# I'm concerned about snakes...tips?



## CJZolanski

Hello everyone! I'm Charles!

I am seriously considering surprising my family with a pet chicken or two (or maybe ducks, haven't decided for sure but the question about snakes remains!) but I live in rural Georgia. We have all kinds of snakes here. Just a few of the common ones are rattlesnakes, black racers, water moccasins, king snakes, etc. all of which we shoot except for King Snakes. We also have bobcats that come in our yard from time to time, but my primary concern is the snakes.

All my life I've been told that chickens attract snakes which is why I didn't get one back in 2013 when I was first considering it. What are your tips to repel snakes and discourage them?

I know the obvious things like making sure the coop is pretty high off the ground and making sure it is sealed well and I will also be using vents similar to what you would find on a brick house, but that's just the coop. 

Any feedback is appreciated!



UPDATE: I forgot to add that I'm asking so early because I'm starting the construction on the pen and coop this weekend. I'm ordering my chickens and won't receive any until the week of or after Easter.


----------



## robin416

Chickens don't attract snakes, mice do. Chicken feed attracts the mice which attracts the snakes. 

99.9% of the time snakes are not going to be a problem for you, other predators will. You forgot to mention bear. I lived in the N. Ga mountains and bear were in the area.

Keep vegetation down in a wide area the chickens will live. Elevation will not keep snakes out of a coop, I have a pic of five footer climbing the narrow window frame on my house. Using hardware cloth will keep them out, not having any openings at night in the coop will keep them out.


----------



## Jeremysbrinkman

I use moth balls which repel the mice and bugs. My chickens did not mess with them. I haven't had a snake problem since I did that.


Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum


----------



## robin416

The problem with mothballs is that they are toxic. You really don't want that around chickens with their more delicate respiratory system and if they can get at them to test the flavor of, I doubt that would end well.


----------



## sarah1982

If You get a coop put some Wood at the bottom and then put a nice layer of sand so they can still dig and surround your coop with snake poision my chicken a got attacked i was nine years old 


Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum Sara micheal quimby


----------



## sarah1982

But make dure your coop in the air so the chickens donar eat it and die 


Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum Sara micheal quimby


----------



## sarah1982

Not verte high though


Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum Sara micheal quimby


----------



## sarah1982

Very *


Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum Sara micheal quimby


----------



## jimLE

*i've heard that getting a rope thats at least 2 or 3 inches thick,and has rope hairs sticking out..and putting all the way around the intended area.keeps snakes out of the areas you want them to stay out of..on account the hairs gets between their scales..but yet.i never tryed that..so i dont know if that works or not..*


----------



## robin416

A friend of mine that lives in N. TX had issues with rattlers. She discovered totally by accident that leaving the bird netting used on fruit trees was deadly to snakes. If they tried going over it they got caught in the fine netting.


----------



## MichaelZ

Where I live, I will sometimes not see a snake for years! We have some tiny fire snakes that will be under a rock or log, and an occasional garter snake, but otherwise none. And now that we have a few outside cats to eat the mice, no more garter snakes. Maybe having a cat to eat the rodents would work? But then you would have cat problems.

I guess lack of snakes is one of the benefits of living where it is winter 5+ months of the year.


----------



## jimLE

*2 things comes to mind when it comes to the coop itself,seeing how it'll be up off the ground.well sealed and insulated bottom side.just to make sure there's no holes for a snake of any size to get through..and then some some sort of wire mess with very small holes in it..small enough to even discourage mice up to at least to a point.and it'll still allow air to flow/blow through..*


----------



## zamora

I'm a herpetologist (study of snakes and amphibians) and can tell you that mothballs are a fallacy, as is the rope idea. Poultry netting can be deadly to snakes as they get caught in it very easily but if you are having a snake problem, you should change the wire you have around your coop. Snakes can get into very small spaces and if you are afraid of them, you should do what you can to keep them out of your coop.

Besides the fact that they are in there for #1. Eggs (black racers and rat snakes are egg eating fools) #2. Rodents. What will happen is the snake will be able to get in but after a meal could take 7-14 days to be small enough to exit the way it came in. Of course, by that time it will be ready to eat again and there you have a vicious cycle.

