OT: How do you get rid of snakes?

[SalandJeff]

This is way OT, but hoping someone here can help.

First, I am absolutely phobic, petrified, scared to death of snakes. Couldn't even touch the page with a picture of one in a book until I had to because of my 3 year old reading books. Can't go near the building at the zoo, can't see one in a movie and am creaping myself out while I am typing this.

Well when DH opened the bilco door to our basement on Sat, there was a gartner snake on the ledge inside the door. I know this because 3 yo dd was so excited she came running in the house yelling mommy come see the snake. Yikes!

Yesterday, same thing happened again. Dh said he let it go on saturday and it must have come back (i made him take it to the woods and fling it yesterday).

so is there a way to keep these useless creatures away from my house....i am begging for ideas here....please help.

 

[ELLE-TN]

FIRST LET ME SAY THAT I AM JUSTAS BAD AS YOU...I ACTUALLY SHUTTERED WHEN I READ THE TITLE TO YOUR POST...ANYWAY, I HAVE HEARD THAT MOTH BALLS ARE A DETERENT...BUT I HAVE ALSO HEARD OF A PRODUCT CALLED SNAKE BE GONE. SUPPOSEDLY YOU USE IT AROUND THREE SIDES OF YOUR YARD GIVING THE SNAKES AN EXIT AND A WEEK LATER USE IT ON THE REMAINING SIDE TO SEAL THEM OUT. ????? GOOD LUCK

 

[mlclements]

I too am scared to death of snakes and I would love to find something to get rid of snakes. My only problem is that we live on 73 acres. We try to keep things picked up and mowed. I wish that garter snakes were our only problem. Rattle snakes and cotton mouths are very common in our area. Luckily, I haven't seen any on property. My husband has had one run in with a rattle snake and that is one to many for me.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

When I moved into my house (an old farm house in the country) there were mice in the house and snakes in the basement. We got a cat which took care of the mice, and the snakes left when there were no more mice to be gotten.

 

[lovethemouse]

I hear ya, I am a card carrying snakaphobic! If the snake is coming back it may be attracted to something in your basement. Have you ever had mice in there? We also live in a rural area and have to be careful with certain things. For instance bird feeders- the seed falls to the ground and attracts mice and the mice attracts snakes. Just a thought.

 

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

First of all let me tell you a story. We moved to the country 3 years ago. Well the first year was just aweful!!!! I had a 8 ft. BLACK SNAKE come out from behind my stove!!!! Scared the living sh** out of me!!! The hubby grabbed him up with my broom handle and slowly took him outside and killed it. Well I REFUSED to stay in the house that night. The hubby braved it out. He went to Lowes and got a product called SNAKE AWAY. He threw it EVERYWHERE. You couldn't hardly stand the smell b/c the snake away product STINKS. But it works. While it hasn't gotten totally rid of them...we saw one last year...another black snake out by the garden and then we saw a small garden snake on our front porch about a week ago (b/c the dh didn't put snake away around the front door ) Hopefully that will be the only one we will see this year. But you do have to put it down every 2 mths or something like that.

Hope that helps answer ur question.

 

[Mellie2162]

Ick. I think my family has been put under a snake curse. My entire family is insanely terrified of these things. They seem to hunt us out too as if to say here I am whatcha gonna do.

Ive seen 2 this year so far...1 is dead and the other got away dang him. Last year I didnt see any but the year before several. I think this is going to be another bad year. Ive seen loads of them on the roads dead and its only June. We just kill them by any means possible...baseball bat...hoe...stick...whatever we have close at hand.

 

[faindrops27]

Wait, if you try to kill them with anything. Wont they attack you with those fierce fangs. How in the heck do you kill them with swinging a bat?? Geez, I am glad I dont have to deal with them. Like you all do. I have an acre, of land. And my husband is snakephobic. So, I would have to get rid of it. But,I dont mind them. Just scared to be bit. I hate needles, and those fangs look like they would give me two good deep punctures.

 

[klj27]

We didn't see any snakes last year, but my husband has already killed two this year. They were both about three feet long and very icky looking. They absolutley creep me out, but I can tolerate them if they stay outside!

 

[Mellie2162]

Wait, if you try to kill them with anything. Wont they attack you with those fierce fangs. How in the heck do you kill them with swinging a bat?? Geez, I am glad I dont have to deal with them. Like you all do. I have an acre, of land. And my husband is snakephobic. So, I would have to get rid of it. But,I dont mind them. Just scared to be bit. I hate needles, and those fangs look like they would give me two good deep punctures.

