Will confronting a Snake Give You The Shivers? Are You Really At Risk? Can You Reduce Risking Being Bitten By Adopting Some Preventative Measures? Here's A Few Tips On Controlling Snakes Around Homes.
Dark corners with covered with dead leaves and a nearby source of water, like in the picture, are ideal hiding places for many species of snake. Given these conditions it's difficult controlling snakes around homes and gardens.
For those of us who live in warmer climates coming face to face with a venemous snake is a most definite possibility. I live in Israel and for the most part we contend with the Palestinian Viper which is a highly venomous yet very secrative snake which does not actively seek to cross paths with the human population.
Some species of venemous snakes move within an area of about two to three hundred square meters in a day or night. Others can cover an area of about two square kilometers. Many of the poisonous species are slow movers with an ultra quick strike, this is especially true of vipers and adders. Many non poisonous snakes move very quickly as they have very strong body muscles. This is partly due to the strength they require for constriction. This statement although generally true, is not hard and fast and there are a lot of exeptions on either side of the fence. Therefore do not trust a species to be non poisonous just because it moves fast unless you are very familiar with snakes in your area and recognize them very well.
In my area there are some species, both non venomous, semi venomous and venomous that are difficult to tell apart to the untrained eye. This could be a defence stategy of the non venomous varieties to warn would be predetors against attacking them.
In other parts of the world, humans and snakes do interact more. This is mostly due to the numbers of animals that snakes consider prey which live in or around human habitations. The reasons for this can be numerous. Firstly, grain and other foods may be stored in or next to habitations; secondly, there make be trees or plant life that give sustinance and shelter to rodents. Â
On the whole though, with only a few exeptions, serpents like to keep themselves to themselves and avoid interaction which may get them into trouble and to keep their venom for what it was intended, and that is to catch thier quarry. The expenditure of energy to produce venom is quite high, therefore snakes do  prefer not to waste it.
We often notice differences from year to year in instances of interaction between snakes and humans. The reason for this may have several contributing factors; for instance, winter weather patterns, a very cold winter may slow down a snakes metabolism so much that they are not able to recover as the weather warms; secondly, numbers of rival predators often increase, animals such as foxes, mongoose, wild cats, tauny eagles and badgers are natural enemies of snakes. These animals will attack snakes if they think they can overcome them.
Where I live there may be several years without anybody being bitten by a poisonous snake and then there may be one year where two or three people may be bitten. In the following lens I will go into what to do if you or someone else is bitten and what to do it you discover a snake in the house or garden.
Snakes are a very enthralling subject that command a lot of interest but is also surrounded by a lot of folklaw. I intend to make order of all the myths.
Please look in on this site from time to time because when things quieten down a bit here in Israel I will be adding a movie of my friend, who catches serpents, doing just that. Remember, where venomous snakes are concerned you must know what you are doing. Never attempt to touch any snake. You may loose your life!
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Why I Buy Non Venomous Snakes AS A Defense Strategy.
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How to deal with a snake in the house or garden
If the Snake is found in a drawer or somewhere difficult to access leave it alone, move all family members away from the immediate area and most of all do not attempt to interact with it at all. Call the PDSA, or RSPCA, and get them to collect it. If they do not have a snake catcher they will contact a trusted professional.
If you come accross a venomous snake in the garden
The first thing to do is to get everyone away from it. If you want to kill it do this with a long handled, broad edged hoe simply choping the snake in half. Other tacktics include spraying it from a distance with a high pressure hose or opening sprinklers. This will have the effect of persuading the snake to leave the area.
The thing to do after that is to find out why the snake came to your area. Do you keep rodents or birds? Are their birds nesting in your garden, do you have a rodent problem on the house or garden. In the USA this can be problematic because animals like chipmonks and squirrels are everywhere. Snakes, however, like mice and rats. Again in the USA, where buildings are mainly made out of timber, rodents often find shelter in the space between the outside and inside walls. If you head scatchings or find evidence of mouse trails in your kitchen, get an expert to solve the problem. Remember, No mice, No snakes.
A mouse can ge through a hole the size of a pencil with no problem at all. Make sure there are no holes in your walls. Fill them immediately. High pitched sound devices are now becoming a popular way to discourage vermin from entering our homes. Evidence shows that there is some proof to this claim. Having one installed can be a good idea. Remember snakes always follow their food source.
Anti Vermin devices
Stop them coming into your home.
Outwitting Mice and Other Rodents
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Description not available. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.
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Snakes!
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Introduces various kinds of snakes, and discusses their habitat, groups, food, communications, defenses, and life cycles.
