Unwanted visitor

[IH82BL8]

I had to remove a 3-foot long black snake from my garage yesterday. I called animal control (I am a tax-payer) but they're closed on Sundays. I put him in a plastic crate with a lid and released him in the "wild".

I had left the overhead door open while I was inside the house. I think he came in to cool his belly on the concrete. This is something to keep in mind if you like to work with the doors open and feel the way I do about snakes.

BTW, don't bother to reply with "black snakes are non-venomous" or "he'll keep the mice out". I know all that. To me, a snake is a snake whether he's deadly or not. We don't have mice and if we did I'd use traps to get rid of them. Besides, a mouse is a warm-bloolded, furry mammal like me--I'll take that over a slithering reptile any day.

 

[Hapis]

I'm with you on that one! Keep em' out! I found this snake away stuff (not that brand name though) @ the R&D Cross place in Upper Marlboro that works pretty well. It is a sulfur powder that you spread around. Haven't had snakes in a while but do have mice that I keep up with. Pesky varmits!

 

[RRmech]

Years ago.....my parents lived in Burtonsville, Maryland.
One morning, I decided to do an oil change on my '74 Chevy Nova.
I wasn't living at home by then, and asked my father if I could "borrow" his garage for an hour or two (I was living in an apartment complex)?
As I was under the car working, I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye.
I turned my head, and literally, came face-to-face with a large Black Snake!?
NOT remembering I was under my Chevy.....I attempted to leap up......and saw nothing but stars for a minute or two!
With a large, bleeding gash on my noggin.....I pulled a six-foot Black Snake from under my car.
I later released him/her in the woods behind my parent's house.

A painful lesson about snakes indeed!?

Steve

 

[bobs409]

Just saw a black 5-6 footer yesterday as I came out of my garage. Scared me for second!

Good thing I came out at that time as I had the man door open for a while and I was lying under my 63 Impala working. It was headed in that direction only 3' away. I almost had a similar story as steve!

I hate snakes! I just watched it to make sure it left. It slowly slithered into the woods. Luckily, I only see one every so many years.

 

[Brad54]

Snakes are cold-blooded--the bask in the sun and are attracted by heat. He wasn't in your shop cooling his belly. The chances are pretty good that he was looking for food, and smelled some in your shop. (the furry little 4-legged variety).

I am glad to see that you trapped it and released it. Too many people needlessly kill snakes. I'll take snakes over book-eating, wire-eating, seat foam-eating, peeing over everything, disease-carrying mice any day!

-Brad

 

[nonhog]

I was just thinking to myself how I never see snakes in my yard. might have something to do with the Hawk family next door. Or the frequent Racoons
and Skunks (saw one last night)
Here in the N/W West side of the mountains we dont get big snakes
just garder snakes lucky to see them much over a foot long.

 

[Tom2]

Yea.. I always keep my garage doors shut. You never know..

I've lived here for a few years and never seen a snake. Theres fields and swamps around though..So there defintely around. Seen a huge one crossing the road recently, luckily not near my house.

The main way to keep snakes (and other pests for that matter) out of the yard is to keep your yard well groomed and mow the grass frequently. I consistantly mow every 5 days.

I'd much rather have mice, or any other animal than snakes. It's a fear I can't get over. And yes, I will most likely kill a snake if I find one in the yard. I'm sure as heck not trying to pick it up and relocate it.

That snake-a-way stuff is so expensive! Like $13 for a small bottle.. And I imagine it has to be reapplied every couple weeks to have any effectiveness.

I've heard lime works. Thats about $4 for a 40lb bag.. but I don't have any scientific proof it actually works. Cheap enough to try if you have a small area they keep coming in.

Moth balls seem to work if you have them getting into a shed or something. Just throw a box of those in there. Keeps other animals out too.


I was just getting ready to put straw in my vegetable garden to mulch my potato plants and others.. but now I'm thinking thats not such a good idea.. It would just create a perfect nesting area for them.

 

[hobie1dog]

I just had a 3ft long King snake come into my garage last week and that F#%&ing thing would not leave after I kept poking him with a broom handle to try and scoot him out .