If anyone wants to know anything about snakes, please ask me and please don't kill them, they are here for some very good reasons!


----------



## robin416

I would tell you to talk to my hubs about snakes but it probably wouldn't change his thinking at his age. He was appalled when I would catch a black snake near my coops and relocate it a long ways from our property.

A good example of how beneficial snakes would be to a country is Australia. They need a boatload of our black snakes to try to help them with their issues with mice explosions.


----------



## zookeeper

zamora said:


> I'm a herpetologist (study of snakes and amphibians) and can tell you that mothballs are a fallacy, as is the rope idea. Poultry netting can be deadly to snakes as they get caught in it very easily but if you are having a snake problem, you should change the wire you have around your coop. Snakes can get into very small spaces and if you are afraid of them, you should do what you can to keep them out of your coop.
> 
> Besides the fact that they are in there for #1. Eggs (black racers and rat snakes are egg eating fools) #2. Rodents. What will happen is the snake will be able to get in but after a meal could take 7-14 days to be small enough to exit the way it came in. Of course, by that time it will be ready to eat again and there you have a vicious cycle.
> 
> If anyone wants to know anything about snakes, please ask me and please don't kill them, they are here for some very good reasons!


This is fascinating. We don't have many snakes in Britain, and rarely see the ones we do have. I like to see them (from a distance in the case of adders!) but I'm glad I don't have the range of predators there is in USA. Here we mainly only have problems with foxes and sometimes mink.
It's really interesting reading posts from other countries.


----------



## WhitecatFarm

What is snake poison?


----------



## zamora

WhitecatFarm said:


> What is snake poison?


I have no idea what 'snake poison' is. The only way I know of to poison a snake is to feed it something that contains poison and can't figure out why anyone would want to.


----------



## WhitecatFarm

sarah1982 said:


> If You get a coop put some Wood at the bottom and then put a nice layer of sand so they can still dig and surround your coop with snake poision my chicken a got attacked i was nine years old
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum Sara micheal quimby


What is snake poison?


----------



## Jcbdc

The Lord cursed the serpent and I don't argue with that.


----------



## CharlieEcho

*Cleanliness is next to, well;*

I live in central Illinois and we have very few poisonous snakes. Garter, Gopher, Corn, Bull, etc. I like having snakes around and know we have at least a few. We have seen them and found their sheds. While I've found them in our barn, in the loft, we have never had any attack our chicks or eggs. Yet. Actually, I think our chickens would attack the snake. It would be impossible for us to keep a snake out of our barn. We have been pretty successful at keeping larger animals, opossum, raccoons , etc.

We do not have a cat. We do not want a cat. Besides leaving a mess in the barn or flower beds for us to put a knee into, they frighten and attack our songbirds and barn swallows. Though I did one time find a large Gopher snake wrapped around a Robin's nest in our pine tree.

We keep the barn clean of any spilled chicken feed. That's one main project to keep the rodents down. Even at that we have bait-houses in various locations to help in that concern. Our neighbors, 1/4 mile away discovered rats in their hen house this Spring. They do not keep their hen house tidy. I gave them poison and tips to rid themselves of the rats. "Don't kill the snakes!" Store the feed in rodent proof receptacles, clean up spilled feed, and don't kill the snakes.



Jcbdc said:


> The Lord cursed the serpent and I don't argue with that.


----------



## CharlieEcho

*Poison;*



WhitecatFarm said:


> What is snake poison?


I have never heard of any poison to control snakes. Snakes eat live food. That is they catch and eat live things, not pieces of something lying around. I suppose they might eat a poisoned mouse and possibly be harmed. Not sure. So if you eliminate the food source you should eliminate the snakes.

The very first forum I joined was a forum on snakes. That was over fifteen years ago. The kids were kids and had captured a small Bull snake. They, and their mom, put the snake, about 18 inches long, in an eight sided aquarium in the basement. The aquarium had 30 inch sides. We didn't think, or I didn't, think we needed a cover. Next morning we went to check on the snake and it was gone. Someplace in the house. We never have found that snake or any sign of it to this day.

