Snake in my pond

[Birdielee]

Beautiful Gray Rat Snake

Wowzer. That's a long snake. I'm glad you can appreciate it

 

[Frosty]

As for your snake you could put blood meal around areas you want to protect from snake, I hear they don't like it much. Or if a neighbor has a dog, march him around the area daily. Snake don't like dogs, and their sweat glands are in their feet.. makes a stinky mess as far as snakes go.

I don't think snakes care about dog smell... Every winter ice damages the seal at the bottom of my front door. This is the door that two german shepherds and a sheltie use daily multiple times to go out to do their business. And more than once a garter snake has taken advantage of the tear in the seal and come into the house. Then I have to rescue the poor snake from the cat and take it back outside.

 

[Grizzler]

So it’s a harmless snake? Why worry?

 

[RJKnott]

Why remove a beneficial.snake that doesn't bother your poultry? I'm confused

I’m good with the snake. This particular type seems pretty non threatening and he only seems to hunt at night when the Ducks are penned up anyway

Wife absolutely hates snakes. Trying to convince her this type isn’t too bad and will keep worse away

 

[JLGauntt]

I had a snake I didn't want in my (very small) pond last year. It ultimately went away by itself since I guess it had eaten everything there it could. But while I was researching ways to trap it, I thought this was an interesting method, so... sharing:

 

[Drummondchick]

Found this dude chasing frogs in my pond today. Think it’s a yellow bellied water snake. Eats cray fish and frogs and salamanders. All of which live in my pond.

Fairly harmless but don’t want snakes near my ducks. Anyone know a good way to get rid of snakes other than shooting them which is my wife’s solution

Friend suggested styrofoam balls. Snake thinks they are eggs and eats them and it kills them. But researching these snakes they don’t really go for eggs. And with the amount of crayfish that live in my pond I don’t think it will be desperate enough to try something off menu

Someone recommended Ortho Snake B gone to Keep snakes out. Anyone have any good ways to drive and keep snakes out of the pond and yard?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Snakes of size are a pain. I relocate them when a problem. I have lost only eggs and some chicks to snakes. Not many of the lartter. Where I work water snakes are a much bigger problem than anyone here likely has. Some of those I kill. I do not like getting bitten repeatedly in rapid succession or have a snake kill many fish in a few minutes. I get bit a lot

Would love to hear more about your issues with water snakes? We have them in our ponds and like to watch them hunt minnows...

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Black rat snakes are welcome around my property and they are welcome to do their job of rat patrol and snake control as long as I don't see them in, near or around my hen house. I will not share my eggs with a snake. For some reason I have real strong feelings about that.

I like snakes, but we have a ton of black rat snakes, and they aren’t good for poultry keeping. They seem to be an unusual snake species in being unable to accurately judge prey size, so they kill birds that are too big to eat. We lost two juvenile guineas to them last year when one got into the coop. I relocated it to a pasture of a farm that doesn’t have poultry, as they are beneficial snakes.

 

[Wormhunter]

Found this dude chasing frogs in my pond today. Think it’s a yellow bellied water snake. Eats cray fish and frogs and salamanders. All of which live in my pond.

Fairly harmless but don’t want snakes near my ducks. Anyone know a good way to get rid of snakes other than shooting them which is my wife’s solution

Friend suggested styrofoam balls. Snake thinks they are eggs and eats them and it kills them. But researching these snakes they don’t really go for eggs. And with the amount of crayfish that live in my pond I don’t think it will be desperate enough to try something off menu

Someone recommended Ortho Snake B gone to Keep snakes out. Anyone have any good ways to drive and keep snakes out of the pond and yard?

Oh my goodness, here in the uk we don’t get snakes in garden ponds!! Worst thing I ever found in my pond was a pair of my husbands underpants that had blown off the washing line , killed those damn things with a rake !!!!!

 

[Maggie13]

I am not sure how big the snake is but I would be more concerned of a snapping turtle grabbing one of the ducklings over the snake.

At my pond.I have a fairly large Brown water snake ( Harmless) guesstimate her to be about 42" long. She has been here for years. We have Hooded Merganzers rear their hatchlings here and so far never lost one to the snake. Not to say it couldn't happen but there are enough frogs etc to keep her happy.

I feel they are an important part of keeping a healthy pond.
Yes I will admit she does scare the crap out of me when she starts to move I don't see her right away! I consider it my heart stress test.