use to have snakes in the yard

Yes, I am the guy that had snakes in the yard for 2 years now. The wife and the kids can't stand them. I didn't even open the pool this year, because they wouldn't go in the back yard. Saved a lot of time cleaning, and money on supplies. And there was a lot less visitors stopping by to swim.
The pass few weeks, I haven't seen any snakes. I am glad they are gone, and I was wondering if they are gone, because I now have woodchucks running around. The family is fine with this, and so am I till they start digging up the yard, then they will need to go. Do woodchucks get rid of snakes, or has it just been getting to cold for them, it has started dropping in the low fifties high forties at night.

 

Woodchucks are vegetarians w/ a vociferous appetite for plants. They are in the good group of animals saving planet earth by not eating meat .

They will tenaciously defend their borrows against snakes and other animals attracted to their holes. When abandoned, borrows attract snakes.

Woodchucks do have some natural predators such as foxes, raccoons, hawks, and dogs. These are control mechanisms, but will not eliminate them.

If you purchased a home in a newer community development that involves land clearing in the surrounding area, this will cause snakes and other wildlife to move about more as their habitat is destroyed. If there is a concerted effort by more and more people killing wildlife in your area, eventually they will make their environment sterile . . . urban environments are often devoid of wildlife other than a few wild animals like coons and possums that can survive on human garbage. The things some people dislike are the food sources for other wildlife . . . disrupt the food chain enough, and it disrupts the chain of animal life . . . little or no food sources, and the other wildlife will find new areas to hunt for food. If your home is situated near natural habitat, your snakes will be back although possibly less so if the surrounding area is no longer being disturbed by new construction activity.

If you purchased a home situated near a natural environment, you should expect wildlife. It reminds me of the person who buys a home adjacent to a commercial airport, and then complains about the noise of airplanes .

 

Woodchucks gotta go-they will damage pools by chewing/tunneling, as well as at house foundations. They will chew auto wires, hoses.

We live in snake country and it appears to me that snakes tend to "lay low" during heat and are not seen often. I suspect that the presence of woodchucks is co-incidental to the lack of presence of snakes.

Try to get your family to learn about and accept snakes. Kids are afraid of snakes because parents are afraid. We sometimes see rattlers/copperheads and we haven't killed one. Our son has never been afraid, but has respect and a healthy curiosity of them.

Now, please finish reading this before you fall off your chair laughing! Consider catching an obviously non-poisonous snake with gloved hands and display it to your family from a distance. Get their curiosity going by staying calm (at least on the outside). Our kids want to be like us, so be the person that you want them to be. Your wife will need to co-operate, even if she isn't ready to approach. She can offer verbal support and calmness to the kids.

 

Yeah snakes, boo woodchucks. They are nasty, destructive animals. They are also susceptible to rabies. Go around a woodchuck hole in the heat of the day, notice the smell, see all the flies?

Now back to my ham sandwich.

 

Wayne, so from what you and the rest of the guys are saying, I am better off with the snakes, then the woodchucks. And that the present of the woodchucks, has nothing to do with the lack of the snakes present. And I didn't know woodchucks were susceptible to rabies. For some reason there are a lot of rabies in the area, they are finding a lot of stray cat with them. So then I guess the raccoon should go to, I have seen him a few times looking in the cellar window. And no they can't get in, the windows don't open.

 

This from a Missouri website...there should be something similar for your area....

ANIMAL SUSCEPTIBILITY: While all warm blooded animals may develop rabies when exposed to rabid animals, some are more susceptible than others. The most susceptible animal is the fox. The skunk is the second most susceptible; cattle are third; dog is fourth and cat is fifth. Fortunately, human beings are not highly susceptible to rabies. Various authorities on rabies state that in this country if 100 person were seriously bitten about the face, head or neck by a known rabid animal, 25% would develop rabies if no first-aid or anti-rabies treatment was administered.

The raccoon, opossum, ground hog and muskrat in Missouri are seldom rabid. The Missouri Division of Health Central Laboratory has never isolated rabies from a bird, fox squirrel, gray or ground squirrel, chipmunk or field mouse, wild rat, rabbit, nor from such pets as white rats, mice, hamsters or guinea pigs.


Source:Rabies: What To Do | MDC

I think groundhogs and woodchucks are the same species, aren't they? Kinda like mountain lion and cougar or panther.

 

Competing Google searches?

I'll confess that I have never heard of a rabid woodchuck, but apparently it happens.

Woodchuck or groundhog, we always referred to them as target practice.

 

Yeah...it did say "seldom" which doesn't mean never...and it was just the first site that popped up.

We never really worried about them until they started getting up around the barns or house. If they stayed out in the fields or the woods..they were pretty much left to their own fate. Once they got up where one of the dogs would corner them..thats when the Marlin came out.

 

Funny you should mention that. Today I asked a friend of mine if he thought a gopher could have rabies. Still thinking of that odd gopher who stood his ground with me, showing his teeth at me while he ate a grub.

 

The old guy next door had one like that, I didn't see it, but I heard the shot. He said it went about 15 lbs. He won't have shot it, but it wouldn't let him in his truck. But I don't know one thing. For something that looks so fat, they sure can run.

 

I was actually attacked by one while trout fishing. I was walking the edge of a soybean field and this guy comes running at me with his teeth chattering. I don't know if it was his first attack but it was his last.

It never occurred to me that it might be rabid.

 

This is not good, you guys are starting to make me worry. Now I am going to have to go on woodchuck patrol. Just hope my pellet rifle has enough punch to get the job done. I think the 303, or 3006, would be over kill.

 

Edward - At the star of this thread my thought was how can anyone not like having a neat creature like a harmless snake in their yard.

In the last couple of days I have killed a half dozen gigantic, mutant spiders around my deck and foundation plants. At least they appeared to be gigantic mutants to me although other folks might think of them as normal (although really big) spiders.

My point is I hate spiders, I detest them and kill every one I see. I know that some are beneficial but I don't care. The only beneficial spider to me is a dead spider. Yeah, I'll confess that they creep me out too.

So I apologize for thinking as I did.

 

Wayne, It isn't that I don't like snakes in the yard, I know they are good. But it is the rest of the family, that doesn't like them. The last time one went through the yard, my wife was up on the picnic table screaming her head off. I don't really mind them, as long as I see them first. As for spiders, as long as they aren't the big black and yellows one. They can make you sick, and kill you, if your not health.