We did discover a way to check on snakes in the house. We were told to use a piece of PVC pipe, 3" by 3' with one end closed and sealed. Find a mouse's nest and place it at the back of the pipe. Place the pipe in a secluded location and sprinkle flower near the opening. When and if the snake goes into the pipe, to await it's meal, it will leave a trail. Trail in, trail out, equals no snake.


----------



## robin416

CE, you reminded me about a happening at my place some years back that involved a snake in the house. 

We lived in the N. Ga. Mtns at the time. The hubs was working away from home even then, I had a full time job. To allow our dogs and cats easy access outdoors I left one of the French doors open enough for them to come and go. 

One night I got in from work, plopped my purse and glasses on the countertop and headed in to my bedroom to change to go feed the horses. I stepped in to my bedroom, walked to the closet and noticed some how a belt was laying on top of the base mold? Remember, I took my glasses off. I was huh, how did that get there and better yet, who put it there? 

Then it moved. I tried calling my friend down the hill who had two boys, no luck, no one answered so it was on me to get it out. It sensed my presence and started to move. I snatched it up. But too close to the tail and when it coiled around my arm I freaked and dropped it. It immediately began to head for the floor register that was right there, it got it's head through those tiny slats and a few inches of the body before I snatched it again. Luckily the register wasn't screwed down and it came up with the snake. I tossed the whole thing in the laundry hamper, scurried outside with it. By the time I set the hamper down on its side the snake had removed itself from the register and took off like a rocket for the woods. 

Later I figured out it was over four feet long. And the friend with the two boys? She told me to forget it, her boys would never have gotten close to it.


----------



## rosco47

get an ol tom cat or some guineas 
honestly though, i live in Louisiana where snakes abound. i have had only 2 snakes give me problems. both non-poisonous. and only because the chickens were laying eggs outside of the coop in a patio chair. the eggs attracted the snakes.
keep the grass low around the coop and remove things that offer cover to snakes if possible. make them feel as vulnerable as possible if they want to mess with chickens or eggs...


----------



## robin416

The low grass and no shrubbery around the coop is appropriate for almost all predators. The Silkie coop we built was away from all of that, they did have three big Oak trees for shade but no under brush. That pretty much kept other predators away, can't say it was true for the snakes since I had to remove them on several occasions.


----------



## 8hensalaying

I do see snakes occasionally, around her we have black snakes, king snakes, cottonmouth, copperhead, and regular plain old garter snakes. I like seeing the king and black snakes because they control vermin and the poisonous snakes. Still I dread finding one in my coop. Will probably have to call my Daddy to get them out as DH works over an hour away lol. That said, we will choose to relocate not kill the good ones, and separate the heads off the bodies of the bad ones. If any get in we will do our best to "tighten up" our security at the coop so to speak.


----------



## CharlieEcho

*Snake loop;*

I've made a simple snake loop for my wife. It's out of a 4' dowel rod, but PVC will work as well. Just drill a couple of holes in the end of the rod or PVC and put a loop of rope at that end. Keep enough rope to run back to *YOUR* end of the rod. Then you can slip the loop around the snake and keep it a comfortable distance from you as you relocate it or show it off to your friends.

I'll try to get some pictures maybe soon.


----------



## robin416

I need to go find Zamora. CharlieE you just reminded me a slick deal a friend of mine discovered by accident.


----------



## jn4

I live in Central South Carolina and we are blessed (?) with an abundance of snakes. For the most part its the common black snake thats prevalent. I used to have a bad snake problem until I surrounded the coop with cage wire and two strands of hot wire at the top of that . Cage wire is a very tight mesh metal fence that the squares are around one (1") inch in size and will stop all but the smallest of snakes.....snakes that size will be eaten by the chickens so no worry there. Now cage wire can be expensive so plan your run accordingly! I ran ours up to 36 inches all way around the coops. then I ran a double strand hot and ground wire 6 inches above that. When using the hot wire look for the shortest style plastic insulators you can get and keep the wire pulled tight with NO SLACK or it may touch the metal fence and short the circuit.