So he suffered an early exit point from this planet.

It's the only thing I can see that God screwed up on in the creation process...LOL

 

[MR. R]

Be thankful that most species of snakes are not poisonous. Out here, So. California desert, we grew up looking for rattlesnakes, all poisonous. Always had to check garages, dark areas for a coiled viper. We learned at an early age to turn on the pool lights at night before diving in, rattlers would fall into the pool and could not get out. While the snakes do serve a place in the ecosystem, I just wish they would serve somewhere else.

 

[A_Pmech]

I love snakes. We have a number of them around here, mostly grass snakes and whatnot.

This one slithered in the door one afternoon while I was working on one of my bikes. He just sat there on the floor watching me. I suspect he appreciates a badass ride as much as I do.

He slithered up to a higher perch for a while, where I picked him up and put him back outside before closing up.

 

[eborcim]

I'd rather have a blacksnake than friggin' mice in my shop.

 

[nate379]

I woulda chopped up that sum ***** with a shovel! I hate them things.

 

[cortez]

I live in Chicago and the winters are very cold. One day I started up my truck and something went splat and I knew something was wrong.

After I opened the hood, I had cat fur splattered with blood all over my fan/radiator. I suppose it wanted to keep warm.

As fast as it died (not even time to screech or scream) I think it went to a warm place in cat heaven.

Man, I felt bad that day as I am a cat person who takes in strays all the time.

 

[Tom2]

I live in Chicago and the winters are very cold. One day I started up my truck and something went splat and I knew something was wrong.

After I opened the hood, I had cat fur splattered with blood all over my fan/radiator. I suppose it wanted to keep warm.

As fast as it died (not even time to screech or scream) I think it went to a warm place in cat heaven.

Man, I felt bad that day as I am a cat person who takes in strays all the time.

Yea..You hear of that happening once in a while. Breaks my heart as well.

But it's funny thats mentioned in this thread. Cats are a great deterrent of snakes.
If you feed a couple stray cats..Maybe let them stay in your barn. You will rarely see snakes. They'll chase off the big ones and chew up the little ones. And of course also take care of any mice.
Never understood why so many like dogs more than cats. Not only do cats take care of themselves, they keep the rodents out!

 

[davetulk]

I have a cat and a dog. The cat keeps those pesky 4 legged pest away and the dog keeps the unwanted 2 legged pests away from my tools LOL

 

[MO-Iron]

Noticed that my hay barn was not plagued with the usual birds this year. I was attributing this to the cat that lives in the barn and was even putting out treats to encourage her to stay. My daughter very excitedly called me while I was stacking hay in the barn with a tractor to inform me that two 6ft black snakes were climbing the tree next to the house. I have not seen the snakes after that afternoon and can only hope that they returned to the barn when the noise and commotion stopped. Anyone know a good black snake treat?

 

[Ray-CA]

I've been around snakes for as long as I can remember. I had a boa while growing up and got her when she was about 18-inches. Gave her to a buddy when I went to the Academy and she was well over 6-feet. My son had a corn snake and a ball python. We move snakes, rattlers and others, but I can understand why others feel they way they do.

I would much rather have the snakes around then mice, rats and other rodents. Cats, we have those as well, but the snakes don't leave dirty paw prints all over my Cobra.

Ray

 

[Junkman]

I found this little fella today when I uncovered the wifes flower planter. I don't know what kind he is, but I do know that he must be very healthy from the looks of him/her. The dog dung pile is only a few feet away, so he probably gets lots of warmth from that also. Around here, the life expectancy of a cat is less than a year, unless it is kept inside all the time. The Fishers find them a tasty meal... Anyone know what kind this snake is???

 

[walrus]

I am glad to see that you trapped it and released it. Too many people needlessly kill snakes. I'll take snakes over book-eating, wire-eating, seat foam-eating, peeing over everything, disease-carrying mice any day!

-Brad

+1 on that

 

[jam022316]

I found this little fella today when I uncovered the wifes flower planter. I don't know what kind he is, but I do know that he must be very healthy from the looks of him/her. The dog dung pile is only a few feet away, so he probably gets lots of warmth from that also. Around here, the life expectancy of a cat is less than a year, unless it is kept inside all the time. The Fishers find them a tasty meal... Anyone know what kind this snake is???

