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How to deal with snakes.
June 4, 2009 | 51 Comments
If you think snakes are beeeauuuutifuuulll and God’s creatures and must be coddled, please don’t read this.
I think snakes are f’ugly.
And creepy.
They give me the chills.
I am on my way out of town and will be out of the door shortly, but will post this quick note just ‘cos I am PISSED off. I have this phobia of snakes bordering on the hysterical. I can’t see them on TV and I have no idea how I mustered the courage to even see THIS PIC that we posted yesterday. Then, last evening, I took five steps into my backyard and I saw it slithering off. So it’s not a passing snake. It lives in my backyard.
I am even more pissed off at the asschapeaux who inhabit some online forums. Someone posts a question, clearly stating they have a phobia:
“I have a snake in my backyard, how do I get rid of it? Even if it is not poisonous, I want it out of my yard. I am terrified of snakes and am afraid to step out my house. I won’t let my children play in my yard.”
And they get a load of jerkwad responses. People laugh at them, tell them they’re acting crazy and go on about how wonderful snakes are, and how they are so shhhyyyy and won’t bite you. Oh, there are xyz products, but they don’t work, so “learn to live with it”.
For fcuk’s sake!!!
Do people understand what a freaking phobia is? It’s an irrational fear that cannot be countered with rational arguments. When that person says they want to get the snake OUT of the property, they don’t want to hear how darn gorgeous it is. And it doesn’t matter one bit whether it’s harmful or not. They want it OUT. Alive or dead.
As for some being harmless, as far as I’m concerned, the only good snake is a dead snake. Or one in an eagle’s beak. Or on someone else’s property.
I’ve called “wildlife removal” experts in our area and read a couple hundred articles online since yesterday. This is what I learnt.
In many states it is illegal to kill these creepy creatures. I mean, you can kill a poisonous one on your property or a non-poisonous one and claim you thought it was poisonous and it came to attack you, but they are a protected species.
If you see a snake on your property between spring and fall, there are probably more than one. That’s the season when they breed. I don’t want them breeding on my property, especially since they have 30 to 50 babies at a time.
** Seal all openings/cracks in the foundation and siding of your home that is the size of a dime or larger. Snakes look to get in especially when it’s hot outside.
** Remove all undergrowth and brush where they can hide.
** Remove any bird-feeders. The birds drop seeds, which attract mice and snakes feast on these rodents. Garter snakes, though, eat all kinds of insects and slugs, so removing the bird feeder alone will not work.
** Snakes love water features and rock gardens.
** Cats scare snakes away, I believe, though posionous snakes like rattlesnakes can injure or kill pets.
FIRE EXTINGUISHER
If you have a CO2 fire extinguisher (it should contain LIQUID, not DRY matter) handy, from a good distance (at least 5 feet), squirt it well. It will immobilise the snake temporarily. Then throw a cardboard box or bucket over it so that it cannot escape.
Whatever you do, don’t get too close to even an immobilised snake if you’re not sure if it’s poisonous or not.
If you want to kill it with a hoe or shovel, I’m not going to tell anyone. You’re providing a free meal to an eagle. Or call Animal Control or look up a “wildlife’ removal” company online. They will take it away. Be warned with these Humane Society or Animal Control people, though. They will take it and just drop it a few feet away from your house or down the street, ‘cos they don’t want to put it away from its “migration path”. If you’re sure it’s not a poisonous one, pick it up with a rake, put it in a bucket, cover it and dump the snake ten miles away in some swamp.
COKE CAN AND MILK
Take two or three coke cans, drink the coke, put milk (a couple of inches is fine) in the cans, then leave them around. Don’t waste organic milk on those @$%ers. Get the stale stuff from the discount aisle. Nestle them in some rocks so that they don’t topple over. Snakes are attracted to the milk and if they try to get into the can, they will get their heads stuck inside. Then hope an eagle comes around looking for a meal. If you call the Animal Control folks, as I said, they will try to rescue the snake and drop it close to your home again (unless it’s poisonous).
CHEMICALS
There are some products in the market. One’s called Snake-A-Way. Ace Hardware carries it. Some Home Depots and Lowe’s do as well. The product has some naphthalene and some sulphur. Sulphur doesn’t work. Those who handle snakes and treat them claim it actually works as an antibiotic to soothe and heal their wounds. There are youtube videos of snakes crawling right over Snake-A-Way or neat sulphur or even lime.
