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chicken lady
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| Posted: Sept 24 2006 at 2:02pm | IP Logged
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OK, I grew up on a farm, I know snakes are out there but YIKES I'm to Irish to tolerate them. So what do folks living out on farms do to keep them at bay? I mean we have some huge black snakes, and now I am finding baby (I believe milk snakes) right by the house. I will flip out if they make therir ways indoors, I spoke to another friend down the road who laughed and told me they have one loose in their home and they are OK with that. She figures it will stay away from them. I don't have that kind of faith. We have free range ducks and chickens, and 5 cats, and 3 dogs running around, I would have thought that would do it. Any ideas??
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Maddie
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From what I've read, most snake deterrents don't work. If one happens to get into your house the best thing to do is remove it (or hire someone to remove it). Short of digging trench around your house and installing fencing I would hope and pray your dogs can keep them at bay. My 12 year old pooch becomes completely animated when a snake is near and has fought off more than one for us.
With the cold weather coming, milk snakes will cease to be active from October-March, so hopefully that will give you some time statigize. Yuck, I hate snakes. I admit I prefer a dead snake, but they do help keep the rodents down in the barn. 
Good luck.
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chicken lady
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Thanks Maddie, do you happen to know if Milk snakes look similar to Copperheads. I have such a phobia of snakes I refuse to look on line and figure out the difference. I do know that Copperheads have diamond shaped heads, but do baby copperheads? I hope these are milk snakes otherwise I have a very serious problem.
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Maddie
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"Nocturnal and secretive, the milk snake is often confused with the northern copperhead. It has similar reddish-brown, black bordered blotches on its back and sides but the milk snake has a Y- or V- shaped patch on its neck."
NONVENOMOUS SNAKES
1. Head usually oval, but may be somewhat triangular.
2. Pupils round.
3. No pits-only nostrils present.
4. Divided scales on underside of tail
5. Although many snakes vibrate their tail when upset, nonvenomous snakes never have rattles
VENOMOUS SNAKES
1. Head distinctly triangular.
2. Pupils elliptical.
3. Pits as well as nostrils present.
4. Undivided scales on underside of tail.
5. Except for the copperhead, tail ends in a rattle.
Don't know if this helps you much. You probably don't want to get close enough to examine their markings! 
I did read that copperheads are usually not seen, they like to hide from people, so maybe what you are seeing are milksnakes? Just a guess as copperheads are anti-social.
Macbeth?
I'll pray to St. Patrick for you. It may be worth your peace of mind to have someone come out and identify them for you and maybe even relocate them if they find a nest. I caved and got Orkin to help me deal with the Asian Beetles (they look like Ladybugs)that were invading our house due to our soybean field. Snakes would be worse!
I keep thinking of the Indiana Jones line , "It had to be snakes."
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Maddie
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| Posted: Sept 24 2006 at 5:53pm | IP Logged
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if you can look!
or this
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MacBeth
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There are about 25 species of "Milk" snakes in the new world. Some of them have colors similar to copperheads, but most are way more colorful.
More of a worry is the cottonmouth, which is a relative of the copperhead, and more venomous.
I have no idea how to keep venomous snakes away. We have not venomous snakes on Long Island (thanks to the Irish??  ).
Good to see you here, Molly. 
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lapazfarm
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I've heard that Guinea hens are great at keeping snakes away. Our neighbors used to keep some just for that reason.
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Cay Gibson
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Molly,
Tis the season, huh. 
Our recent experience with snakes near the house has me repeatedly instructing the children to close the doors tight. Seems they flip it as they come running into the house and a strong fall breeze can push the door open. 
Just yesterday I walked into the living room only to find the French doors open.  I immediately searched the room for a snake. When we first moved here we almost had a snake slither into the living room because of this very scenerio. 
MacBeth's enthusiasm has rubbed off well...but this is one area I cannot share.
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Kelly
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Goats. Goats hate snakes...or is it the snakes that hate the goats? In any event, when we killed a six foot rattler in our yard and were faced with the Snake Dilemma, I heard about keeping a goat or goats as deterrents. I've now heard this from several sources. Might be worth investigating.
Kelly in FL
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chicken lady
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We have Angora goats (for their fiber) and I have heard that about Guinea hens but what is all the negative concern about the neighbors. I always hear folks comment that you might not have snakes but your neighbors will hate you. My neighbors are not terribly close but I don't want problems either.
