Stepping on Snakes

if you got that many snakes then there is still a large food source some where around . when food runs out , thy will go off hunting other areas . let nature take its course . good luck to you .

I rarely see any bugs and haven't seen a mouse this year but I live in the middle of the woods next to the river. Getting rid of their food source isn't really an option. They enjoy the cool watered garden and plants. That much I know to be true.

Thank you for your input :)

Liberty or death, what we so proudly hail
Once you provoke her, rattling of her tail
Never begins it, never, but once engaged
Never surrenders, showing the fangs of rage
So don't tread on me
So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you will hear evermore

Garter snakes have a stink gland near the tail. When startled they can let a real nasty one. Too many of them and the air smells like snakes.
Get a hoe and get out there. Two good licks apiece then into a freezer bag for storage. On garbage day put the bag in the can.

Have a happy Gadsden flag filled day. Liberty or death!

A bit difficult to do with no arms. They've yet to stink at me and follow me around like puppy dogs. They don't even seem to try to get out of the way anymore. I have always had a great friendship, so to speak, with deer, elk, prairie dogs, skunk, bees, dragonflies and butterflies. I don't need anymore critter friends.

If they aren't stinking up the yard, they're pretty harmless.
Invite neighborhood boys over to catch them out as pets, or to relocate them like on tv.
Maybe they will have some fun and problem solved.

I have a bunch of cats living outside, and they keep the pests under control.

You all are awesome and have great suggestions but there are boys or girls for miles and miles, no tv out here in the sticks but there are a few eagles who kill cats but not the snakes. Go figure.

Go to the pound, pick out a couple nasty looking tomcats.
Put out water for them but no food.
When the snakes are gone, they'll move on looking for someone to feed them.
Mean, but it might work.

I was a little kid when our cat Skipper ate one right before me horrified little eyes. Damn cats :)

Ratter dogs...rat terriers...I've got a little Benji dog

(only a redhead) that just lives to hunt snakes..fearless

little bugger. Jack Russels can be very good at it.

I think you want barn cats. Don't go to the pound, they adopt out neutered pet cats.

Skipper was a pet but he still had claws and balls.
Farm cats would be ideal, they like to eat out.

The pound often destroys feral cats. Mine were feral at first, but now like me. Two will even sit in my lap.

I imagine those ferals don't cooperate in the small cages at the pound. Hissing and spitting threats.

That would be a great name for a band.

As would be ferals in small cages

I have a 6foot rat snake in my yard. Creeps the hell out of me when I see it. I kind of like him bc her keeps the voles away.
I often stomp around the yard to remind him to stay out of my way. I have a stick I stomp around with. I also encourage my kids to pee around the bushes in our yard bc I think it marks our territory with our scent.

Regular lawn mowing keeps him away from the grass and hiding in the side gardens.

I like snakes well enough but wouldn't be too thrilled with a huge rat snake slinking around.

Too funny, I do that stomping thing too. It was working but now they're like, 'yeah, whatever'.

:jay:

I'm not sure where you live but experience tells me that if you urinate in and around the yard, that brings bear, wolves and large cats.

If you watch a dog or cat, the first thing they do when they smell urine is run up to it, sniff and remark it. Animals are naturally drawn to urine.

Cats :)

Would be wonderful to have outdoor cats if not for the eagle that lives in my yard.

Good info thanks! I had not considered that my idea to mark our territory may actually attract more critters. I live in a residential area with no big animals like bear or wild cats or wolves, but have seen raccoons, deer, and opossums.

My rat snake friend is nocturnal I believe, but I caught him warming up to my pool floats near a garden hose that looked like a snake. He was mad I disrupted his warm nap and slithered across the yard to hid in the bushes. My natural reaction was to scream and jump on top of a picnic table. My heart was really going. I had to laugh at that fear response seeing him brought to me.
Funny how snakes are so creepy.

Rat snakes are ugly looking bastards. They don't bite you unless threatened but they are good to have as pets as they feed on smaller pests.

Build a piedestal for your eagle in the shade, then get catz.

You're welcome and thanks for the vivid description and the chuckle it gave me.

7 Ways to Get Rid of Garter Snakes

Trim your bushes and mow your lawn.
Remove objects and debris from your yard.
Remove any sources of food for the snakes.
Get chickens. (Eagle food)
Use snake repellent.
Trap and relocate the snakes.
Build a snake fence.
from the net.

Snake repellents can be made at home with basic household ingredients such as oils and cayenne pepper as well as moth balls and sulfur powder. Some repellents, such as those made of peppers and spices, work best when sprayed directly onto snake skins. Others, like moth balls, require strategic placement in areas frequented by snakes; snakes will ingest these items and eventually perish from poisoning.

For a short-term solution to problematic snakes, a combination of cinnamon oil and clove oil can be mixed and sprayed directly on the snake. Snakes have porous outer skins, and they can quickly accumulate high levels of oils and pepper in their systems, which act as natural poisons. They are also highly sensitive to smells, and the combination of cinnamon and cloves, while pleasing to humans, is offensive to the olfactory systems of snakes; in addition to harming the snakes when sprayed directly, this mixture can be sprayed around the property to keep future reptile inhabitants away.

[link to www.reference.com (secure)]

I had actually read those articles online. Have you or do you know anyone who's tried any of these? I don't want to poison them. I will try mothballs and maybe some cinnamon bark oil that I have around the yard after rain season.