The active ingredient that turns snakes off through its strong odour is the naphthalene. It’s a carcinogen and very toxic to the groundwater and to pets. If you are terrified of snakes entering your home or garage and don’t have pets, get a couple of boxes of naphthalene from Walmart (it’s labelled “moth balls” in the aisle where they keep ironing boards) and put it around the periphery of your home, especially cracks or openings leading to the basement and crawl space.
Remember not to use Snake-A-Way or naphthalene to completely surround your property ‘cos if there are snakes in your yard or garage, this will keep them in. Put these products with gaps so that the snake has an escape route. After putting it around the periphery of your house, start with the left side of the yard, after a couple of days the middle, then the right, so that there are no snakes trapped inside.
Ammonia mixed with lemon-scented dishwashing liquid (the dishwashing liquid helps it stick to the ground and the strong lemon smell helps too). Both are available in the cleaning supplies aisle. It’s nasty toxic stuff and we sprayed some around areas we frequently visit in our yard. I now have a splitting headache from it.
CAPSAICIN BALMS
Snakes hate the smell of this. So If you see a snake coming out of cracks in your foundation or basement, take Tiger Balm or any of those very strong smelling things used for sore muscles and put a blob on the opening.
We put Tiger Balm along the undersides of all the doors – on the rubber lining at the bottom.
SOLAR REPELLANTS
These are the only things that seem to work. Plus, they are eco-friendly. There’s one product called “solar snake repellant”. It emits a pulsing vibration, which the snake picks up through sensors throughout its body.
You need to place it in a full sun area (without being doused by sprinkler water) and it goes at $140 a piece. You need at least two for it to be effective.
Some folks who have tried everything else vouch for this.
There are similar products in the market called “mole repellers” at the same vibration frequency and cost $20 to $30 each. Look for “solar mole repeller”. I just ordered three.
Sunforce 80001 Solar Pest Repeller
Exhart MoleMover (available at Home Depot)
You charge the solar battery for two days and just stick them in the ground where you get lots of sun and no water damage. Heavy rain does damage them, though, if water gets into the panel. The batteries need to be replaced once a year.
It drives away the rodents with the frequency of its vibrations, meaning less food for the snakes. The vibrations also disturb the snakes enough to want to leave.
If you have three of of these and your neighbour has five, it will chase them back to your yard. Good luck with that.
Have a nice weekend.
bee
Filed Under: GARDENING, MUSINGS, snake
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51 Comments
gosh its like how im petrified of all types of arachnids…. just the thought gives me the creeps…… good luck with your snake removal, and have a nice weekend…
50 to 100 babies?? thats scary..oh my i cant imagine living around snakes…got goosebumps..never knew these creatures are protected or you cant kill them…very useful info especially for people have big yards
Thanks for the info, Bee. You just reminded me of my grandmother. She was visiting us on 1 trip and we were watching an Indian movie with a religious theme. Suddenly, some snakes started slithering across the screen and she got so freaked out that she literally fell off of the couch. My mother’s not any better. I can deal with seeing them on TV, but that’s about it. Best of luck with the snake eradication!
Oh Bee.. i can understand ur fear..Snakes scare me to.. I once had an experience of a snake passing across me, just a feet away in India. Gosh. Literally froze!! When we have too much of wild life at home eg ants, cockroaches,mosquitoes – what do we do with them? we try to eradicate them, isn’t it..
. Love the idea of Solar Snake repellants, though expensive..Never heard of it though.. Hope you are fine..
You poor thing! You’ve certainly picked up a lot information since yesterday. During college, I was trapped with one in the shower. It was awful! Stupid thing was long and thin and nestled against the door hinge. *shudder* I didn’t sleep for a whole week, I was so freaked out!
Good luck hon.
Thanks for all the info Bee… so sorry to hear about the snake trouble.. I am also very VERY scared of snakes…
Hope whatever you follow will work for you…
Take care and be safe..
Mala
My neighbour called Animal control once and they refused to come. We saw a snake climb on a tree. The baby under the garage door – I’ll only say a shovel or lawn mower of if it is in the grass, works best. In the backyard we had cement tiles put close to the house so the grass does not grow tall and if they did – provided excellent breeding ground for the snakes. The other day one was smack dab in the middle of the road and somebody try to run over it twice and that did nothing to it.
I hate them too, gives me the creeps. Good Luck.
Going out of town at this time is the best idea. If a person is scared, other people have no rights to say “Oh..dont be scared..youre just crazy”. Nonsense.
I see youve done immense research on getting rid of it…good luck with that. Let us know in your next post about your accomplishment.