Cay you searched the room for a snake, I just panic at least you are proactive. I need some of MacBeths enthusiasm to stave off heart failure over here.
Is there such a thing as a Queen snake, that lives in trees? Again I won't look these things up, my phobia is so intense I refuse to look at photos of snakes.
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MacBeth
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Kelly wrote:
| Goats. Goats hate snakes...or is it the snakes that hate the goats? |
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And then when the goats get out of hand, you get a lion... . Sounds like the start of a great children's story!
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MacBeth in NY
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Kelly
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And when the lion runs amok, you get a Masaii warrior...tee hee...
All this talk about snakes, my ds just (as in 10 minutes ago) brought in a scarlet king snake that was out lurking around the front steps. In Florida, the concern is mistaking a king snake (Good Guy) for a coral snake (Bad Guy). Thankfully it was a king snake, and really quite beautiful.
Guess it really IS the season
Kelly in snakey Fl
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chicken lady
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Kelley I wish I could see beauty in snakes, I cannot help but believe there is a reason that snakes have through out history been used as the symbol of Satan.
I had another HS family over today for a great snake hunt. My friends have 5 boys and they were so excited at the thought of rescuing a nest of baby snakes Go figure!! No luck, I don't know if that is good or bad. I do feel better knowing that they scanned my baement pretty throughly and came up empty handed  Praise God.
I like MacBeth's idea about a book coming from this adventure, I think the title shall be "A Gentle Madness"
after all that was the name suggeted to me by one of my more "stable" friends!! She thought it would be a good name for our home
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Cay Gibson
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Ugh! what's the deal!?
Kim has a snake story too.
Okay, Molly is in Ohio, I'm in Louisiana, and Kim is in Colorado but we all have a snake story to tell. It's rather frightening.
Crocodile Dundee I am not!
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mrsgranola
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Well, funny that the subject of snakes should come up. We've had the first two in our yard this week. One was a small one, not sure what kind. The other one today was quite large. Vince took care of it and I grabbed the camera. It was a plain bellied... oh, I've forgotten now. Gotta' go find that Audobon book again.It's a plain-bellied water snake.
 I'm pretty paranoid about walking in the yard now. It was not far from the front door, in front of the garage...
JoAnna-- going to post picts on her blog of this thing...
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Momsix
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Last spring we had 3 black rat snakes take up residence in our basement walls. They went away and I plan to stuff steel wool in the hole there were getting in through.
I have to admit we didn't have any mice in the basement last spring!
We live in the woods, so we get all kinds of wildlife around and sometimes in the house!
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chicken lady
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Yikes Black Rat snakes that sounds horrible!! And you counted them! We live in the woods as well so we are getting some amazing spiders, etc. they don't bother me, OK the ones the size of 50 cent pieces unnerve me, but not bad! It is the bloody snakes!
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Kelly
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I guess it's all a matter of what you're used to. I'd rather have snakes than mice...in fact, when we found mice in our garage, I got two Grey Rat Snakes and released them in the garage to Do Their Thing. Alas, their Thing was not enough. The mice got ahead of them and I had to fire them from their job (as in re-released in the yard). Not that Hanta Virus is so prevalent, but mice worry me.
Re: snakes. The good news is they're typically more nervous about us than we are about them!
Kelly in FL
PS I like the title for your book
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lapazfarm
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I'm with you, Kelly! I would much rather have snakes in the house than mice, any day! We had mice once and it was just disgusting with all the droppings being left in closets and cupboards. UGH! If it ever happens again, then I'll get me a big fat black rat snake!
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chicken lady
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Don't your cats take care of the mice. We always keep felines for this purpose.
I think it like Kelly stated it depends on individual responses. My dear friend who laughs at my over the top phobia of snakes goes nuts about spiders. Me I think cool, I don't want large ones in my house biting us, but I think the are interesting. As for mice I think of Beatrix Potter characters, I think they are cute, of course I have never had them in my home, or if I do I throw a cat in the room, I think with all this cat dander around the mice stay away.
Good news about this and I'm sure MacBeth will be impressed with this, I sat last night and read to the kids about various snakes, what their nests look like, how many eggs the momma lays etc. for about 2 hours. That had better get me some time off Purgatory
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Snakes
