UGGGH! COOP IS INFESTED! ROACHES AND SNAKES

[Georgia Nana]

We had a snake problem several weeks ago, Hauled them all off (Grey Rat Snakes), and have had no further problem (we Thought) UNTIL last night!

We just merged some pullets into the established flock and I wanted to make sure that they had found a place to roost in the big old grain storage bin that is their coop. Around 10pm we went out to check and, OH, MY GOODNESS!!!!! The shavings on the coop floor were Crawling with ROACHES...BIG ROACHES, MEDIUM ROACHES, SMALL ROACHES, And 2 snakes...one small king snake too little to do anything but eat roaches, and a HUGE grey rat snake slithering into a nest box. I caught the little one, threw him out of the pen, and went after the big one who unfortunately got away.

DE has never worked for us, so DH and I Sevined the whole coop (and it is Large). We are hoping that the roaches will diminish somewhat. I know it won't get rid of all of them (hot and humid here in Georgia!), but I sure hope that it helps! As for the snakes, I will be staking out the coop for the next night/s and have agreed to let DH kill the rat snakes. I refuse to kill a King Snake...it just ain't right! We are in the country, and I know that pests are inevitable, but this is ridiculous! I try so hard to keep my hens healthy, clean and happy!

I sure hope that my babies (all 30+ of them) don't suffer any ill effects from the Sevin, but we had to do something.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The roaches are disturbing but with all the wood and things for them to eat in a coop, I don't think they can be eliminated. The chickens will eat some but they're active when the chickens aren't. Boric acid works very well on roaches.

On the snake front. I would love to have that many around. Their only threat is to baby chicks and eggs. The chickens are a bigger threat to the snakes.
The snakes will eliminate a lot of rodents and insects.

 

[Georgia Nana]

Thanks! Will Boric acid harm the Hens? If not, I will certainly try it. The coop is metal, but roosts, nest boxes, etc. are all wood, plus the floor is covered with pine shavings (deep litter method which we love), so roaches are a fact of life, but an infestation like the one I witnessed last night is repulsive!

It breaks my heart to have to relocate the snakes. I love them and what they do for the ecosystem. If they are not large enough to eat the eggs, we leave them on the property, but any one that we catch in the chicken coop must go. We have lost many eggs this summer to the critters.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Not sure. I would just put the boric acid places the chickens can't get to but roaches love like under a board.

 

[AK Baha]

I would build a new one and burn it down.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Roaches are just naturally attracted to wood and in warm climates one would be burning a lot of buildings.