snakes...two general questions

[BlueCollar]

I did a quick search and didn't find anything so I'm throwing up this post looking for input.

My neighbour has called me on several occasions to get rid of snakes in her back yard.

Usually, I'm sceptical and show up anyway.

The first time, I captured it using a rake, shoved it in a bag and released it upstream...took a photo and showed it to friends at work. Turned out it was a small water moccassin (Sp?)Maybe 2 feet in total length.

Second time, about twoo weeks ago I captured and killed a snake for her that was about four feet long but looked like a "rat snake"...


Tonight, she calls, I'm in the middle of cleaning out the fridge and working on a vodka/lime.

I show up...no rake but trusty "made in Brasil" machete...


This time it was a damn rattlesnake...I know this because it was a much lighter brown colour than usual and had different markings....vertical yellowish stripes.

As I approached it it did nothing. I touched it on the back with the machete and it immediately slid towards the rear of the yard. It then coiled and started to rattle. I'd estimate its length somewhere between 36 and 48 inches.

I encouraged it to continue it's journey towards the back of the yard and last saw it sliding up into a red-tip photinia. At that point I decided it was gone and went back to tell my neighbour it was gone.

Obviously, this is going to be a recurring issue. I've never seen any snakes in my yard and I don't really want to kill them if possible.

Why are they in her yard and not mine?

What is the best method of capture and release?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I have no idea how to capture and release snakes;

Just popped in to say: You are MUCH braver than I would EVER be!

:scared: :scared:

[BlueCollar]

2. vodka...

the secret of all true brave men..

actually, growing up in South America I got used to things like snakes and scorpions and tarantulas...

I was taught to leave everything alone and it worked...but in this instance I have an elderly lady for a neighbour...her husband passed away a few years ago so she's kinda by herself.

I feel for her and do my best to help out when possible.

I don't want to kill the snakes... just capture and release

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. VODKA?

Whew...lololol....


:rofl:

No, really, good for you to help your neighbor out...Putting your experience to good use is a wonderful thing. How brave you are!

[MissB]

11. Just give her some vodka

and tell her to stay indoors.

[MissB]

3. My kitty kills snakes.

But they are small garden variety snakes. :scared:

I don't know the answer to your questions. I just wanted to comment that there is NO WAY IN HECK I'd be catching and releasing.

:scared:

[BlueCollar]

8. I don't have any cats...

but I don't discourage those that pass through the yard.

On occasion I'll put out a can of sardines or tuna and some fresh water and pet them making them feel welcome. They aren't afraid.

I'm guessing that is the reason I don't see snakes or rats/mice...

[Gormy Cuss]

4. food, possibly shelter may explain the attraction

If your yard is tidy and the neighbor's is overgrown, the neighbor is probably hosting a few rodents (mice, gophers, ground squirrels, or the like) and the snakes are just coming by for a meal. If there are thick shrubs, boulders, or other other preferred snake habitats over there, they'll make themselves at home. Snakes mostly like to be left alone so they favor areas where humans aren't constantly moving about. A well kept lawn has little appeal to most snakes.

Could be something else, but those are the ideas I have based on my experiences. I don't know about catch and release methods.

[Floogeldy]

5. Take the hint.

She's looking for just the right "snake" to come into her life.

[BlueCollar]

13. please

she's a freeper

[Floogeldy]

25. I was talking about sex.

Not politics. ;)

:smoke:

[BlueCollar]

26. sex with a freeper?

I think not....LOL

[Floogeldy]

31. Improve The World . . .

. . . .

Nail a Freeper.

B-)

[BlueCollar]

34. would you sleep with G.W. Bush to improve the world? eom

[Floogeldy]

38. How much of an improvement are you talking about?

:smoke:

[BlueCollar]

40. way tooo deep a question

but anything to get us out of this mess,,

[jobycom]

7. So you killed the non-poisonous one and saved the two poisonous ones?

That's okay, I wouldn't have killed the rat snake, either. Though it's a bit odd that the rattler didn't curl up immediately when you touched him.

As for why they are in her yard and not yours, I don't know. I would say there is a nest somewhere, but you have three very different snakes. Rattlers and moccasins are not often in the same areas, since rattlers are more dry land snakes.

If she had a mocassin, though, I would guess she's close to a stream, or a drainage ditch, and that's where they are likely coming from. Are you as close to water as she is? Is her grass taller, or is there tall grass behind her yard and not yours? Sounds like, maybe, they can crawl up into her yard, and spots them before they can move on to someone else's yard.

Either that, or she has kids playing games. Not likely, though, with the types of snakes you've seen.

Just for the record, snakes in general are good to have nearby. They eat rodents and other small pests. Rat snakes aren't poisonous. Rattlers are, but not usually lethal to an adult. Mocassins, though, are bad bad bad, and more aggressive than rattlers (at least in my experience, not based on any scientific knowledge.) If you have to choose one to kill, the mocassin would have been it. On the other hand, they don't seem to hang around the same place the way rattlers do, so letting it go downstream is a good idea.

Just kind of random observations.

