Snake!!

[peggyb43]

Help. Twice my DH and I have found a 6 foot rat snake in our nesting boxes. Plus the eggs were gone...of course. Does anyone know how I can prevent that from happening?? I'm pretty sure their henhouse is secure against snakes, but both the people door and the "peep door" are open all day so the chickens can go in and out all day...which they do. I really need some advice. Thanks!

 

[marytoast]

Kill the snake.

 

[peggyb43]

We did kill the first one, but caught and released the second one last night...in a woods far away. I need a repellant or something.

 

[Judy]

There are snake repellents on the market, and moth balls will work, though they are rather toxic.

 

[wrightj]

Try snake away, I have tried it and so far so good. I have had 6 Rat snakes in my coop this year so far, they were just eating the eggs but a couple of week ago I found 1 hen dead and no eggs and 1 fat and happy rat snake in a nest. I killed that one, the one prior to that I just relocated. That's when I started researching and found out about the snake away. I put it on the ground around the main entrance of the coop, on the coop hatch where the chickens go in and out I took a small plastic container and put holes in it and hung it by the door. Like I said so far so good.