Mr. Not so welcomed friend Kill or not?

[TheTropix]

Hi Mel51,
Before you put the mothballs out, read up on some of the safety/hazard info on the internet. They can do terrible things to a respiratory system just breathing the air where they're slowly evaporating. Physical contact can bring on other problems, cancer being one. Exposure can also lead to kidney &/or liver failure. Just be careful with them, K?
I agree with you about the chosen locale of relocation. That's why we chose the spot we chose. A critters' paradise.. about 2 - 3 miles from the nearest house, with 2 lakes & tons of woods between them. lol Yup, the critters can't be messin with my chickens, or my garden. So far, with the dogs we have, the coons and possums haven't ventured into the fenced part of the yard where the chickens & garden are. Also, I don't think they could get into my chicken pens. We used cattle panel and covered that with chicken wire. Only a snake can fit! HA!

 

[TheTropix]

Hi all,
If you feel you need to kill all the snakes you see to keep your kids safe, that's ok with me. I'm all for the kids being safe!! always!! : )
A person asked for opinions whether to save/relocate or kill. I gave mine.. that's all. That is my opinion. If yours is different, I'm ok with that.

Every one of us gets to decide what they feel is best for them. No problem, there. This is truly friendly advice... with arm around your shoulder... living out in the woods and along water, you should learn what poisonous snakes you may encounter. For your & your family's sake... doesn't mean you gotta let 'em live, if you don't want to. again... your call. There aren't many varieties/species you'll run into. (look them up and show your kids.. with a stiff warning NOT TO TOUCH OR GET NEAR THEM! It's a great learning opportunity about nature and their world. The great opportunity, for the record, is learning safely what they look like on the internet or a zoo. If you're out in the woods with them, you can point out that ol' Copperhead just before you lop its head off! LOL ...and another safety point.. they can still bite you after you whack off their head.

 

[jdyson]

I would try snake proofing first and if that doesn't work, relocate it. I relocate everything I can. I haven't had any run ins with possum or raccoons yet. Hopefully I won't.

 

[TheTropix]

Ya got that right!! hahhaha

 

[mel51]

I do understand it is hard to identify snakes, I have a unreal fear of them so I keep a snake hook and a bag in the barn. I however have such a fear I stand paralyzed and cry and scream. Just to see the pic of big daddy holding one makes me quake. I would never, never as the turtle man show says " to pick one up with your bare hands is just crazy lol. But If I ever had the courage to bag one,with a sonar hook, which you can order from the snare shop on line. I would choose to release rather then kill. You do not have to identify just do it safely. All animals you trap can be dangerous and should be treated with great caution. I truly have no problem with the killing of a predator on the farm. My husband has done it but he has never like doing it. I however can not do it so if i can't and he does like to do it we release.

 

[Bigdaddy101]

The Tropix,
I agree that at this point I can "most of the time" identify a poisonous snake. As mentioned, copperheads and rattle snakes are pretty easy. But I have seen water moccasin come in various shades of black down to very light. We actually love snakes, and I too take the time to teach my kids whether we have captured it for relocation or chopped it's stinking head off. My seven year old can look at a picture of a snakes head and tell you whether it is poisonous or not. The shape of the head, the shape of the eyes, the pattern of the skin. He (as the rest of my crew) have an educational understanding of identification. But in the same education they are taught that they can lose fingers, arms, legs, or even die if they are wrong just once.
So I agree with you yet again, there needs to be a healthy balance in nature. I often time educate individuals with the thought process of kill'em all. I know several people in our area that will stop a car going down the road to kill a snake 20 miles from any house. REALLY? Education and respect are the key. But above all, protect your self, your family (pets included), and your food source. This is an exciting post for me, because I live in such a heavily populated area of such diverse snakes. We see all kinds.

 

[wlhtx]

Believe me, my kids know. I'm just doing my job as a parent to make sure their environment is as safe as possible. And I let my husband retain all the knowledge when it comes to the different snake species. That's his job since he was a python owner in college.

But the point remains that if someone - perhaps a rookie to country/farm/chicken living - isn't well versed on exactly what breed of snake is crawling around their nest boxes, they really shouldn't be advised to reach down and grab it, or even get close enough to trap it, just for the sake of sparing the snake so it can live on and eat more mice... But, like yourself, I'm just stating my own humble opinion.

Oh - the danger of a post mortem snake bite is pretty much alleviated once their head has been blown completely off by a shotgun shell...

 

[mel51]

I also have guineas in with my chickens to keep the pen clean of ticks and lice. They also known to eat snakes. I do not know this first hand yet but i did read it about guineas.

 

[TheTropix]

I'm so sorry they scare you so bad, but I do understand. A couple of my sisters are also equally petrified of them.. any snake. Rattlesnakes (and their subspecies), Copperheads, Water Moccasins, all Pit Vipers & Coral snakes are the native poisonous snakes in the US. Many of the Rattlers are kind of geographically located (Eastern/Western Diamondback, Sidewinder..) You won't find many water moccasins in the desert, and you aren't likely to find a Sidewinder in the deep wet woods. So my thought on knowing which ones ARE poisonous (not too many), AND live in your area or an area geographically similar to their habitat, will help you rule out the nonpoisonous snakes possibly meeting an untimely/unnecessary demise. If in doubt, take it out!
Just a thought. Suppose you're out picking berries and get snake bit, by a poisonous snake, knowing its ID will be very, very helpful at the ER getting treatment. It happens. Even when you're being careful, you CAN be bitten.

 

[jak2002003]

Not to speak for him, but I believe his point was that it is irresponsible to tell ANYONE - not just kids - who are ignorant in identifying snakes to go out and try to trap them for relocation purposes.

I've lived in Texas my entire life and I'll be the first to admit that a rattlesnake is about the only one that I could identify with any confidence. A black snake, whether a rat snake or a poisonous water moccasin, would be hard for me to identify.

Again, our philosophy is to kill any and all of them (specifically because we do live so far out in the country, right next to ponds, and have very young children that like to run around outside bare foot).

Why are you allowing your 'very young children' to run around outside with 'bare feet' if you know you have dangerous snakes around your area?! Even without the snakes they will be in danger from insects stings and scorpions. I would think the ponds are a more likely danger to you children than the snakes.