No clue but I literally would have screamed like a little girl!!

 

[TruckTech]

I found this little fella today when I uncovered the wifes flower planter. I don't know what kind he is, but I do know that he must be very healthy from the looks of him/her. The dog dung pile is only a few feet away, so he probably gets lots of warmth from that also. Around here, the life expectancy of a cat is less than a year, unless it is kept inside all the time. The Fishers find them a tasty meal... Anyone know what kind this snake is???

I would have pissed myself and ran like a little girl.

I know that most snakes arent dangerous, but its a fear I dont think Ill ever get over. That and spiders. I get chills just thinking about them. Heck, I have a tendency to walk a little fast through the reptile house at the zoo.


Maybe thats why I like the midwest winters so much

 

[Tom2]

Yea..the winters in the NE ****, but thats at least several months out of the year you can tromp around and not be paranoid about snakes.

 

[Junkman]

I found the snake when I uncovered the planter, and then put the cover back on, so I could get my camera. I have no fear of snakes or spiders, but I do have a health respect for them. Generally speaking, they will run from you rather than challenge you. If you see one, then calmly go the other way. Here in New England, we have what are known as Black Racer snakes. They grow very long, and if you should encounter one, and start to run from it, it will run along side of you. If you just ignore it and walk away, it will just stay where it is. Any snake when it is poked or prodded, will take a defensive posture, so it is best not to mess with them. Even non poisonous snakes can and will bite, if they feel threatened. The only snakes that I have ever handled were boa's and pythons. Both are constricting snakes, so they rarely bite. In the next town, there was a fellow that had a python for many years, and the snake grew to about 18 or 20 feet. One day, the snake started to curl around him and strangle him. The police were called, and they had to shoot the snake to keep it from killing the person. Just remember that snakes have no cognitive recognition of the person that feeds them. There only instinct is to survive. I have the same instinct, so I don't mess with them.

I can't watch this video ... can you????????

 

[ears]

A few years back a friend and I went down to my mom's house to go fishing. I had him getting the net out of the shed when I heard him yell and run out. Mom got off the riding mower went into the shed and came out carrying a ********* snake that was shedding in a crab basket on the far side of the shed, set it down and looked at me like "where did you find this guy?" It was priceless. Naturally I still give him hell about it.

I always loved snakes, now I have a 5 year old niece who is fascinated by them, every time we get together I try and catch one for her to pet, she loves it.

 

[TruckTech]

I can manage watching that, but in person, HELL NO!

As a kid, I used to go to a state park near my town all the time. Wed go fishing, swimming, camping, everything, for years. Last year, we were walking towards one of our favorite spots by some cliffs on a river. As we were walking, I realized there were at least 15-20 snakes all over in the grass and rocks. I literally froze and couldnt move.

I havent been back since.

 

[Ray-CA]

From the pattern of the scales, it looks like a corn snake. Non-venomous and loves mice....

Cover him back up and leave him be. He won't hurt anything other than mice.

Ray

 

[...doc...]

"released into the wild"?

the only good snake is a dead snake.

damn

 

[JCQuick]

I don't like spiders or snakes (hey that could be a song) and I have both here for the most part I leave them alone and they leave me alone

 

[bookman51]

I do not particularly like snakes and do not like to be startled by them. And I do not understand why some people want to keep pythons and boas. As already mentioned, large ones can be dangerous. Having said that, where I live, we have rattlesnakes. I have killed two on the property. One I encountered in the dark and she could have bitten me if she had wanted, and I did not give her second chance.

However, when I see another kind of snake (nonpoisonous), particularly a bull snake, I leave them alone. Seeing a big bull snake can be disconcerting. I saw a fair-sized (maybe 4 to 4 1/2 feet) in my drive last month. I let him go because supposedly they keep rattlesnakes away. Also, keep the mice and rats down and usually snakes do not come around. A bull snake sometimes will coil up and put up a pretty good show (and I would not want to be bitten by one), but they are largely harmless. A black snake is usually a pretty good mouser/ratter and not aggressive. and I knew old farmers who would welcome them. My problem is my neighbor has a prairie dog town in his pasture and that attracts the rattle snakes.

