Snakes galore!!! UGH

[emvickrey]

Quote:
BOone COunty MO Missouri, somewhere on the dissected uplands along the crest of the Brown's Station Anticline.

Snakes are regional.

Yes, and the extensive range of the most common (posted about) six foot long coop crasher is the Black Rat snake (also ref. as a Racer), OP is in OK so I'm guessing this `model':

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/IvanIvanovich/ScalyBark061108.jpg

I had the ref., quoted from, below, saved owing to the 20% egg solution to discourage Voles (the snakes here do what they can to keep the population down, but they can't eat enough - chooks take one now and then).

There is also this (I think Calif.approved SNAKE-A-WAY for use against one species of Garter, but it could have been another species, though approval by state is no guarantee of efficacy).

Snake repellents
Dr. T's Snake-A-Way

(7% napthalene and 28% sulfur), a commercial snake repellent, has not been successful in repelling golpher snakes, rattlesnakes, and plains garter snakes. Several home remedies including gourd vines, moth balls, sulfur, cedar oil, a tacky bird repellent, lime, cayenne pepper spray, sisal rope, coal tar and creosote, liquid smoke, artificial skunk scent, and musk from a king snake (they eat other snakes) were not successful in repelling black rat snakes.

Good info. on just about all repellents: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/wildlife/repellents.htm

Oh, egg solution for Voles on this property? If my grandmother was still alive I'd be skinning and curing, sending her more vole `fur' powder puffs than she'd be able to use in another 99yr.

ed:sp/clarity​

Is that the same as a Black Racer. Those little suckers will come after you if threatened. Not poisonous though. Ran across one in the barn once. A real battle trying to kill that one. Then there was the wad of them under the garbage cans. The riding mower took care of those.​

 

[Ehigh57]

Quote:
Large birds like hawks and eagles eat snakes.

Wouldn't human urine be a deterrant? Sounds nasty but it could be done.

 

[lorrir]

Quote:
Where do you get camphor oil?

 

[1littlefarmer]

Hi all,
Not to rain on the parade but are moth balls really something to use around the chickens? They're pretty toxic.

This is from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-moth-balls.htm but there is a lot of other supporting information out there as well.

"Moth balls made with naphthalene are toxic and high levels of exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blood in the urine and jaundice, a yellow appearance to the skin. Naphthalene can also kill red blood cells. Though your body can replace them, in the interim the condition is referred to as hemolytic anemia. Hospitals have reported a high incidence of hemolytic anemia in newborns and small children who were dressed in clothing or wrapped in blankets that had been stored in naphthalene moth balls. In pregnant women, naphthalene can transfer from the mother's bloodstream into the bloodstream of her unborn baby. The toxin has also been detected in breast milk, though not in quantities that are thought to be of concern. Naphthalene has also been linked to nasal cancer.

Moth balls look like gumballs or candy and therefore can be a danger to both children and pets, in which they can be fatal if swallowed. "

I don't have a better solution for you but I know this stuff is pretty nasty.

Good luck with the snakes.

 

[clhbubba]

Just wanted to say that we put out moth ball crystals around the outside of the chicken shed we believed the snakes to be coming in. Also hung up moth balls in the tree next to the shed. Woke up this morning and all eggs were in the nests under the ducks as they should be. Tonight all was well at closing. Trying to be optimistic, hope this solves the problem. Just wanted to update, only a short period but so far so good. Keeping fingers crossed.

 

[Emzyyy]

Oh man I wish I was there I would of taken them for you!! I love snakes and I love chickens/ducks its a hard choice.

 

[ivan3]

emvickrey wrote We once many years ago had a 7 ft chicken snake in our house for about 3 days before we discovered it was there

The Black Ratters `hibernate' along the base of the stone foundation of our house (part of house built on foundation of earlier house). Come spring they slither up in walls next to chimney, and check us out. Before we got our two cats the snakes would hang out in our little indoor garden (just pick them up and take them out when temp. hit sixty).

Not really well focused but here's this year's guest:

Is that the same as a Black Racer. Those little suckers will come after you if threatened. Not poisonous though. Ran across one in the barn once. A real battle trying to kill that one. Then there was the wad of them under the garbage cans. The riding mower took care of those.

We are a little too far west to see many Eastern Yellow Bellied Racers (about same length/dorsal coloration/more modest girth -yellowish not white ventrally). Some folks refer to any long, solid colored snake as a Racer. Many of the old timers around here only know one kind of snake, i.e., `dead'. Our grandsons think the `house snakes' are `neat', out three year old granddaughter goes a bit cataplectic when one appears.

Only snake non-venomous/venomous that is actually aggressive (bad attitude and mouth filled with nasty bacteria on needle-like little teeth) around here is the Northern Water Snake. Had one take offense with my raking near the pond. It came slithering up out of an old mole run that it had `liberated', assumed a flat coil, struck at the rake several times, and disappeared back into its hideout (guess it didn't like the 45° air temp.; the ground had warmed up nicely that March day).

Even small ones could eat a pullet (now that the girls are wise old dowagers they just give them wide berth when foraging near the pond).

We are serpent `heavy' but have had no problems (other than their attracting Barred Owls and Hawks). If any begin to behave like chicken eating vermin, I'll have some new hat bands.​

 

[2boxers]

Oh God, I hate snakes. Hate them. I've been afraid that we've had one for quite a while now. Last night I saw it, fat and healthy, slithering across our driveway as I was driving in. I couldn't catch up to it on my Mommy Mobile to run it's nasty butt over. But I'll get the thing yet.

I...uhm...relieve myself on a regular basis out by the coup just to be sure the scent of human is around. If the snake has been at my eggs (we have eight hens laying right now, but we are only getting 2-4 eggs per day) then pee isn't stopping it.

I'm going the mothball route. I cannot tolerate snakes.

As for relocating them...I relocate every one I see. I send them straight to h*ll.

I can't even finish reading this thread because the snake pictures make my skin crawl.