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

[ladycat]

Great idea! I'm having a population explosion of snakes this spring!

Which one of these would work better? One has a smaller opening, but it's more expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Frabill-Deluxe-Crawfish-2-Piece-Torpedo/dp/B003JK6PVQ

http://www.amazon.com/Gees-G-40-Galvanized-Steel-Minnow/dp/B0033OI7V4

 

[bear8357]

I'm in the Smoky Mountains with a creek bordering the property. I put up deer fencing around the garden. At Lowe's they have DuPont deer fencing 7 ft.X 120 ft. for $20.00, in the garden dept. The bonus with the netting is I caught 2- 30 inch copperheads that were heading through my garden. They were baked by the sun, the netting catches under their scales and they can't back out. I've also caught 6 black snakes too. 5 of them I was able to cut out and release, as they will kill poisonous snakes. I'm just waiting to catch a giant cane brake rattler, big nasty and deadly, like the one I seen on nose picken trail.
As a young boy I hunted poisonous snakes east of Orlando, FL. I got a 5 ft. 7 inch diamond back rattler. I dressed it out tacked it to a board and salted it. It was 18 inches wide in the middle. I showed my old timer neighbor, he told me I should took off the head peeled the skin off the meat, like peeling off a sweaty sock. Turn it back right side, fill the skin tube with oatmeal, pour in water and hang it up. He told me it will stretch the skin to the maximum, then cut it open and tack it and salt to cure and dry. I tan deer hides with battery acid and salt, wash with lanolin soap hang in the shade to dry. They come out soft as baby skin.

 

[Big Hoot]

Thanks for sharing Bill. I have been racking my brain on a good way to trap the snakes and I just found it thanks to you my friend. My snake traps will be set by the end of the day.

Thanks again,

Big Hoot

 

[Chatty Chicky]

I love, love love this idea!! I am going to stop at the Wal-Mart today on my way home and pick up a couple. Already had one 6' snake in my run this season, and that was enough for me. He was only a few inches away from my roosting pullets when I went out to tuck them into their coop for the night... and making his way forward. Well, I didn't even stop to think, just grabbed his tail, flung him outside the run and then ran out afterward and stomped on his head with my flip flop until it was crushed. Talk about going all Mama Bear on his tail (er...head), lol!

BUT, then I felt guilty for days, because turns out it was only a harmless coachwhip And stupid!, because had it been a cottonmouth I would've had been on a course of antivenin, because he did get me a couple times before we were done going 'round. Yikes!

And BTW...for those of you using (or considering) moth balls, my neighbors suggested that to me last summer after I found a cottonmouth curled up underneath a dog bed on my porch. I was so glad I did some research before I poisoned my property!

Moth balls are TOXIC:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002477.htm
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/naphtech.html
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/naphthal.html

Moth balls can be FATAL to infants and small children:
“Storing treasured baby clothes in mothballs can be lethal, say leading pediatricians from Australia and New Zealand. The doctors say the fumes could lead to severe brain damage in babies and even death from the insecticide naphthalene used in mothballs. . . At least one infant death in the past three years and more than 100 reports to Australian poison control centers of children affected by mothball fumes were cited by the group. Inhaling mothball fumes can severely damage red blood cells.” http://www.aarp.org/health/medical-research/info-02-2011/mothballs-fumes-toxic-to-children.html
“4000 children per year are exposed to moth balls with over 600 of these cases requiring medical attention. Ingestion of one moth ball can be toxic to a young child, and even lethal if G6PD deficiency is present in that child. A key symptom is jaundice (yellow skin) which can progress to organ damage and death.” http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/environmental_health/eoha/pdf/moth_balls_fs.pdf

If you sprinkle moth balls in your yard, rain can cause the naphthalene to leach into the soil and it can end up in your eggs:
“Naphthalene can dissolve in water, attach to soil, and leach into underground drinking water. Some naphthalene dissolves in rivers, lakes, or wells and evaporates within two weeks. Bacteria destroy naphthalene in water. . . Naphthalene does not build up in the flesh of animals and fish. However, dairy cows exposed to naphthalene could have some naphthalene in their milk. Likewise, laying hens exposed to naphthalene will have some of the chemical in their eggs.”
http://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/files/naphthfaq.pdf

And to top it all off, the moth ball as snake repellant theory appears to be nothing more than another old wives’ tale. At least one study has shown that napthalene (main ingredient in moth balls) did not elicit avoidance behavior in snakes:
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1431&context=gpwdcwp
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/natres/06501.html

 

[OldMountainCur]

What, No guineas? Next to a cat they are the best "snake terminator" there is. My place was infested with copper heads at one time, but it took the "Royal Purples" less than one summer to eliminate them. Not sure why, but they seem to hunt snakes and they will "gang up" on one. I lived near Truman Lake for several years and the rocks there seemed to "sprout" snakes of all kinds, introduced guineas and the snake problem went away.

 

[zazouse]

What, No guineas? Next to a cat they are the best "snake terminator" there is. My place was infested with copper heads at one time, but it took the "Royal Purples" less than one summer to eliminate them. Not sure why, but they seem to hunt snakes and they will "gang up" on one. I lived near Truman Lake for several years and the rocks there seemed to "sprout" snakes of all kinds, introduced guineas and the snake problem went away.

I need some of your bloodline here my guineas just holler at snakes till the dogs come and dispatch them and i have 100's of guineas at a time , guess they did not get the memo.
However my dogs do a great job of eliminating snakes
, so much so this year my guineas have actually been able to raise up Keats .

 

[ladycat]

What, No guineas? Next to a cat they are the best "snake terminator" there is. My place was infested with copper heads at one time, but it took the "Royal Purples" less than one summer to eliminate them. Not sure why, but they seem to hunt snakes and they will "gang up" on one. I lived near Truman Lake for several years and the rocks there seemed to "sprout" snakes of all kinds, introduced guineas and the snake problem went away.

Not everyone can have guineas. Such as people with too many close neighbors, like me.

 

[Danrocks]

We have a female Texas Rat snake that lives in our yard.. I have seen her slither under a hen and right back out the other side and the hen never budged. She is also "friends" with our barn cats. I've found them curled up next to each other sleeping.. the cat woke up, stretched, glanced at the snake and just yawned. Even our mailman was surprised at how "tame" our snake is. He saw me standing almost on top of her and she didn't even flinch. I know she helps herself to a few eggs here and there.. but she also takes care of any rodents we end up with (which the cats are too lazy to bother with). I just have to keep an eye on delivery men who may not understand about our resident snake and may try to run her over someday. So far she's been here at least three years that I know of. I hope she's around for many more!

What a great story!

 

[SonjaS]

Works great for catching mice too.

 

[BobDBirdDog]

Good Idea! I like the bait you are using as well but how do you get them to stick on the fish hook? LOL

Another alternative for snakes is moth balls inside of a panty hose or stocking.