Snakes

[nwslopoke]

so I have an irritating problem. Snakes in my back yard. I moved here in 2002. Mostly flieds with older homes on the other side of the fence. Maybe once every 3 years I'd be cutting the lawn and a garden snake would slither away from the mower in the tall grass.

This year, being 2020 and all, they seem to be out every time I do yard work. This is now a built up area where I live. My house is now the old house. I have a small deck next to my shed and a small green house I put up but is empty. These are where the critters like to hide. But it's random. I think they are one place but they pop up someplace else. More than one since more than one color of snake.

Outside of letting some poisoned mice loose what can be done? They come out, run and disappear but never leave. Again, this is a regular neighborhood not real country.

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[DB is Here]

I'd be curious if it's something an exterminator would handle.

 

[L84Cabo]

So these are non poisonous snakes? Because on the plus side, they're probably keeping the mice and rat populations down which is a good thing.

 

[RicInOR]

Like these:

Garter Snake Facts

Garter snakes are some of the most widespread snakes in North America. They can be found from Florida to Canada.

www.livescience.com

Not Rats, but they can and do eat mice, slugs, soft bodied insects, small frogs/toads.
These are beneficial, and given that you are seeing them, that means your yard is healthy.

To reduce, clean up your yard - make it like a putting green - no where to hide - like log piles, rock piles, brush piles, bramble/bruch.

They are food for owls, hawks.



Just a few miles east of you, we had/have one by our front door. 4-6in long. One cool day he/she/non-binary was sunning itself made itself very fierce and got up and opened its jaws, and struck at the wife a couple of times. She just flicked it into the flower bed.


If they are a real issue for you, there are some products you can buy = probably up at Coastal F&R, ACE, or similar places.

How to Get Rid of Garter Snakes

<p>There are <a href=

www.havahart.com

 

[nwslopoke]

Like these:

View attachment 717500

Garter Snake Facts

Garter snakes are some of the most widespread snakes in North America. They can be found from Florida to Canada.

www.livescience.com

Not Rats, but they can and do eat mice, slugs, soft bodied insects, small frogs/toads.
These are beneficial, and given that you are seeing them, that means your yard is healthy.

To reduce, clean up your yard - make it like a putting green - no where to hide - like log piles, rock piles, brush piles, bramble/bruch.

They are food for owls, hawks.



Just a few miles east of you, we had/have one by our front door. 4-6in long. One cool day he/she/non-binary was sunning itself made itself very fierce and got up and opened its jaws, and struck at the wife a couple of times. She just flicked it into the flower bed.


If they are a real issue for you, there are some products you can buy = probably up at Coastal F&R, ACE, or similar places.

How to Get Rid of Garter Snakes

<p>There are <a href=

www.havahart.com

More like from the movie, Anaconda. j/k. Seriously more of an annoyance. Strange as the number in such a short time frame. They are bigger than in the picture. At least 4ft. Strange my neither neighbors has a problem.

 

[Provincial]

Snakes, like many other species, can have big swings in population. I remember in the 1950's we had a lot of (non-poisonous) "blow snakes", which looked like rattlesnakes and would curl up and hiss at you if alarmed. They fed on mice, voles, and the ground squirrels that were prolific at that time. They have since become scarce.

I have seen more garter snakes this year than usual. Must be a high point in a cycle. We did have a mild winter.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Sounds like you are having Gopher Snakes ( Look like a larger Garter snake) visiting your area, and you should be thankful as that means they are keeping the rats and mice and other vermin outta your stash! Enjoy them while you can, there doing you a huge favor!

 

[thereddog]

Garter snakes are harmelss and beneficial at controlling other pests..

What exactly about the harmless snake is it that you have a problem with? Perhaps psychological counseling or psychotherapy would be an appropriate method of finding a solution.

There are specialists that specialize in things like this.

If you are unwilling to look into the basis of your fear, then you will live in fear.

Or you could get a couple of cats, unless you are afraid of them too.

 

[CoastRange57]

Garter snakes are harmelss and beneficial at controlling other pests..

What exactly about the harmless snake is it that you have a problem with? Perhaps psychological counseling or psychotherapy would be an appropriate method of finding a solution.

There are specialists that specialize in things like this.

If you are unwilling to look into the basis of your fear, then you will live in fear.

Or you could get a couple of cats, unless you are afraid of them too.

 

[HaveGun]

View attachment 717733

Every snake enthusiast I've known as been a bit "off", and they seem to enjoy belittling others who have a healthy disdain of snakes. Weird.

 

[CoastRange57]

They are bigger than in the picture. At least 4ft.

As mentioned probably a gopher or bull snake. Harmless. I had them at my place out in the Dilley area just south of town there. Not in great numbers, but see about half a dozen a year usually. We would pile brush up for a year and they moved right into the piles and left when we torched them off.

Have any water bodies close by? the snakes like the amphibians and ground nesting birds that come there.

 

[nwslopoke]

I don't want mice or roaches either. It's the strange up tick in sightings. I don't live on a farm it's just a regular neighborhood. Just thought it was weird. I'm a live a let live kinda guy. I already live here so they need to live someplace else.

 

[oremike]

Sounds like a case of NIMBY.

 

[JeremyK]

Every snake enthusiast I've known as been a bit "off", and they seem to enjoy belittling others who have a healthy disdain of snakes. Weird.

Agreed; snakes are disgusting and people that keep them as pets are wastoids that don't deserve to exist in a polite society.