Before that we had a huge problem with black snakes getting in to the nesting area and cleaning out the eggs. 
I kept noticing the eggs getting gone...less and less every day or so. It all came to a head one day while I was adding fresh hay to the nest boxes. Haaahaa tha was the biggest black snake I had seen since my days as a youth at Grandpa's barn. My wife and I caught it, I had his head and she uncoiled it from my arm...that rascal was strong....cutting of the circulation for sure! So she stretches it our and I hold it high as far as I can reach up.....I stand 6ft....so that and my arm stretched.....and its tail touched the ground....I KID YOU NOT....and he was as thick as my fore-arm...This snake had been eating upwards of a dozen or so eggs every couple days for a while......and he showed it too. I estimated he weighed around 14 to 18 pounds or more...he was that big.


Somebody asked about snake poison...never heard of it but do know about powdered snake repellant...seems to work ok but gets expensive due to the fact you have to re-apply it constantly and if it rains...you have to start all over.

The cage wire was what I found worked the best...for me anyway.....YMMV


PS. when looking for large snakes in coop,...have clean underwear close by and handy


----------



## robin416

Yes, black snakes are what I saw the most in TN. That's what ended up in my house once. I want them to do their job and catch mice, just leave my danged birds alone. So far the hot wire I have on them seems to be doing enough to keep them out of the pen.


----------



## chickenmommy

I don't think I could ever catch a snake. If I saw one in the coop I'm pretty sure I'd run like hell lol


----------



## robin416

chickenmommy said:


> I don't think I could ever catch a snake. If I saw one in the coop I'm pretty sure I'd run like hell lol


When they've surprised me that's my first reaction, ruuunnnn! But then the keeping my birds safe part kicks in and do whatever I need to do so they are not a threat.

That's one of the reasons I always have gloves on when outside.


----------



## CharlieEcho

*Tooo Big;*

"..I stand 6ft....so that and my arm stretched.....and its tail touched the ground....I KID YOU NOT....and he was as thick as my fore-arm...This snake had been eating upwards of a dozen or so eggs every couple days for a while......and he showed it too. I estimated he weighed around 14 to 18 pounds or more...he was that big."

I have never seen a snake that big in the wild. I hope I never do, poisonous or not. The largest I've seen, was Gopher snake at four feet. I have it's shed skin siran (sp) wrapped to a board in the barn. It was in the loft staring me eye to eye once when I'd stood up after looking out the loft hay door. I move it to a rock hill out back of the house. Found the shed skin near the house the next day.

22 birdshot will dispatch a snake if they get to be a problem and getting close isn't an option. A few hours South, my friend lives near low land that is plagued with Cottonmouth and Copperhead. He carries a pistol with birdshot on his farm.


----------



## robin416

I've seen one that large. Locals called it a chicken snake. The body was as big around as my husband's biceps and was over six feet long. I have a pic of it on my other computer, guess I need to load those on this computer at some point. 

I didn't even know it was there, it was my Guineas standing there quietly talking and looking at the ground that alerted me to something. Seeing that was the last thing I expected.


----------



## CharlieEcho

*Pictures?*

I'd intended to post some pictures of my snake stick/loop. Batteries were dead and this new laptop is a pain to download into compared to my old desk top.

Sooooooo, it's pretty simple to make one from some clothesline rope and 3/4" PVC. Just get a four foot piece of 3/4 inch PVC and a ten foot long piece of clothesline rope. Thread the rope through the PVC twice to leave a loop in the one end. Tie the loose ends in a knot to keep one end from sliding back through the pipe. You can then use the loop to wrap over the snake and pull the knotted end back to capture the snake in the loop.

You can handle the snake and keep it at least four feet away. Carry it some where away from the coop or over to a neighbors. Let the rope go slack and the snake will crawl away. If the snake slithers back toward your ankles you can whale the tar out of him with your PVC.


----------



## robin416

Oh, boy, my neighbor across the road hates snakes. Too bad she's a good kind of neighbor to have or it might be entertaining to take any I catch over there.

She nearly came unglued one day when I picked up a 3 or 4 inch garter snake my cats were playing with and moved it to safety.


----------



## zamora

Poor snakes. Just doing what nature intended them to do.


