How do you get rid of snakes?

[Yvonne37894]

I have no personal experence, however, my sister always kept guineas to keep the rattle snakes away from the house,
she said that they will kill them, they also sound the alarm of anything or anyone in the yard. Draw back is they are noisey.

 

[PhilErvin]

Quote:
...and THIS is exactly why I tolerate farril cats around our property.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Only rat snakes I don't keep around are the bigger ones. Relocated at 4ft-er to the edge of the creek not far from the house. He was eating eggs, not chickens. Anything smaller than that tend to be eaten by the chickens.

The 13week olds did in a bunch of pinkies (babymice) the other day. Moved out the doghouse coop they had been using when we finished the new coop. Momma mouse took off and the chicks were on the pinkies before I even saw them! Chickens don't let much get by them

 

[SeaHen]

An old man told me the other day that he caught a small Rattler and let it go in the canyon behind his house which is close to my house and an area where my son hangs out. I said "YOU TURNED IT LOOSE?" I wanted to tell him that I thought he was AN IDIOT!! But I was at the Barber shop and didn't want to cause a scene.
I have NO PROBLEM killing ANY KIND of SNAKE!!! I know that some are beneficial but my wife would have a coronary if she saw a snake at our house.

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Wow. I don't know anything about rat snakes, but rattlers I'm familiar with. We used to find them around my cousins' house (sometimes in the house) in California and toss them back out. I wouldn't have a problem defending my kids or animals against danger, but I try to react out of knowledge rather than fear. The old man at the barber shop probably had a lot more experience than you or me.

 

[ottovan]

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Wish my chickens would take care of themselves, but I think they're still too young, The snakes can't eat them but they do strangle them. The snakes scare me to death I can't tell what they are until after they're dead. put the snake in with the guinea hens afterwards hoping they would get the message but nothing. They're two months old. Patched up the hole he came out of, wish I could make a snake trap before they get in the coops!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

ETA---I've had good success with mothballs keeping copperheads out of my basement, shed and gardens at my old house. Haven't had a problem with them (or any other snakes) since we moved here.

 

[Thamnophis]

I'm running the risk of repeating myself but here goes anyway...

Mothballs do NOTHING to deter snakes. Any effect you may see is a coincidence. Snakes freely crawl all over mothballs - they don't care. But the myth persists. Sometimes people see a lot of snakes in the spring when they are most active, spread mothballs as the snakes are settling into their summer, less active period, and conclude that the mothballs worked. But they didn't.

Mothballs are poisonous however and do poison the environment. The active ingredient - napthalene, is a regulated substance that should not be used for other than for its intended purpose.

You can spend your life trapping or trying to deter snakes. The only rational solution is to build structures that keep the snakes out. Who wants to deal with a bunch of angry, half dead snakes snarled in a plastic mesh, for example?

1/4 inch hardware cloth is cheap, durable and will keep out any and all snakes that threaten your fowl. Rather than spend your time trying to trap snakes that will only replenish themselves, why not spend the time figuring out how they get in and fixing that problem?

 

[ottovan]

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I've tried mothballs they work, I really only have problems when my electric fence goes out - when it rains. Seems like the electricity goes out more and more - even when it doesn't rain.
I do have a question about this relocating snakes,seems a bit dangerous to me - seen a few folks in the hospital with some very ugly snake bites. I really would like to know how you do this relocating. Pictures would be nice - if possible. I'm not making fun I really am curious. I learned after I killed the snake that it was a rat snake - I almost needed to change my britches while running after this snake just didn't want anymore of my chicken or quail to die. And I didn't want to lose a limb! Wouldn't mind relocating some rat snakes but wouldn't want anything poisonous on another piece of land. We normally just leave the snakes alone here or if they decide to come into the house, garage or chicken coops - we kill them. We figure a snake will never stop killing the chickens til the last one is dead - they do stay in the coop. So here I am with a ticked off snake in the coop with me and he's going to stay in there with me and the chickens - how do I relocate his butt?

 

[Gypsi]

I haven't had a snake issue with my chickens, but I have battled diamond backed water snakes in my pond. When the snake ate the only fish with a name, it became war. Snakes are extremely difficult to catch in water, I started taking my housecats into the pond area with me, and eventually one of them cornered the snake under a chair. He met the shovel. I then put dusting sulfur all around my fence line, they don't like it, tends to make them irritable and more likely to bite, but usually they won't cross it.

I like the twisted bird-mesh idea. And if I were investigating a coop that could have a snake hiding in it, I'd have leather gloves on, and a cat or dog with me to spot things I might miss. and some kind of tool for head removal. I find rose snips come in quite handy.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
I've tried mothballs they work, I really only have problems when my electric fence goes out - when it rains. Seems like the electricity goes out more and more - even when it doesn't rain.
I do have a question about this relocating snakes,seems a bit dangerous to me - seen a few folks in the hospital with some very ugly snake bites. I really would like to know how you do this relocating. Pictures would be nice - if possible. I'm not making fun I really am curious. I learned after I killed the snake that it was a rat snake - I almost needed to change my britches while running after this snake just didn't want anymore of my chicken or quail to die. And I didn't want to lose a limb! Wouldn't mind relocating some rat snakes but wouldn't want anything poisonous on another piece of land. We normally just leave the snakes alone here or if they decide to come into the house, garage or chicken coops - we kill them. We figure a snake will never stop killing the chickens til the last one is dead - they do stay in the coop. So here I am with a ticked off snake in the coop with me and he's going to stay in there with me and the chickens - how do I relocate his butt?

If it's a black rat snake, it's gonna live, no matter how big it gets. The day I pulled the one out of the nest box with yolk dribbling out of his mouth I had told the husband (who is scared to death of snakes) to grab me 2 things out of the shed---1. The Pooper Scooper 2. The Hoe. (I don't have a grabbing pole like I did when I worked for the park service. It's just one of those things you see people picking up trash with. The really long ones are useless as they bend in the middle with something heavy.) My Pooper Scooper is long handled and has "teeth" on both side. I grab the snake close to it's head with the scooper and pull it out. Once it is out, and still being held, I give it the once over to see what kind of snake it is. Where I am, if it's not long and black, it's usually a copperhead or rattlesnake (I haven't found and corn or hognose snakes in the 5 years I've lived here which can sometimes be confused with rattlesnakes) If it's a rat snake, I have a 5 gallong bucket that I've put a hinged lid on. Flip the lid open, put the snake in (tail first) get the rest of him in and have someone flip the lid shut as you let go of his head. (otherwise he's coming right back out!)

If it's not a rat snake, that's the reason for the hoe. It's an old one with a heavy head and handle. He'll be going into the bucket but in pieces!