SNAKES! Why did it have to be snakes?

[WDWAurora]

Ok, as I've mentioned before, I'm living in a trailor while I do my years of grad school. So today, I'm leaving to go somewhere and I hear a noise...I look off my porch and see a SNAKE slithering away....I'm getting the creepy crawlies just typing this....I had a hard time getting to my car, since I park in grass, etc...UGH....So the thing is, I'm afraid they're living under the trailor. Is there anything that repels these nasty things? Can you tell this is my one big fear? I've heard moth balls...And yes, I know I'm irrational and they keep mice away, but we all get to have our fears and this is mine...and it definitely wasn't poisonous either, and yes I realize that, but it doesn't make me any happier...

 

[WDWAurora]

And here's a shameless, scaredy-cat BUMP!!

 

[parrothead365]

Get a cat and let nature take it's course. Or just start feeding someone elses cat so it will hang around some. We feed two outside cats (1 spayed, 1 nuetered) we have no snake or rodent problems and we live out in the country.

 

[chrissie123]

Oh my goodness !!!!

 

[eeyore kelly]

Moth Balls keeps snakes away. doesn't smell nice, but snakes can't stand it.

 

[Beth76]

I'm deathly afraid of spiders, especially in my house. People always tell me "spiders are good, they eat bugs" HELLO!!!! I would rather have the bugs than the spiders. I feel for you. Although I can't help you with your problem, I do understand. Hopefully you get it taken care of.

 

[WDWAurora]

Thanks for understanding guys....My mom never understood since her cousin loved snakes or something and always kept wild ones-IN THE HOUSE-but ugh...I'll try the moth balls then. I'd love to get a cat, but I'm not allowed (had mice last year in an apt....I'd never seen one not in a cage, since we always had cats at my house) but there are wild cats around, so maybe I'll stick some food out for them and see if that helps. Thanks everybody!!

Oh, and Beth we all but got rid of spiders all together at our house when Terminex came, it was great!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

HA! I thought this might have been a "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" thread.

 

[GeorgeG]

I remember reading once that a snake "expert" claimed he could find at least three snakes in any yard in the United States." I suppose that could be true, but I sure would like my yard to be the exception. Unfortunately, I know there are a few snakes in my yard from time to time.

I'm not sure there's any fool-proof way to rid a yard of snakes, but cats might be a way to keep them at bay. Of course, this could put the cat at some risk, so feeding the neighbor's cats might be a better, if unethical, way than risking your own.

In any event, it always pays to look before you step or reach and carry a flashlight at night (snakes can be nocturnal). You might want to keep the grass where you park cut as short as possible, too.

 

[WDWAurora]

I am going to ask him to keep the grass cut a little better near my car, especially since I'm generally wearing sandals, I don't like my feet to sink so much into the grass that they dissapear (it's not really that bad, just exaggerating). I think all the cats around here are wild since he doesn't allow us to have them, so feeding them would actually be doing them a favor, right? My main fear is that they're just making a huge den under my trailor, a la Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ick. Since I park SO close to it, I was thinking about getting this thing I saw at KMart....It's a remote control that you can use to turn on your lights when you come home, and I have some powerful porch lights...The one I saw was at like 1pm though, and it's a bright sunny day....Ick again.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

A cat, and keeping the grass cut low and the plants trimmed short. Can't 100% guarantee, but it should cut back on the visits from slithery guests.

 

[orvilleair]

The day I saw the big rat snake on my porch, I was running the other way. Any way to put some sort of skirting around the trailer to keep snakes and vermin from going underneath? The snakes I've found in my yard lived in the air conditioner, pile of rocks, clump of daylilies and drain pipes. I guess the best you can do is try to reduce the places where they might hide. Or you can catch the snakes and throw them into the neighbor's yard. I've heard a lady describing a snake problem in her basement, and the guy on the radio said there is a snake poison/repellant for outdoor use only available. Check with your garden store.

 

[nativetxn]

<b><i>{{{{***shudder***}}}}</b></i>

I would a cat, NO, I would get two cats...better make that 3 cats.

 

[Celluloidgal]

Originally posted by The Mystery Machine
HA! I thought this might have been a "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" thread.

Me too!!!

 

[WDWAurora]

There is a skirting and the snake was somewhat beside it, which made me think it could have been coming out from under when I came outside, making it move faster. There is one place where the skirting is gone or something, and there's a piece of plywood covering it. I think it's fastened up there pretty tight though...I think he leaves those like that for cable people and the like to do their installations, etc. I'm going to try to find a garden store (I'm in the world's tiniest town, who even knows if there is one, the lady at the Super Wal-Mart said all she knew of was a .22) tomorrow or maybe Monday to look for that repellent. I may ask him about the cat issue, since technically it was his wife that said no...she said he only allowed older, smaller dogs and no cats (which I just don't get since they're generally pretty clean, and while they might damage furniture, that's not his problem, it's mine)