Worst Night Ever For Snakes. (Killed 3)

[Wfhill]

We get snakes from time to time but tonight was horrendous. I'll spare all the details other than we killed 3 copperheads. One was in the coop, another making it's way to the coop and then another hanging out in close proximity. All this occurred within 20 minutes. All the ducks were freaked out but thankfully Margarita gave us the typical warning sounds she does when something isn't right. She's going to get a handful of peas tomorrow.

We've used the Ortho brand "Snake B Gon" but does anyone have any further suggestions on what we can do?

We got some of that netting and placed it around the coop. I learned this from YouTube and it will catch the snakes in it and they cannot get out. Then you have to kill the suckers but that is usually a pleasure when they're after your chickens.

 

[Ghosty]

Wow, quite the snake congregation. FortunateIy I haven't seen any copperheads here. I had to kill the resident black snake today though. He was after my little lavender guinea with a bad foot. She got separated and was making noise. I came up right as he started to circle her. He had killed one of my pullets earlier this season in the coop and I had to mesh the run floor. Luckily I saw him before he got the guinea or one of the chicks roaming around.

My mom had a lot of copperheads around her place. I almost walked into a huge one down in the creek bed. My bother stepped over one while we were moving mom's freezer. It was under there getting warm from the compressor. I would see them basking in the leaves at the edge of the woods. There was a line of ledge rock full of little caves that ran down the whole valley next to the creek.

 

[Sundevill11]

So far we have not seen any additional snakes. The morning after the seeing the snakes, I went to Atwood's (home and garden store) and purchased Dr. T's Snake Away and sprinkled it along our fence line. Dr. T's has a STRONG moth ball odor so it was not placed directly around the coop. Even though the coop is well ventilated I'm sure the smell would become annoying to the ducks. On Sunday my Amazon order of Wondercide came. I mixed the concentrate into a spray bottle since this application would be small enough. The coop perimeter was sprayed making sure the base and any access points a snake would use were covered with Wondercide. Based on the feedback people had given to whether or not Wondercide was safe to use in close proximity to chickens or ducks, I found Wondercide's official statement on the issue:

Since our specific application meets this criteria then I felt safe spraying the outside of the coop. The smell of cedar is much more pleasant than moth balls for sure. Also, we have a large fan in this coop to facilitate even more air movement. As any responsible duck owner, I'll continue to keep a close eye on them to ensure that they are not negatively responding to the smell.

 

[aliciaFarmer]

@aliciaFarmer sorry to throw this thread off in another direction but I had a question about Wondercide. I have never heard about it before so I'm curious. Is it safe for chickens to... and can you spray it on the lawn and it's okay for chickens???

Sorry, I was on a wee internet hiatus. I would not spray it *on* a chicken, but I've used it around the outside of the coop and in the run where we've had flies and it was totally fine. I've only used it inside the coop once but that was in the morning while everyone was outside and I left everything open. It's quite strong and chickens can be very sensitive to smells (i.e. pine can cause respiratory issues) so I would use it sparingly and with caution.

 

[aliciaFarmer]

I'm so glad you haven't seen anymore snakes. Or hadn't when you wrote this. I hope they're still gone! I love the smell of Wondercide so much.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

Another all natural solution for snakes is getting a pig. I have never been a fan of pigs on my property, but if I had Copperheads I would get pigs in a heartbeat. Pigs, especially heritage varieties have an amazing immunity to rattlesnake venum and actually kill/eat them.

I read about old time farmers locating holes where dozens of snakes would hibernate together over the winter. They would pen up some pigs around the hole. As the snakes would come out of the hole in the spring, the pigs would eradicate them on the spot!

 

[ChickenTender1980]

Sorry, I was on a wee internet hiatus. I would not spray it *on* a chicken, but I've used it around the outside of the coop and in the run where we've had flies and it was totally fine. I've only used it inside the coop once but that was in the morning while everyone was outside and I left everything open. It's quite strong and chickens can be very sensitive to smells (i.e. pine can cause respiratory issues) so I would use it sparingly and with caution.

Hi! I used wondercide in the coop 3 hours before they cooped last night. I am worried sick it didn't have time to air out. I went back and wiped down the walls and put a fan blowing OUT so to dissipate the smell! Gosh I hope I haven't killed all my birds. I've searched high and low on the internet about this...how did everything turn out?? Did your birds get sick? I didn't realize how strong it was

 

[Miss Lydia]

Please let us know everyone is okay @ChickenTender1980

 

[ChickenTender1980]

Please let us know everyone is okay @ChickenTender1980

I will. Just praying I'm sure I'll know within the next 48 hours

 

[Miss Lydia]

Does this stuff have cedar in it?