----------



## robin416

She was struck by a rattlesnake, luckily even though it penetrated her boot it didn't get her foot. That was it for her, now her fear is compounded ten fold.


----------



## CharlieEcho

*Snakes alive;*



zamora said:


> Poor snakes. Just doing what nature intended them to do.


I like snakes. I go out of my way not to harm them, as long as they do not harm my pets or family. We don't have poisonous snakes in any numbers where we live. Not saying there aren't any, I've never seen any in our area in my 65 years I have been bitten on the finger by a bull snake. The snake clamped onto my middle finger, and when I jerked my hand back, I threw the snake over twenty feet away. He had such a good grip on my finger. Our dog was nipped on the nose by a gopher snake and has been leery of them ever since.


----------



## seminole wind

I have always liked the Black snakes. They are territorial and keep the others away. If I walk thru weeds, I make loud steps. So far so good. 

Snakes give my husband hysterics. He believes they are all waiting out there to attack them.


----------



## Jcbdc

I am not sure how to send a picture of the rattler found at a local store parking lot this past week!!


----------



## robin416

I've always used photobucket for my pics. But you can upload photos here by creating an album then plugging it in to your post. Seems like there is one other way but I'm going to have to play with it for a minute to remember. I think it involves the blue button that you click to reply to a post and not the quick reply like I generally use.


----------



## robin416

OK, it's the paper clip next to the smiley face. Click on that and you can download directly from your computer files.


----------



## seminole wind

I use the "manage attachments" because I don't have to leave the forum to get a picture. Press manage attachments at the bottom of this reply. Hit "browse" and it will take you to your own computer files. Click on a picture and hit "open" at the bottom. Then hit "upload" You should see the jpg address right above "manage attachments" under your post. That means your picture will be on your post when you reply.


----------



## seminole wind

Ewww a big spider


----------



## robin416

Seminole, are you in the areas that are getting all of the rain?


----------



## perchiegirl

zamora said:


> I'm a herpetologist (study of snakes and amphibians) and can tell you that mothballs are a fallacy, as is the rope idea. Poultry netting can be deadly to snakes as they get caught in it very easily but if you are having a snake problem, you should change the wire you have around your coop. Snakes can get into very small spaces and if you are afraid of them, you should do what you can to keep them out of your coop.
> 
> Besides the fact that they are in there for #1. Eggs (black racers and rat snakes are egg eating fools) #2. Rodents. What will happen is the snake will be able to get in but after a meal could take 7-14 days to be small enough to exit the way it came in. Of course, by that time it will be ready to eat again and there you have a vicious cycle.
> 
> If anyone wants to know anything about snakes, please ask me and please don't kill them, they are here for some very good reasons!


Totally agree. I live in an area where we have rattlesnakes. They come for the mice... I dont think we have rat snakes but in an Aviary I had once a small snake got in and filled up on Zebra finch eggs... LOL he was soo lumpy he couldnt get out. I just caught him and gently removed him from the wire and turned him loose.

Not a herpitologist here but I do know the difference between a rattle snake and a Gopher snake. I would not kill any. Though My neighbor was weed whacking for me and he killed two female rattlers... each about four inches in diameter and about four feet long. As soon as I heard I asked him what he did with the snakes.... With a big grin "I have them marinating in Teryaki" I am good with that.

But if it were me I would have removed what they had been hiding in and watched them exit stage left. The best defence is keeping brush cleared and stacks of wood or debris away from the house. and NEVER put your hand in a place where you cant see.

deb


----------



## perchiegirl

seminolewind said:


> Ewww a big spider


Wow hes purdy.... got to be in the tropics... here the spiders stay in the dark places.

deb


----------



## robin416

I don't mind spiders out in the open, I'd rather they all were. The ones in hiding are usually the ones you don't want biting you, like the black widow and fiddler. Gloves are always on when working in the garage for that reason.


----------



## pinkmartin

Excellent solution. Myself, I don't mind snakes a bit. We mostly have garter snakes. I play with them and then let them go. Over closer to the state park and the lake there are more snakes. We had a big variety on the farm but they just ate rodents. Just uncuddly cats :-D

Edit to say the pvc and clothes line.


----------

