get rid of the mice and gather your eggs expidtiously (don't let them sit) Mr. Slither will find his snack elsewhere..