I feel for you gal. After reading your post I was wondering all day.. how u could keep it away from coming inside? or breeding, like weird fears – what if you opened your door & it got in. Then I started getting scared about our backyard, for literally it is a wild life refuge:-( I can just about visualize small slithery baby snakes.. yuck!
who ever says what, i would not feel guilty killing snakes in my backyard:-(
You are quite the nut job! Who knew? Have you considered landmines?
Thats some hell of a thing to have adorning one’s yard. I love the idea of a huge garden but not the guest(s) who come along with it – that includes the creepy crawlies too! I hate insects , not scared but something crawls in my body when I see one – I have to run as if my life depended on it! Snakes I can watch on TV or even in a distance without the same effect – but I dont wish to have one slithering by – for the obvious reasons. Hope u get to send this unwanted guest away Bee!
Excellent info on the anti-snake inhabitation!
Hi i’m priya from the yahoo group ..saw the pic yesterday ..read this post just half way ..i’m nauseous…
whenever i see a snake even on TV , i get bad dreams ..dont know why ..they scare me to death ..what does it matter whether its poisonous or not.. if just looking at a snake gives u a nervous breakdown ..that to me is poisonous snake as it is harming me mentally ..lol..
as far as I’m concerned, the only good snake is a dead snake. Or one in an eagle’s beak. Or on someone else’s property. I AGREE! the scare the sh!t outta me too.. YUCK! people make pets out of these.. freaks! To each his own, but YUCK anyway! Hope the creepy-crawly goes away..
Agree with you 100% – snakes give me nightmares, I wake up screaming and crying if I dream of them..damn those suckers. I like the idea of coke can and milk..
Good luck..I hope it goes away real soon. I’d have a hard time sleeping if it was in my backyard.
OMG a snake in your backyard…you poor things. I hate snakes with passion. Just like you I too have a phobia of bloody snakes. I think it’s called Ophidiophobia, but I’m not sure. How, in the world, can anyone love snakes? They’re f…g ugly and bloody dangerous. Not my idea of a pet!
My husband wants to buy a farm property not far from where we live now and I’ve been arguing with him about it ever since he uttered the word farm. Farm = snakes of all kinds!And I’m scared to death of them. I think I’m going to print this page and show it to him tonight.
Hope you get the creepy crawler out !! Suresh sees a few of them on his run and is scared that he might step on one of those some day !! And, no I don’t like them either and would most probably kill one , all in the name of survival.
I did not know about your phobia … and I live on a higher floor flat … so maybe I could not empathise with you properly … was just going by the pic.
Stepping out of the house and stepping on one definitely sounds horrific.
My line on your last post was in jest. Sorry ’bout that.
there’s no need to apologise. i was referring to people on certain message boards who know someone has a phobia.
Its the other side of the wonderful garden
I am really scared ! All the best on your ventures to get rid of them!
Just saw the pic of that snake in your previous post! Ooooh, creepy! Thanks for many useful tips Bee! Hope you’ll get rid of that creepy thing soon…Good luck.
I totally empathize with you!! I can imagine how hard it must be, especially when you have a phobia. Hope you get rid of it soon. Sincere apologies for joking about it yesterday!
we don’t have a problem with jokes dear shreya.
btw, when i said “hope you get rid of it soon,” i meant the snake, not the phobia..:D
I understand that you have a phobia about snakes, I just don’t understand why you have to take it out on them. So we part company, good luck with your fears.
we don’t plan to kill it. however, if someone does, we don’t blame them. just as i wont judge someone who kills a spider or a mosquito.
I do share this phobia with you, but I’m lucky I never faced a live snake!!!! I remember seeing those nature programs on TV by that scareless Australian man… I couldn’t believe the things he did!!!! He is dead now!
Being scared of snails is good… that’s what I think.
Bee…once my mother threw some salt at a green snake which entered our garden and it was shit scared of it and it slithered away…!!
I would have run away too… I was craving for a backward (living in a high rise building right now) but now, after the snake posts, not so much. I had no idea that a snake could come in a fenced yard.
Good luck with all your efforts.
Ugh! I love nature, but in my mind, snakes should not be part of it. So sorry about your slithery visitor. Hope you get rid of it. You certainly armed yoursellf with a lot of information since yesterday!
It is really unfortunate that the dictionary defines ‘slithery’ as ‘to glide or slide like a reptile’. In truth, snakes do not glide or slide at all – they depend entirely on friction to be able to move. There is a reason why they are in glass cages in zoos
)
The motion of a snake is one of the marvels of nature that they move on their ribs.