Well thats where it gets tricky...if its laying flat in the grass you take a good whack at its head first and then dont stop til your sure its dead. This is why one got away..he had his head up and his tongue flickering around looking for a baby bunny. I at least had enough sense to not swing a bat at him. My husband shot a 6 foot one with his bow once because that one did try to bite him so he figured he better distance himself. Its gruesome but I cant stand the thoughts of what might happen if one of my kids accidentally runs into one while playing.

 

[gm]

yesterday, we saw snake skin in our backyard about 2 feet long. I opened the window and there it was and now we are so scared to go in our backyard. I did not know they shed their skin. I also want to get rid of it or them asap and do not know how

 

[klj27]

My husband kills them with the edging spade. He usually cuts them in half. Ewww!

 

[RayJay]

My husband kills them with the edging spade. He usually cuts them in half. Ewww!

That's what I do, cut em right in half with a shovel, just gotta use some force, had three last year, two in the yard, one in the garage.

I would recommend you talk to an exterminator, a good one, forgot to ask mine what to do but I know they would steer me in the right direction.

RayJay

 

[Maggimus]

We had one this year in our backyard. It must have feel out of a tree because it was inside our privacy fence. Dh was mowing and noticed it.. he swears it must have been a king snake or something similar. He went and got the shovel.... you can either sling them away-- or chop their heads off.. personally i dont mind killing them. They might serve a purpose but I dont need them to uphold it in my yard! GL with them! I say kill every single one you find!

 

[Ratpack]

Major Heebie Jeebies- just by reading this thread!!! I too am a high member of the SCARED TO DEATH of snakes.
Snake Away has sulfur and crushed up moth balls- both are what they say keeps out snakes. Stinky stuff, but I hear it works. We are going to buy some soon, because they are out there...and I think they are looking to stalk me this year.
I will stay inside all summer long..I don't want to see a snake 100 yards from me at all!!!

 

[Accentuate+]

The "old time" method my parents use seems to work about as well as anything. Sulfur. You basically ring the property with it. Supposedly they won't cross it. From the description of the smell of that "snake away" it sounds like it may contain it. You have to replace it periodically and after any good rains but they swear by it and say they only see a snake if they don't keep up with it (they live in the boonies not far from a swamp).

They have a yard full of barn cats and have never had any ill effects from the sulfur on them.

 

[jennifer293]

When Dh was 9 he was jumping out of the hay loft into bales of hay and a Copperhead bit him. Sent him to the hospital, for his parents to be told he was not going to live. Took him to another hospital and they cut his arm from his wrist all the way to his elbow and let his arm lay open for days to air out. He had months of physical therapy after that to regain use of his arm. Apparently he weighed about 70 lbs and they gave him enough anti-venom for a 300lb. man. The dr. said if he is ever bit by another snake he will not live..I dunno

SOOOOOO.. Snakes are not welcome here and we live on 5 acres and we see them often. We have used snake away and it works OK, but they still come around because we have field mice. He shot a black snake in the head with his 9 mm last summer, and I have already stepped on a corn snake this year. (Scared the living SH$T out of me).. .I got the shovel and killed it as well. We have spread moth balls all in our basement and our yard yet they still come around. There is a 2 ft. long skin in my front yard right now. I am ready to MOVE!!!!!

 

[hercamore]

Timely thread.

I about had a COW tonight when I opened my email from my son in law who is station at Navy base in Pensacola.

In the email was a picture of a copperhead (deadliest snake in SE States). He and my Dd saw one on the road. Creeped out my SIL. DD is terrified of snakes as am I.

So, they're moving into a house this week with a yard butted up to a swamp!(I'm going down to help out) Wed. I'll tell them the sulfur trick. They have two puppies tho.

herc.

 

[Mickey527]

I hate snakes, and like the OP i can't read books with photos of bugs or snakes. I am always afraid I will touch them. YUCK!
But, I raised 3 boys and my grandson is heading the way of his father.
My oldest son has a gecko that eats crickets, an ugly frog that just sits in his cage like Jabba the Hutand eats frozen baby mice, and right now we have 6 garden snakes in a glass tank out on the back porch. They buy feeder fish for the snakes to eat. And the gecko is nothing like that cute little Geico guy, his has scales and is ugly.
We also have 2 dogs and 3 cats.
At one time my son had a hissing cockaroach, a millapede, a trantula, a scorpion, a shark and other various fish eating fish. I never went into his bedroom.

 

[eeyoregon]

Reading this thread made my fingers and toes go numb! Eeewwwww!!! Think I will stay here in Oregon as the only time I see snakes is if we are in the deep woods hiking and that is plenty for me!

To the previous poster that stepped on the corn snake: OH MY GAWD I WOULD HAVE DIED ON THE SPOT!!!!