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

[MelissaTXRn]

No way in H E double hockey sticks would me or my husband have ANY snake in our house!! I am pretty sure if one got in by accident, we would burn it down Lol

 

[DB123]

Good idea. Glad to see you relocate the non venomous. I was suprised to see the copperheads . 90% of people miss identify snakes. But those were definitley copperheads. Snakes eat tons of rodents so they are good to have around as long as they arent eating your eggs or birds. I have tons of black ratsnakes around here and I have never had them eat anything other than rats and mice.

I have a set of tongs for handling snakes and use those to put them into a good sized jug that I keep just for the poisonous snakes in my freezer, it's humane, they get cold, go dormant and die in thier sleep, I relocate the non poisonous ones far enough away they can't find thier way back to my coop. I would think any number of ways to dispatch them would be okay, A tank water and a few minutes submerged would make the trap safe to open and dispose of the poisonous ones,

I wouldn't risk getting bit no matter how you do it they really aren't deadly but will make you really sick and have to pay an emergency room visit at the very least. I have copperheads and pigmy rattlers here and have made a couple nice hat bands from them LOL

Most of the non-poisonous snakes I leave alone to do thier jobs but the ones that enter my coops for chicks and eggs have to go live elsewhere.

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
Lol.. I used to have a rattler as a pet (and I'm a gal)!..

but then again I also used to raise snakes.. so I'm a bit on the weird side anyway

 

[Johnies Girls]

So today you are cold and crazy, lol. Pet rattler, yeah, crazy lady. I saw you woke to a cold morning too, my incubator may not have been set high enough last nit, read 96 when I looked.

 

[Banriona]

Question: I have a recently acquired roo (16 wks old or so) currently in quarantine. The other day we saw a rat snake in there with him. I WAS going to grab him and relocate him elsewhere but the roo walked up and looked at him and he slithered into a wall cavity before I could get him. I am assuming if he comes back the roo can dispatch him without my help but figure I should ask all you experienced chicken keepers. Never had chix before. Haven't had any problems with my 5 wk olds in the coop yet, but that thing makes Alcatraz look like a cake walk.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I know that chickens esp the Roo will protect as much as they can I saw on youtube a couple videos where chickens and or guineas are chasing off snakes, my coops aren't snake proof that's why I use the traps but I'm betting that my birds almost never see the snakes cause they come mostly at night and go for the eggs and smaller chicks, as far as dispatching the snake unless it's fairly small I don't see the roo inflicting a lot of harm to it other than making it get some yonder LOL That is if it wins out and doesn't become lunch

 

[Banriona]

He looked like a fairly smallish snake, only maybe 1/2" to 3/4" diameter and maybe 3-4' long. Hard to say on length since he wasn't fully exposed. No small chickens or eggs in there so unless the snake is super starved I don't imagine he'd go after the (EE) roo. Never know though. Haven't seen him back though and I've been doing frequent checks. Plenty of mice and squirrels around here for snakes to munch. Need more snakes frankly, just not in with my roo.

 

[gardentlc]

I am not a snake person as far as that goes, but I do not mind at all having a king snake around. We have one here that has been hanging out for the past couple of years, wishing it would mate and make a few more as my husband found a very large poisonous snake skin last fall on the trail below our home. Would love to get rid of more mice too!!! So far thank goodness none has bothered my hens who are all under 10 months old!!

 

[Dgiguere]

One main identifier that is quick and easy is to look for 'pits' on the cheek area of the snake. Vipers (aka copperheads, rattlesnakes, etc) have pits on the sides of their heads, creating a wedge shaped head. There are other identifiers, but the wedge is the fast and easy way. Immature snakes may require a little more looking.

 

[Farm Mommy]

I will be using this in the spring. My daughter was bit by a copperhead. 17 viles of antivenom, two days in ICU and over $260, 000.00 bill to the insurance. I wont tell you our end of it. But lets just say it will take me ten years to pay it off easy! We had birds dying left and right until snake hunkered down for winter. The one that bit my daughter is dead. But I know we have more. I will be placing these all over my farm. Thank you so much for the post. You literally are saving a life.