Bookman

 

[strnge]

I grew up in Lanham, MD and there were snakes there, but it was 20 years ago it was less populated unlike it is now. Bowie is next door. Bowie 20 years ago was the country and Lanham was suburbia.

 

[BoydS]

Junkman ... I believe you have a Northern Water snake there, which of course is not venomous. I assume you are from Connecticut and you may find it interesting that there are only 2 venomous snakes in your area. The bad snakes are the timber rattler and the copperhead, both are pit vipers.

There are 2 ways to easily ID the bad from the good snakes in your area. Both the rattler and the copperhead have a triangular head, along with elliptical eyes (vertical shape). Now, all the other snakes in your area (the nonvenmous ones) don't have that triangular head and their eyes are round (kinda like a person's pupils and exactly like the snake in your pictures).

You may be interested in the link here for snakes in your state. Also, if I remember from this research that both of those venomous snakes in CT are on the endangered list, meaning it's against the law to cause harm to them.

http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/snkwebview.pdf

 

[Art From De Leon]

I am scared sh!tless of snakes. Even when I worked offshore, you could NOT convince me that there wasn't one that had come out from being trapped in a container.

I have been lucky and have not found one on my place, although my wife did find a skin that had been shed, and I threw a sh!t fit about that.

We have rattlesnakes, copperheads, and water moccasins around here, needless to say, I do not go out and trample around at all.

 

[LWW]

Wow! I'm amazed at all the girlie men on this board! No, I don't like snakes or spiders, but I don't express my irrational fear by killing them outright with no thought.

Dang, you guys would never survive in my neck of the woods.

 

[Kev442]

Spotted this guy in the Badlands last year having himself a rabbit snack! Was right in the middle of the walking trail.

Snakes are cool, I leave them be and they return the favor.

 

[Mike in Ohio]

This is a true story. A guy I used to work with is one of the nuisance trappers in this county. One day at work he gets a call from the local police dept. they give him an address and tell him to put the owner of the company on the phone, he is to come right now and they will explain it to the boss. So he goes to the address and finds a drug raid in progress. In the house the drugs were in a room with 3 or 4 rattlesnakes a copperhead and a cobra. The cobra was dead (don't know why) but he rest were't. He catches them but they are endangered around here so finally he finds a zoo 60 miles away to take them, so that evening he drives 60 miles with a bag of poisonous snakes in the front seat of his pickup because it is about 15 degrees outside and they will die if he leaves them in the bed. He came back to work that afternoon with the cobra wrapped around his arm it was maybe 18" or 2' long he messed with just about eveybody in the company that day.

 

[Bo Heck]

Got this bad boy after my aunt and uncle found him while out walking. Hard to tell for sure, but it's a good bet this particular snake killed their jack russell terrier

Timber Rattler

Have had copperhead snakes make their way into my garage, they didn't make it out alive either.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I don't care either way for snakes (for the most part), but I don't like them around me, either.

I was going to work one day, opened the door to the car, and felt something hit my foot hard 3 times. I jumped the #$%& back and looked under the car, and there was a darn good sized snake under there, and it was PISSED.

I ended up dragging it out with a hoe tied to a long pole, as it was trying to strike. It got held down with a broom while it's head met the axe.

I looked it up after, it was non-poisonous, but known to be very aggressive. Not the kind of thing I want around my yard. I was happy I was wearing my work boots.

 

[Brad54]

The best advice I can give to the guys who are afraid of snakes is to just hit it with your purse.

I hear it works almost every time.

-Brad

 

[metal1313]

most of the time when there is a snake around here its someone's former pet. i have found a few boa's in a park near me, one of which turned out to be a rare snake and also used to handling. if i can i'll catch them, thats if i can do so easily, safely and after figuring out what they are.

now when camping, mountain biking or being somewhere new, if i see a snake im goin the other way

 

[naki kid]

Arn't we lucky the only snakes we have in NewZealand are car salesman No dangerous animals apart from the odd mad cow or sheep.