I found a snake and have some questions

[StormyMoon]

Last night at 11 PM my 9 yr old got up to go to the bath room, came out screaming there was a snake in there.
We went in and sure enough there was a snake behind the toilet. I was going to save it at first but then when I stuck the stick back there I heard rattling and it struck the stick, so I figured it was a bad sign. I got the machete and chopped its head off pulled it out and it was a brown snake with diamond shapes on the back. A rattle snake was in my bath room. Do they eat chicken eggs? And could they be coming in cause I have baby chicks in the house?

 

[7L Farm]

Snakes love eggs. I had 19 wood duck houses & I would find snakes in them with 10 eggs bulging out of their gut.You did the right thing in my mind.

 

[dawg53]

WOW! I'm glad your child wasnt bitten! Scary!

 

[chicknduck]

Am am also glad to hear that no one got hurt. That is so scary but seems like you reacted great.

 

[oldchickenlady]

Did it have rattles on it's tail? If not then it could have been a copperhead or even a non-poison snake. Most any snake will 'rattle' it's tail (sounds like rattles when it is shaken in leaves or against floor, etc) and will strike if messed with. However, since you live in TX and rattlesnakes are common, I am sure you did the right thing in killing it. Since it was in the house and children are present and they have an uncanny ability to get away from you (not good in the house for sure), you did the right thing. There is some stuff you can buy at garden supply places and probably feed stores or TSC that is a snake repellent. You sprinkle it around where ever you want the snakes to stay away from (the perimeter of your house, storage shed, chicken house?). I have also heard moth balls work, but dont know that for a fact. I would throw some mothballs under your house at least, can't hurt. I think it will keep rats, mice, and squirrels away too. Glad your baby didn't get bitten.

 

[StormyMoon]

it did have a rattle and was shaking it white striking the stick i put back there.

 

[WingingIt]

Well handled.

Snakes will eat eggs and chicks, so, yes, there's a pretty good chance it smelled them and came in to eat. When we redoing a room in our house we also had baby chicks in the house for a few nights because it was super cold outside. Went in the room one night and heard a noise and there was a snake climbing the walls in the cracks where the insulation pieces fit between the studs, headed toward the brooder. Bought some extra lights and they went outside the next day. I don't mind snakes, but I don't want to share my house with some running loose, either.

 

[ranchhand]

Yikes, glad no one was hurt.

I'd be looking for where the snake came in! Frequently, the openings for water/drain lines have a gap around them. I stuff them with steel wool or some such stuff.

 

[Adora]

Put turpentine around the edge of your house, all around it, and your chicken coop too. We do it here in NC, the turpentine burns their bellies, and is a very great deterrent.
Thank goodness your baby didn't get bit.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Scary!!!!!

It is so very hot here in Texas, even the snakes are looking for cool places to hide. If you have a pier and beam home, it probably came up from underneath. Unfortunately, snakes don't need big holes to get in.

Maybe an outdoor cat for rodent control would help. If you take away the food source, the predator should move on.

Now, I'm looking at all the brush on the vacant lot behind me wondering how many bad nasty snakes there are there. I hope it is all big black rat snakes, with no rattlers allowed!