My place is being over run by snakes.....what do I do?

[Vindicated]

In the 10 days, we have identified 3 different types of snakes within 10 feet of my house.

Garden snakes (in the barn), we have named one who has been seen on numerous occasion.
Michigan Black Snakes (in my hay shed)
A brown snake (in the driveway)

I am terrified of snakes, I have spent the minimum amount of time outside since we started seeing these. My husband has been having to bring hay in from the shed-as I won’t step foot in there.

Before everyone says that the snakes are more afraid of me, than I am of them… not these guys. My barn snake comes out to say hi.

What do I do?
I really don’t want to kill them-I just want to be able to go outside without being scared witless.

I have very few places that snakes want to hang out that I can get rid of.
Obviously, the hay shed is a great place for them. It is warm, and they can live in the skids.

The commercial snake repellent has nasty stuff in it. Does anyone have a good way to keep them out of my space?

They can stay in the woods/pasture. That is their area, but they need to be out of my area

If they get in my house, I am burning it down.

[propspony]

Hire St. Patrick! That was his famous thing right? Kicking all of the snakes out of Ireland?

Teasing aside, I don’t know, but I can very much sympathize with you. That’s tough.

I think we have a few snake round-up/wrangler experts on here. If you can find the thread “This is why they spook at logs” (or something like that) their names will come up in the the thread, perhaps PM them?

[Simkie]

Don’t at least a couple of those guys eat rodents?

Get rid of the buffet, and the snakes will leave for greener pastures.

[SuzieQNutter]

I have heard that the snakes in Australia are different to the snakes in America. Yes ours are more venoumous but that don’t chase you. Where as the ones in America do.

In Australia it is illegal to kill a snake. That is usually how people get bitten, or not watching where they are going and standing on them. Horses because they are curious and go up to them with their heads down and get bitten on the muzzle.

As above remove their food source. Mow all long grass. Don’t have places for them to live like wood heaps.

Get a carpet snake, they are supposed to keep venemous snakes away. But I don’t know how you get them to stay. Someone gave us a carpet snake and we put him in the shed but he didn’t like it and didn’t stay.

[Donkaloosa]

Get some geese. They will eat snakes, or so I assume. I just know that when you have geese, you don’t have snakes.

[BUSY]

Snakes hate activity … Mower ATV Bicycle People

Snakes avoid activity … mowers ATV Bicycle People …
Horses turned out …
Activity will move them from yard / driveway
But
The mice will keep them in the hay shed - unfortunately .

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=Donkaloosa;8306039]
Get some geese. They will eat snakes, or so I assume. I just know that when you have geese, you don’t have snakes.[/QUOTE]

Ack. I’d far rather have snakes! :lol:

[Shine]

[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;8306055]
Ack. I’d far rather have snakes! :lol:[/QUOTE]

Well, I guess the only thing worse than that chasing you would be if there was a snake in its beak!:eek:

[Donkaloosa]

Don’t encourage the Canadians! There are a lot of domestic breeds that are friendly. And all of them are good intruder alarms.

[2foals]

Keeping everything well manicured/mowed seems to cut down on snakes.

[goodhors]

Get rid of the food sources, be it rodents or frogs and toads, so snakes need to go elsewhere to find food. Right now the mice and voles are moving under any kind of cover, looking for winter food, places to stay, so the snakes are right behind, looking for warm dinners.

I saw a Garter Snake, quite large for my place, with a half swallowed toad, while mowing the yard Monday. Poor snake was trying to leave, but no place to hide. I moved away from the barn wall, he was gone by my next round of mowing. It is just the nature of things, food creatures come, predators including snakes follow.

Good suggestions from everyone, mowing SHORT, keeping barn walls clean of brush and plants that cover mice, voles, so they have no place to hide. Maybe weed killer to prevent resprouting of plants by the barn walls.

I never heard of a Michigan snake chasing anyone, but he might have been trying to escape you and the only exit door was where you were leaving at the same time! If the floor was cement, snake probably didn’t “feel your steps” thru the ground so he could leave sooner. I believe snakes are deaf, but skin is very sensitive to vibrations from feet, mowers, so they move away.

[poltroon]

Snakes like hidey holes and they like rodents to snack on. Fewer of both will help.

You could wrap the skids in hardware cloth and the snakes won’t be able to get into them. Expensive but effective.

Keeping things mowed and preventing permanent hiding spots from developing is the best way to have them move out.

A good pest control person can probably help you.

[Vindicated]

They don’t “chase” but certainly don’t leave. My dog was sniffing one the other day-snake just laid there.

[goodhors]

You probably should get the curious dog a Tetnus shot, because if the snake bites him it could get infected. Snakes have VERY dirty mouths and you don’t know what snake has eaten that could be a problem for the dog.

Only the Missasauga Rattler is venomous in Michigan. Not real common, rather slow at striking, slow moving among snake species.

[Vindicated]

So mowing the grass shorter than normal will detour them at least a little?
Also, is this an abnormal year foe snakes?

[Ambitious_Kate]

No, you don’t seem to be getting the point. The snakes are there because the mice and rodents are there. Its not an abnormal year for snakes. You may have encouraged a larger than normal population of rodents. Mowing the lawn is only one part of getting rid of your rodents. They are in your barn, under your floors, in your walls and grain. Its also the time of year where the rodents are coming into your outbuildings for the winter, so the snakes follow.

If you are seeing more snakes than usual, its because you have more rodents than usual. THis is the time of year to be seeing them.

You need to clean out everything from roof to under the floors. All hay swept up. All dust and cobwebs cleaned. Wash down all walls with bleach. Clean out the grain room entirely, wash it down, find any nests and clean them out, and makes sure there are not particles of grain anywhere. All your grain has to be in sealed containers.

Make sure the barn is swept pristinely before you turn out the lights. If this doesn’t help your rodent population, have an exterminator come in.

Your snakes will hibernate during the winter, but now they are feeding up on the rodents congregating where you have created environments for rodents.

Get rid of any woodpiles. Make sure your manure pile is not near the barn, this really should be removed from the premisis by container. Make sure no piles of sawdust are collected in corners. Obviously make sure your stalls are fluffed and cleaned several times a day. Clean out that grain room. Tack room too, there can be many many places rodents are making homes in the tack room tack trunks, boxes, etct.

Good luck.

Also, just how many actual snakes have you seen?

[jawa]

I have a rock border around my house, no plants up next to the house, for 2 reasons…1. plant beds around the house would need to be weeded, I’d rather be riding. 2. plant beds around the house would hide snakes, I’d rather be able to SEE them!

The barn were I board has an evergreen shrub that was planted up next to the barn near the people door, which leads to the feed room. I was carrying feed into the room and saw a copperhead in the grass next to the shrub. I went to get a shovel to dispatch the brazen beast…alas he had moved into the shrubbery!! I made several stabs, but I wasn’t sure I had been successful, and I didn’t want to go looking for proof either.

When I build my barn…there will be a ROCK border around it…no shrubs or plant beds.

[Ambitious_Kate]

Also, I have never, ever known of a snake chasing a person. They just don’t do that.

[JanM]

I think one factor is that fall and winter are coming (in spite of what the thermometers say lately). That makes everything outside look for a place to hide out and nest for the winter. I hate and fear snakes too, so you have my sympathy.

[Tom_King]

None of those are harmful. You must have a lot of mice.