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Across the Fence:  Questions of snakes?  |
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~Tracey~
True Blue Farmgirl
351 Posts
Tracey
TN
USA
351 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 08:34:15 AM
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I saw a harmless and quite pretty garter snake this morning (on my property). It is the first one I have seen around our place- we have 2 wooded acres and have been here 2+ years.
It was pretty near the house, sunning itself and paid no mind to me until Benjamin (3 yo) and I started to play with it. It was livid that we interrupted its sun-time. The cats even came over to play but didn't harm him.
Ok, on to the question. Anything I can do to keep them at a nice distance from the house? I think the cats will do that for me but I do no want them anywhere near my house. I scream and jump, like when I see a mouse. I can then regain my compsure and stand and look and even touch but first sight always throws me off guard.
Also, now that I have seen one, does that mean I have many that I am not seeing or is he just exploring? We put in a garden water feature on the slope near where he was. I wonder if that is what attracted him? We have a lake an acre over and that may be why I don't see them. Cause they stay near the lake.
These may be silly questions but if I don't ask then I won't get any pros giving me guidance. My 13 yo is at school and he is our snake handler. I would have had him pick the little guy up and take him down near the lake.
So, snake people, tell me your experiences, please!!
Typos with the help of Benjamin!!
Tracey,
mama to Callum 13, Katie 8, Wil 5.5, Benjamin 3 and Andrew 7 months!!
http://hansenhootenanny.blogspot.com/ |
Edited by - ~Tracey~ on Oct 30 2006 09:49:59 AM |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 09:56:25 AM
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I would suggest cats and make sure you aren't leaving any catfood out as this wil attract the snakes. There is a snake repellant you can buy but it is VERY harmfl to other animals and tochildren so I would not reccomend this.
Jewelry, art, baskets, etc.
www.willowtreecreek.com |
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katiedid
True Blue Farmgirl
601 Posts
Kate
West Jordan
Utah
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 12:40:35 PM
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I have been doing lots and lots of research on keeping critters away from the house, and most everyone agrees that keeping cats in and around the house is best...
We lost our cat, Tiger earlier in the summer, and this fall our 3 year old daughter got bitten by a hobo spider!!! It was terrible!! Most of the spraying methods will not kill them, it just kills their competitors!! EEKK!
Guess who got 2 new kitties this fall??
ME!!
Kate
my new blog http/www.theknifemakerswife.wordpress.com |
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Sweet Harvest Homestead
True Blue Farmgirl
279 Posts
Lindy
Stanfield
NC
USA
279 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 5:37:38 PM
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Hi Tracey,
We have a lot of snakes around here. They are only black snakes they scared me at first but then I found out that they keep the mice away. ( mice scare me more than snakes, eeeekkk!)
Wish I could give you more info, I am just now learning about them.
I wanted to tell you that I am a Tennessee girl too. I lived in Waverly ( 60 miles west of Nashville) until I was 10 and then we moved to Pigeon Forge. I lived there until I married.
We have family all over Nashville, Franklin and Knoxville. Lucky you to live in a place as pretty as Tullahoma!
We are headed to East TN this weekend to watch UT and LSU play. My husband is a UT grad.
You take care!
Lindy |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 6:07:57 PM
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My sister's cats chase snakes. She finds them in the basement after they have been played with to death.
Yuck.
Reminds of earlier this summer when I went out late at night to feed the dog in my bare feet. Opened the door and stepped right down onto a squishy toad. I screamed so loud the neighbors probably thought DH was beating me! I ran back into the house and yelled for him to come down, and the stupid toad hopped into the house! Of course this made me even more agitated. I went into the next room and yelled some more - "GET HIM OUT! GET HIM OUT!" and finally DH got out of bed and came down and shooed the toad out of the house.
It seems the toad liked to sit at the back patio door at night and catch the bugs that were attracted to the light. He didn't come back after that for almost a week, though. I am still very careful about using the back door after dark.
I am not a fan of reptiles or amphibians. They should stay in the swamp.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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~Tracey~
True Blue Farmgirl
351 Posts
Tracey
TN
USA
351 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 6:26:13 PM
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Oh, these are great stories!
I really don't mind the snakes, I just scream when I see one and then I get over it. Same with mice but I cannot pick a mouse up.
Love the toad story!!
Lindy, I agree, T'homa is very, very pretty!! I grew up in Murfreesboro and this is just such a different world to that city.
The cats do a great job of keeping most things away, even things I don't want them to mess with. They get all the yucky camel crickets in the basement but I think they didn't get the memo about the HUMONGO spider I found while sewing last year. Dh found one this year, in my sewing room too (it is in the basement), but he thought it was the fake one that our 13 yo uses to scare everyone with. He almost touched it!! Poor guy!
Guess we will have to have a chat with the cats! One is still a baby so he is still learning. The older one (only 1.5 years old) thinks he doesn't have to earn his keep around here sometimes. :)
Thanks for the great stories!
Tracey,
mama to Callum 13, Katie 8, Wil 5.5, Benjamin 3 and Andrew 7 months!!
http://hansenhootenanny.blogspot.com/ |
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jen74145
Farmgirl in Training
12 Posts
12 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 6:47:53 PM
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| You can sprinkle some mothballs around; that'll repel the snakes. |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 7:58:44 PM
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We have water snakes and little greenish-brownish garden snakes. When we first moved into our house about 8 years ago, there were snakes IN IT. The little dirt "basement" (it's still optimistic to call it a basement!) was their breeding ground and I would actually find them in different rooms, etc. It was awful - I like snakes, too - but I just want them to live outside. After my husband and I went on a snake-in-and-around-the-house destruction mission and sealed up holes into the crawl space, we don't have them inside anymore (and haven't for about 6 years). We didn't have a cat then, but we have one now and we don't have a snake issue at all. I think the free-running chickens help alot, too!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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~Tracey~
True Blue Farmgirl
351 Posts
Tracey
TN
USA
351 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2006 : 8:03:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jen74145
You can sprinkle some mothballs around; that'll repel the snakes.
I think it may repel me too  . DH uses them in his bee equipment shed and I cannot stand to go in there!! Reminds me of my aunts attic too.
Since I have only seen the one, I may just rely on the cats and let nature take its course. If they are in the house, as with spiders, that is a no-no!!
Tracey,
mama to Callum 13, Katie 8, Wil 5.5, Benjamin 3 and Andrew 7 months!!
http://hansenhootenanny.blogspot.com/ |
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Across the Fence: Questions of snakes? |
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Questions of snakes?
