snake question

Didn't see a better place to post, so here goes. We live on the banks of a stream. Our place is built on stilts. We seem to have a situation that snakes love to come to, for whatever reason.

Is there some kind of service, device, or anything you know of which might make the whole place less available/accessible to snakes?

People tell us to have some king snakes, and these eat poisonous kinds. We'd rather not have any, if possible.

All ideas appreciated.....

 

On the bank of a stream in Florida I feel you are optimistic that the problem will go away. Best you could hope for, IMO, would be to stop them from entering your house.

One trick I have tried in the past for other critters is to provide them an exit. The process is different with every critter, but when you learn where they are coming from and how they are getting in, in addition to blocking their path, provide them with an alternative that ends up back in the woods.

Pits have always been a place where I find snakes trapped and unable to get out. An example of the above would be a pit with a pipe exiting to a location some distance from the house and at an elevation that would discourage others from following the path back. Snakes enter the pit and eventually find their way out, a long ways from your house.

Lights on at night also attract bugs which attract frogs and then snakes. I've heard that LED lights attract fewer insects. Just a thought.

Bud

 

To each cloud there is a silver lining.....you could have alligators There are creative ways as Bud has suggested. Do you know what type snakes you are attracting? Do you have any idea WHY they are attracted to your area? Is your water fresh or brackish? King snakes and rat snakes are great partners at getting rid of rodents, and other snakes, so their presence should not be discouraged. They are harmless to humans.

 

I think they're on a contiuous expedition for food. They come up and check out our decks, then leave when there's no food there. I'd rather not have them get here, if we can help it.

 

I'm not promoting this site, but there are some some simple recommendations here:
Snake Removal - How to Get Rid of Snakes - Snake Trap, Repellent, Control Services

Snakes can stay in an area for a long time. We had one living in a rock wall for years, so removing them should help. Being along the water might make that a yearly exercise, but along with all of the options listed on the link above I would think you could make a significant reduction.

To my wife every snake is deadly as just the sight of one would kill her. Fortunately they are somewhat rare around my house, but I do understand. We also do not have poisonous snakes so I've grown up handling them all. With your potential variety it might be good to have a professional available for the nasty ones or when you are not available. You know, when the wife is on the kitchen table with the cell phone.

Good luck,
Bud

 

The right place to have posted this is out door pest. But there are a lot of snake lovers on there, I posted about a snake problem. I was told to leave them alone, they won't hurt me, and they do more good then bad. I my self don't really mind them, but it is even better if I see them first. But the wife and kids, that's a different story. I didn't even open my pool this summer, because no one would go into the back yard. It was a nice peaceful summer by my self out there.

That snake repellent doesn't work. I sprinkled it out like the box said, on the side of my tool shed where I saw some sunning. And the next afternoon, they were still there laying the sun. The only thing that repellent did was make me hungry, it smell like peppermint candy. The best thing I have found, is keep the grass cut and trimmed well. And don't leave any hidden places. And I also bought some of those solar power stakes that pound. I have only seen maybe two this summer, and they were being chased from the neighbors yard. But they couldn't out run my shovel.