Farm summer snakes down under

[nobbie]

Hi all

Dear wife has seen two snakes in the last week and screams blue murder so by the time i get there with a shovel,to relocate of course, them they are gone.
Breeding chicks everywhere and the chook food brings the rodents which then bring the serpents.
So can anybody tell me any types of stuff to spray to repel them,i am thinking phenol or diesel.

Cheers from down below

 

[summerthyme]

All I know is that my Amish neighbors, who are pathologically terrified of snakes (we don't have any venomous ones locally) Swear that they won't cross mothballs. They'll spread them in a thin line around their gardens, across the driveway, or anyplace outdoors where the women have to walk.

Since I don't mind them, I've never tried it. But its worth a try, although I don't know about having them on the ground where free range chickens are... I dont think theyd do them any good if they are them.

Summerthyme

 

[Martinhouse]

With outdoor dogs and cats, I rarely found a snake in my yard and garden. And then they were all harmless, which has always surprised me as there are said to be a LOT of copperheads around here, north central Arkansas.

When my first dog got old and slept all the time, I had a lot of king snakes, a good thing, and several others like hog-nosed and garter snakes. Even the little bitty ring-necked snakes and a few lovely little grass snakes.

Lately, the worst are the black rat snakes as they will eat an awful lot of eggs before I begin to suspect they're around. We cut one open one time and it had six eggs in it, and it was interesting to see each egg in a further state of the digestion process on it's way from front to rear. I've always wondered if they take chicks out from the hen like they do the eggs?

 

[cowboy]

First thing is to do major clean up in and around area leaving no hiding places.

Then acquire a forked stick to leave in the area that will pin the snakes head down, then teach the wife to use the stick to capture the snake and put it in a bucket with a lid or a sack. Relocate the snake a couple miles away.

Once she learns to handle them you will see all kinds of twinkling in her eyes when she catches them herself and learns to like them.

 

[summerthyme]

First thing is to do major clean up in and around area leaving no hiding places.

Then acquire a forked stick to leave in the area that will pin the snakes head down, then teach the wife to use the stick to capture the snake and put it in a bucket with a lid or a sack. Relocate the snake a couple miles away.

Once she learns to handle them you will see all kinds of twinkling in her eyes when she catches them herself and learns to like them.

That sounds good, but if a person truly has a morbid fear of snakes, it's not happening. You could no more teach an Amish wonan to handle snakes than to drink deadly poison. Plus, unless I'm mistaken, where nobbie lives, there are some of the most poisonous snakes on earth. His wife has reason for her fear, even if her expression of it us a bit over the top.

Summerthyme

 

[cowboy]

Oh I get that, but most fears go away after learning to handle them a couple of times. It's touching them that they fear the most. and after pinning their heads they cann't bite.

 

[nobbie]

Thanks all.
By relocating i meant to heaven is where they will go.
Just finished mowing and sprayed a mix of bin cleaner,mineral turps and grass killer.
We have tiger snakes and copperheads but the tigers are related to cobras and aggro now whilst looking for a mate

 

[cowboy]

I was supposen that! Do get them cleaned out, if they lay eggs you will probably see 50 next season.

It's good to learn everything about your enemy while you are a it.

 

[Faroe]

Oh I get that, but most fears go away after learning to handle them a couple of times. It's touching them that they fear the most. and after pinning their heads they cann't bite.

Aus has a lot of venomous species, and a lot of BIG snakes too. The carpet pythons are gorgeous. Timours, scrubbies...I've always wanted the tiny Antaresia (something or other) Children's python, but there is just no more room for another viv. Oddly, I didn't have any fear of the snakes I kept until I was bit once, and never did quite get over it. That situation makes me think the fear IS hardwired, and can be triggered to the "on" position.

Given the locale, I wouldn't be harassing any snake with a forked stick that I couldn't POSITIVELY identify!

 

[cowboy]

When we first settled here I used to tease the wife with the snakes that were under the chickens eating the eggs. Usually that led to a little cuddling back then.

Now she comes kicking at the door wanting help with one in each hand.

I wan't meaning to make pets out of them but if you are going to live beside them, you should be aware of what you are doing. I mean stomping your feet is going to get you bit isn't it?

 

[Faroe]

When we first settled here I used to tease the wife with the snakes that were under the chickens eating the eggs. Usually that led to a little cuddling back then.

Now she comes kicking at the door wanting help with one in each hand.

I wan't meaning to make pets out of them but if you are going to live beside them, you should be aware of what you are doing. I mean stomping your feet is going to get you bit isn't it?

For all the rodents around, I see very few snakes here. I get about one desert king sighting per summer. Someone called Animal Control a few months ago over a Sonoran gopher snake crossing the road. That incident also brought out a couple of police cars. It slithered over into our yard, and I put it in a tank until all the hubbub died down.

Based on my Bogertophis subocularis care book, that rat snake (can't remember the common name) is looked at as a "yard pet" in Texas. A very calm, easy to handle creature, and they do have engaging little faces.

 

[nobbie]

Looks like he or she came back
.
Chick down and blood in cage.
So i have been on the chainsaw and rake all morning clearing and cleaning.

Do they realise they are near a food source and hang about?? or go sleep for a week or two.
If it was the same one my wife saw it sounds like a copper head.

 

[duchess47]

Oh man, I'm sorry. I think every snake and spider you guys have is seriously poisonous. My ex-daughter-in-law moved there and I don't think she's found a way to get rid of them yet. She's fearless and will kill them in a heartbeat if she has something to kill them with but has been chased to the top of her chicken coop by one.

I don't have snakes around my house but do have one at the barn. I understand they don't like cats and I have feral cats up around the house all the time, the barn only occasionally. I don't think your snakes are afraid of anything though.

 

[cowboy]

I would bet on them staying near the food supply, in fact not to scare you but she probably has eyes on you before you come into the coop.

Blood on the chick would lead me to a rat attack on the chick and rats will draw snakes.

 

[Faroe]

I would bet on them staying near the food supply, in fact not to scare you but she probably has eyes on you before you come into the coop.

Blood on the chick would lead me to a rat attack on the chick and rats will draw snakes.

Agree. The snakes shouldn't be leaving blood around if they are eating chicks, and they may help to keep the rat numbers down.

 

[Freeholder]

I'm concerned about poisonous snakes at our new place in Kentucky -- we've actually managed to almost always live where there were no poisonous snakes in my lifetime, but I understand there are a lot of (American) copperheads in that area (I'm pretty sure the Aussie copperheads and our American ones are different snakes....I just looked it up, and they are different species and don't remotely resemble one another). My plans for minimizing snakes on the property include keeping the grass and weeds short; running turkeys pretty much free-range every place except the garden; and having some pigs in the two pasture paddocks. Turkeys and pigs will both (supposedly) kill and eat snakes. I don't know if you can utilize turkeys or pigs that way at your place, but it might be something to consider.

Kathleen

 

[nobbie]

Thanks

We currently have 5 chihuaha 1 staffy 4 turkeys 2 peahens and 1 peacock, 10 cows 1 cat.

Its just that time of year,my dearest has figured the blood maybe coccydiousus if i spelt that right could be at fault and not the snake.
We have quite a lot in a small cage still with down so were unsure of total amount,so the watery blood was poo we think