Bee,
We ve seen snakes at my native place too, in our backyard. My mom crushes garlic and throws hem here and there… especially near the open french windows… Have heard that it works coz snakes cannot stand the smell of garlic..
It would seem time for folks on either side of this situation to offer a little patience and understanding.
Certainly snakes have their place in the natural world, just not nestled cozily into somebody’s garden when they suffer from a phobic fear.
Can we find some middle ground between characterizing people who appreciate snakes as “freaks” and people who have phobias and choose to protect their peace of mind with whatever methods available as unreasonable?
thank you, deb. thank you.
I have decided to go for a condo. Bye Bye big house (dream)!
After reading your post, I’m scared to step out in my backyard since yday. I know the chances are very very less a snake coming in our backyard in my side of town, but you never know…theres trees and bushes everywhere.
Yikes about the snake! Sounds like you’ve taken care of it, though, and that’s good.
Paz
I have felt the same about snakes for years now and your article seems to be just the way I see them. My BIGGEST FEAR is Snakes.
I hope you can get rid of it soon.
Any chance of your reaching adulthood?
What a pointless blog-post – inspiring terror into the minds of the poor,meek, serpent-praying Indian peoples.
you illustrate precisely the attitude i was referring to. what/who others worship is not our business or problem.
Prejudice is prejudice no matter if it is in relation to an Ethnicity or a harmless snake.
Can’t stand those things at all !
I can understand the terror of having to live with snakes at close proximity. This is one thing we have experienced a whole lot here in Goa.
We used have snakes using our garden as part of their highway and had many sightings. A small one even fell on our daughter (when she was about 2) from the behind the curtains inside our home!
Thankfully, we now live on the 2nd floor now and have to deal with some deadlier memebers of the human species!!!
Here in Goa, we have a group of well trained professionals and volunterrs who come when called, remove the snake and relocate in wooded forests away from human settlements.
[...] How to deal with snakes. [...]
Oh, dear, this is going to be really hard.
First of all, I understand the phobia, totally get it.
Secondly, don’t worry about the snake getting in to the house – there is a 99.99% chance that it will not show up anywhere you may be moving around the house on top of a 99.99% chance it will not even bother getting into the house. So, don’t worry over a possibility so remote.
Having said that, you cannot make a snake leave a habitat short of simply killing it. Just cannot do it. No way, no how. Don’t bother with the attempt.
Next, think of it, possible, as your friendly garden helper – it shows up to eat the things that destroy your plants, but only when you are not in the garden. It disappears (if it can) at the first vibrations of your approaching footsteps. It is exceedingly rare for you to be able to photograph that lovely garter snake. Think about how long you have lived in that house and you have never encountered one before. I guarantee you, they were there all along.
Obviously, you might guess by now, I am on the other extreme in re snakes.
That photo certainly gave me goose bumps. My brother in portland has many uninvited visitors – a mole, two wood peckers that insist on drilling holes in the wall, and recently a large racoon that prowls around in the twilight! But none are as intolerable as that snake you’ve got! Yuck!
I wasn’t put off by the snakes so much at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota, no…it was the 10-inch centipedes that really winged me out!
When I got home from work the other night, there was a 3-foot black snake right next to my dishwasher, and when I screamed, I watched it slither back up into a hole under the dishwasher that I’d never seen before! I sprayed a whole can of expanding foam around my dishwasher to at least keep it from getting out that way, but I’m so disgusted. A few of my neighbors have said they’ve seen snakes recently outside, but I certainly don’t want them in my house!
I also had a mouse problem that I thought my exterminator resolved, but now I’m concerned that the snake has just eaten the mice and I’ve paid an exterminator for nothing!
Any suggestions on how to ensure that snakes and mice can’t get into my house in the first place? I have looked outside for any openings and sealed them up, but I can’t imagine how the snake got in. Is there some obvious point of entry that I may have missed? Are the urban myths true about snakes coming in through plumbing?
put tiger balm on the openings inside your home. the snake probably came in to eat the mice.
thanks for the tips. Speaking of snake, I saw a small brown snake yesterday while walking on the path nearby. I did not notice it until it moved. It really scared me. So far, I don’t see any snakes near my house. But if I do, I will remember your tips!
I totally agree, snakes are:
Nasty evil disgusting revolting creatures that should be totally exterminated throughout the world. St Patrick had the right idea in Ireland.
Anyone who likes snakes must be mad.