[BlueCollar]

12. She was absoloutly beside herself that day

We both live side-by-side in a neighbourhood abutting a creek/flood control area.

My yard is fairly barren...lawn and a few bushes...hers is heavily landscaped...My guess/thought is that hers is more hospitable.

Personally, I couldny care less if there are snakes out back. Takes care of the rodents and all is good. If you see one, be awre of it, don't let the kids go near etc...

I'm mostly interested in how to capture and release...

[jobycom]

18. The rake is as good an idea as any. They use forked sticks

for rattler roundups down here, then pick them up and tie them in a bag, like you did with the mocassin. A full-grown rattler, of course, is stronger than a two foot mocassin out of water, though, so be careful. I'd just chase it out of the yard, too.

I've seen a device that's basically a stick with a loop on the end. You slip the loop over their head, and tighten it, then you've got the snake at arm's length. You can probably find something like that at a ranch or farm store, or one of those mega outdoors stores.

The might even have something to discourage the snakes from coming in her yard.

The landscaping is why they like her yard. Lots of shade, plenty of cool, damp places to hide.

That's the limit of my knowledge.

BTW, it's been a while. :hi:

[BlueCollar]

19. I agree

I think I'll look for one of those stick/loop things. Basically, I'd just like to capture them, shove them in a bag, and release them on the way to work...

It has been a while...hope to see you in Fort Worth for the convention next year...

[Nevernose]

15. Only 1 place in N. America where all 4 types of poisonous snakes live

Brazoria county, TX.

Rattlers (on the beach -- they prefer dry places)
Copperheads
Coral snakes
Cottonmouths

Cottonmouths are the only snakes in North America, btw, that will go out of their way to bite you. Rattlers at least give you fair warning. Water Moccasins are just plain scary in their aggressiveness.

I've also seen cottonmouths, rattlers, and copperheads in the same place in a usually dry place in the Arkansas Ozarks, near a creek, though never at the same time. The copperhead was the day after a flood, and was HUGE; really a beautiful animal, though scary as hell.

[BlueCollar]

17. I'm in Tarrant

so far I've only seen water moccassins...today was my first sighting of a rattlesnake in town

[Nevernose]

32. If that's Ft. Worth,

Then you're likely to have a variety of "armless" rat snakes and maybe a few rattlers. You must live pretty close to water for cottonmouths, though they're not uncommon to the area. If you spot a coral snake (tiny little critter, very venomous but EXTREMELY unlikely to bite a human), call a herpatolgist.

I used to have family in Ft. Worth. Great zoo, great art museums, great town.

[BlueCollar]

36. no coral snakes yet but it wouldn't surprise me

We were on the far western edge of the development...nothing behind us...then the development started...red tail hawks disappeared...the flood control ditch is constantly wet now and I suspect tht is the reason...Again, I couldn't care less...but she is my neighbour...

I just don't want to kill any of them...just capture and release or discourage...

That cottonmouth was a mean-spirited SOB...fortunately I was able to deal with him...LOL

[Nevernose]

39. Great to find out what's going on with the Ft. Worth area

Belive it or not, there used to be a difference between Dallas County and Tarrant county, and a difference Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Ft. Worht was like the edge of civilization, getting its "vibe" from towns like Western oil/cattle towns like Mineral Wells and Big Springs, whereas Dallas was the edge of East Texas, getting its cues from the South.

While I loathe suburbanization, its good to know that Tarrant county isn't completely dieing, as I assumed was happening with the news of Dallas' growth over the last 15 years or so.

My late grandfather owned a business and a farm right in downtown Ft. Worth. Even when he passed away in 1990, he was concerned both that the neighboring communities had all been farms (and still have big lots, acres even almost in the middle of skyscrapers, although all are currently in the ghetto) and that Dallas was taking over development.

Nice to talk to someone who knows the same area; I was once arrested for underage drinking in the UTA parking lot!

[BlueCollar]

41. There still is a difference

between Dallas and Tarrant...but Dems in both are doing what they have to...

I think Dalls County Dems are doing better right now

[Nevernose]

9. Use a hoe. .22 pistols work well on rattlers, as do shotguns

Machetes work well on non-poisonous and imported snakes, like boas -- I'm kind of ashamed to admit this, but I know from darned good first hand experience.

With a hoe, you can cut its head right off.

I know, intelectually, that snakes aren't bad, and are infact quite good (eliminating rodents and all that). I'm not sure if my hatred of them is phobic or just pathologic, but even people who hate snakes say that the way I go after them is pretty scary. Sorry to all the snake lovers out there.

[BlueCollar]

16. this one was very small..

maybe 36-48 inches...

and vodka and my 9MM are probably not a good mix..:-)

[jobycom]

21. Some of my best belly laughs

have come from watching people trying to kill a snake with a gun. Funny stuff. Ammo manufacturers love it, too, I'm sure.

My dad did hit a mocassin once. It was pretty damned big, though, and looked like it had just eaten, so it probably wasn't moving much.

