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

[sunnyocala]

Really genius!
Haven't had a rat or snake problem since a 8 ft eastern indigo moved on the farm a few years ago,very happy to have him but he does startle me sometimes
My guy put his head in the feed room to switch off the barn lights one night and came eye to eye with him stretched over my coat rack lol!

 

[Jeanne1970]

You really should call the Parks and Wildlife Service where you live and have the snakes relocated. Killing them or keeping them without a certain stamp can land you in big trouble. Not to mention the snakes are not hurting you... just have them relocated.


Edited by Staff

 

[bordurlin]

I think that this is a really smart way to deal with the snakes/rats. Someone mentioned putting little wires turned back toward the hole to act as goads to keep the snakes/rats from coming back out. If it will keep the rats in, it could be a self-baiting snake trap. Ha ha. I had to dispose of a four-foot chicken snake a few days ago. I had 10 chicks that were a couple fo weeks old. Six went missing. Time passed and I went to check on them again and there were only three... well, technically there were four, but one was hiding inside the snake which was laying in the brooder with the mama hen and the other three chicks. So, I poliltely asked the snake to "wait right there" while I went and retrieved my freshly sharpened hoe. The rest is just a vague memory (in the snake's mind). Like the Queen of Hearts said, "Off with your head!"

 

[Reindeerdreams]

I tried this last year and it did not work at all! Wasted my money on these traps.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

You really should call the Parks and Wildlife Service where you live and have the snakes relocated. Killing them or keeping them without a certain stamp can land you in big trouble. Not to mention the snakes are not hurting you... just have them relocated. Personally I hope you get caught and get that big *** fine and get taught a lesson.

Obviously you either don't live anywhere near here or you live in a city.
However, Protecting ones farm (livestock and crops) from local wildlife is protected under state law in most places as long as rules are observed in doing so, That being said, the minnow trap is a "Live Trap" and as such is a very humane way to capture whatever might happen to get into it and relocating or dispatching whatever you catch would be up to you,
Where I live the local game wardens have more important things to do than relocate every snake that gets into someones henhouse and most likely wouldn't even respond to the call other than to tell you to kill or relocate the snake.
I have literally caught dozens of snakes with the minnow traps and most were caught without using any kind of bait, the venomous ones don't get to be relocated and most of the others get to live somewhere else,
I moved recently and the traps are going to be used mostly to catch minnows on fishing trips for a while until I need to use them for something else and I will have chickens to protect again at some point.
It might be really educational for you to call or go by your Wildlife department and look into the rules concerning these issues and see what options land owners and or residents have.
It would certainly be more productive and kinder than wishing bad things on people you don't even know...

I tried this last year and it did not work at all! Wasted my money on these traps.

Tell me how you used the trap if you don't mind following up your post, Maybe I can help

 

[Jan Lyda]

We just relocated 3 black snakes out of our coop.

 

[Reindeerdreams]

I put a fresh egg in the traps and set them out and about the barnyard where I was hoping to catch some snakes, but nothing. Kept trying all summer and no snakes. I live here in Florida and know we had snakes in the yard as our cat would kill them often and then we found a cotton mouth in the front yard. I had set a trap there as well with the egg in it and did not catch the snake then almost stepped on it while mowing. Yikes! Now, I just turn out my peacock and guineas to get rid of them.

 

[tazdeputy]

I just saw that you live down by Lexington. We actually looked at a house and some land down that way, (just off I-35)  but it was the steady trail of Copperheads heading under the house that made us pass!

I live west of Louisville we have copperheads here

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I put a fresh egg in the traps and set them out and about the barnyard where I was hoping to catch some snakes, but nothing. Kept trying all summer and no snakes. I live here in Florida and know we had snakes in the yard as our cat would kill them often and then we found a cotton mouth in the front yard. I had set a trap there as well with the egg in it and did not catch the snake then almost stepped on it while mowing. Yikes! Now, I just turn out my peacock and guineas to get rid of them.

Copperheads and Cottonmouths won't eat eggs at all, in fact would probably starve if the only thing available were chicken eggs, the Cottonmouth might eat chicks if it were really hungry and stumbled across some, the Copperhead however would most surly feed on them if they can get to them. The minnow traps work best for snakes if placed along a wall or fence near or in your coop, you can also make an obstacle of some sort like use a board to make a guide into the trap but the large part of the funnel entrance needs to be level with the ground so a wandering snake would go right in, if they have to raise their head to find the entrance the odds are about the same at them finding the exit once inside the trap, I made a couple of illustrations to maybe show what I mean I wish I had pictures of how I set them still, the only ones I have now are ones I've already posted here on BYC



Hope this helps some

 

[chickks]

To kill the varmints
.... tie a rope on the trap and toss it into the pond.