Smithsonian Answer Book
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An updated edition of the best-selling reference book on snakes, in a popular Q&A format.This new edition ofSnakes in Question has been completely upd... more »
The only time I nearly stood on a venomous snake.
but it gave me good warning.
As I approached my house I saw that my german shephard bitch, Julie, had gotten herself tangled around her chain. Her kennel was at the side of the house.
As I approached her to release her from the chain I heard an almighty hiss. Immediately I knew that it was a really big snake coiled up right beside me. It Sounded Really mad! Instinctively I jumped toward the wooden frame of the porch and swung myself over the snake. I unravelled the garden hose and sprayed water on the snake driving it into the bushes. All this was done in pitch dark. It would just happen the the porch bulb had burned out and so I strained to get my eyes to adjust to the bad light conditions. As I continued spraying I heard another big snake start to hiss. They were a pair!
At this point the snakes were far enough away for me to be able to release Julie who was frozen with fright. The minute I released her she jumped for joy and I took her into the house to check if she had any injouries. All looked well!
The following morning I went to see if they were any snake tracks. Indeed there were two sets of huge snake marks in the soil. After that I adopted a couple of cats to patrol the area. Snakes do not like to be around competative predators and the incidence of snake presence is greatly reduced when cats control the area around the house.
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SNAKE BITE - FIRST AID
The second thing to do is to identify the type of snake that bit the person in question. If you can't identify it make a mental note of exactly what it looked like.
Get some ice if possible and put it on the lesion. Keep the injoured part of the body as still as possible.
GEt medical help. Use your mobile phone to call an ambulance. If the ambulance is far from you ask for a helecopter of failing that start to drive in the direction of the ambulance. mark your car in some way that the ambulance will recognize you. EG. use a srirt as a flag. Call the police they may be closer to your area. If you are in a park or wilderness call the ranger service. They may keep anti venom.
Meet the ambulance half way and transfer the patient to the ambulance.
Do Not! suck the poison out or cut the area. Only apply a tourniquet or any type of blood flow restriction if you are advised to do so by a medical professional.
Facts about Bites:
Normally a snake will stike verq quickly and will inject about 1/2 - 1/4 of a drop from each fang.
Venom takes time to mix with the blood. If you tale a glass of water and gently place one drop of ink on the surface of the water you will notice how it takes time for the ink to mix throughout the water. Venom is the same. The ink is somewhere embedded in a tissue. time is needed for it to spread evenly throughout the body.
If you are going into a wilderness, let the authorities know where you are going and when you are expected back. Take disrtess flares and find out if you will have reception for your mobile phone. Find out where help stations are situated. Wear sensible boots, Do not turn over logs and rocks. Do not sit down without first checking the area and especially do not lean on fallen trees or rocks without checkeng them well first. Do not be tempted to touch wildlife, especially snakes. Give them a wide girth, keep clear. Do Not leave your boots outside of your tent at night, snakes like to crawl into places for protection from the cold. If you don't have a tent, sleep above ground in a hammock if you can. Follow these simple rules and your chances of being bitten are much less.
Remember! of you are going to work or pick something up in a place that has good camouflage for snakes like under bushes, leaves, rocks, test the area with a stick first.
Here are some photos of snakes
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Snakes
Substances That Repel Snakes
By Spraying Some Substances Around Your Home And Farm It May Be Possible To Keep Snakes Away
Snakes tend to follow their prey which ususlly like to stick to the edges of walls, fences, the base of trees, etc. These are the places where snakes are most likely to pick up on fresh scents of mice, rats and other rodents.
Some studies have shown that it is possible to use some substances with a pungent and long lasting nature that will effect the snakes smelling mechanism in such a way that it will prefer to leave the vacinity of the substance.
Naphtalene is one such substance. Naphtalene is the substance used in moth balls and you know how pungent that is. In my experience you can spray it onto to porous stone, concrete, wood, dry leaves, trees, etc. All these places are good just as long as they are not washed with water.
In small areas mothballs may be good because the substance is trapped inside a wax ball and therefore it's release will be slow. In larger areas you will need to buy naphtalene in liquid form and to spray it directly onto surfaces. Application should be repeated every two months during the snake season for best results. Naphtalene will not harm the envronment or cause any lasting damage to the snake. It will simply go to look for food elsewhere.
If you use this substance you will have to keep rodents in check on your own. Snakes helped you with this and the fact that they pose a threat to you is merely an unfortunate accident of nature.
A good natural method of controlling mice and much more effective than snakes it to encourage the presence of a barn owl (or two) on your property. They will eat many mice in a single night. Snakes will only eat one every few days. Nesting boxes for owls can be bought at specialist dealer shops or on the internet.