[Nevernose]

30. If you're 5-10' from a rattlesnake with a shotgun, and you miss...

...then you probably have no business being anywhere near a shotgun. Coiled rattlers are a decent sized target, though, and except for dusk/dawn are usually pretty sedate -- when a shotgun is not available, a .22 target pistol will work wonders. I'm not big into guns, but I'm not big into snakes, either.

I still recommend a hoe for most infestations, though.

[BlueCollar]

33. this one was fairly small

36-48 inches and appeared to be waiting for prey...I approached it and touched it on the back with the machete...

It didn't coil up but immediately moved away and stopped...after I touched it again with the machete...it coiled and started to rattle...but I stepped back and waited 10-15 seconds...it uncoiled and moved away to the photinia...

I wasn't aware that rattle snakes could/would climb trees..

[Nevernose]

35. Shit, they can climb trees!?!

That's like a friggin nightmare!

I'm damned glad I live in a place where the only snakes we've got are rattlers and there AREN'T any trees.

Ever have water mocassins fall out of the trees and into your boat? Let that happen a couple of times, then come back and see if y'all ain't paranoid about the little legless sumbitches!

[BlueCollar]

37. Blew me away too

I thought rattlesnakes were earthbound also...but as God is my witness this one slid up into the photinia...now that's not exactly at tree...but still..I was impressed enough to call it a day..

[malmapus]

43. Timber rattlers love trees

We'd have some in Georgia.

[NV Whino]

45. Out here in wine country,

we have rattlers that clime into the grape vines and coil in the crotch of the vines. Bit of a surprize to the pickers.

[jobycom]

42. Yeah, the shotgun would work, true!

:rofl:

My dad was always trying to kill mocassins with a .22, so that's the image I had. They don't coil like that. Though why anyone would want to kill a rattler, I don't know. I think they're damn cute, actually.

[Maddy McCall]

10. Does she have any bird feeders in her back yard?

Spillage from bird feeders attracts birds and mice, and birds and mice attract snakes.

[BlueCollar]

14. yes she does

and I mentioned that to her as a possible explanation...

I told her that if she wants to encourage the birds to feed and nest, she is going to be attracting the snakes...

[TlalocW]

20. Solution: Smuggle a mongoose into the country

And tie it up in her backyard.

TlalocW

[BlueCollar]

24. how? eom

[khashka]

22. You killed a rat snake?

You know you are going to hell for that!

Snakes are like any other animal - more scared of you than you are of them. Approach them gently, easily, grab them by the back of the neck so that they can't bite. Then sling 'em over the fence.

Or even better advice - just freaking ignore 'em and let 'em work out their own karma. Always worked for me.....

As for your neighbor... a little vodka goes a long way :)

Khash.

[BlueCollar]

23. I'd buy her a bottle

but it's dry down here...I hear you though. I didn't like doing it...that's why I'm asking the questions...Normally, I just observe and let live...

[Lorien]

28. I nearly spent $60 on one at a local pet store

my rat problem under my home's foundation is out of control, but there's NO WAY I'll put down toxins! Who knows what all the poison might kill, and I don't want rotting rats in my walls!

[Lorien]

27. Snake lasso and fireplace gauntlets

take two 4'-5' plastic tubes, 1/2 inch in diameter. Duct tape them together, side by side, with the ends lining up. Take a 9'-12' length of nylon rope and thread it through to create a "lasso" at the end. Affix the rope on one section of the tubing with a hot glue gun or other study adhesive.Now you have your "lasso". Get a sturdy LARGE canvas bag with a drawstring top, heavy leather fireplace gauntlets (I've got some from Target-caught five young raccoons with them without a scratch!) wear boots and a jean or leather jacket when catching the critters. Always take a long stick along to distract the snake while you lasso it (move the lasso more slowly than the stick-then the snake's focus will be on the stick).Always grab them right behind the base of the skull, and hold on tight!

Largest one I've relocated down here in Florida was an Indigo; they're both beautiful AND endangered (large boa type creatures). Have your neighbor check for burrows; and abandoned burrow system created by another animal may be attracting them.

Good luck!

[BlueCollar]

29. Thanks for the input

I've got some left over PVC tubing and some rope...

Ill put it together tomorrow...

As I said earlier...I'm not interested in killing them...just capturing them...

It's no problem keeping them contained and dropping them off up or downstream on my way to work...personally, I'd just leave them alone if they were in my yard...maybe discourage them if the girlfriends kids were to be coming over

[NV Whino]

44. To catch a snake:

get a long piece of pipe (36" or more"), preferably metal rather than pvc. Double a braided wire through it, preferably plastic covered, so it forms a loop at the end of the pipe. Reach out, slip loop over head of snake, pull your end of wires up tight and you've got the snake by the neck. Don't let loose of your end of the wires.

A 48" rattler is a hell of a big snake. Go or the "or more" option on the pipe.

[Jade Fox]

46. Statistically, most snakebites occur....

when someone is trying to capture or kill a snake, so you are engaged in
a dangerous activity here.

If I were you I'd refer her to the local animal control/wild animal removal
people. She needs to deal with what ever is attracting snakes to her
yard, and they would be the ones to tell her.

Be careful!