Hi, new here, live in southern USA. Need help with snapping turtles in my ponds.

[Donna Baker]

I am rural and snapper keep coming to my ponds for a buffet. Anyone got any ideas on how to keep the out? Weve been removing them and relocating them though maybe not far enough away.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I'm not sure. You could fence off your pond with chicken wire, but I doubt you'd want to do that. You could try relocating them farther away.

 

[marlingardener]

I don't think relocation is going to work--females travel overland to find suitable nesting sites, and although they are slow, they are persistent on their hikes.
We have turtles in our pond, and if we need to wade into it, we wear knee-high rubber boots. Snappers don't have the fabled "it can bite your finger off" strength to their jaws, and are primarily interested in crustations, fish, worms, and water vegetation. We just leave our turtles alone, and they return the favor.

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

I like turtles, I once had a soft shell freshwater turtle as pet, actually my brother brought it from a tribal people eek:they were going to eat the turtles the following day) when he went for a camping trip.

He(turtle) was there with me for about a year, I built an artificial ecospace with small pool, he loves freeze dried tube worms.(He could only eat underwater, I need change the water after he finish eating).

Latter, when I found that its an endangered species that is rarely found in the nearby river. I released it.

 

[Sheal]

Welcome to the forums Donna.

 

[HiveFive]

Hi, I have them too! They do a great job at keeping the fish and frog population down. They really don't eat that much. I was worried when I first noticed how many I had and just kept an eye on them. They are territorial and your pond will only support so many. In my opinion they will keep themselves in check.

 

[Gemma]

Welcome to the group!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

snapping turtles you say, they are good eating. got to get a heavy hook, and good wire, put a piece of meat on the end, tie the wire to a tree. when the grab it. chop the head off, hang to bleed out. open bottom of shell, take the meat out and cook it. you can look up the ways of doing that on google, won't get into that now.

that is how to get rid of them. if you don't have the stomach for it, see if there are some locals who will do it and take them.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Welcome!

I too have enjoyed turtle soup, and yes it is very good. I have a better purpose though, since I hate venomous snakes that eat frogs, like rattlers. I say let the turtles alone. Less for snakes to eat.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

there could be a greater issue, not said, if the snappers can be dangerous to perhaps small children, a dog or a curious cat. and how many are there, not said.

 

[DirtMechanic]

The danger is with their slow retreat, and a child or pet that aggressively pursues or traps them into defensive posture. But pets and children should never be allowed....wait..gardening forum only.

 

[JamieB]

You will need to enclose the pond somehow. A small wall, maybe 2 ft high, perhaps with a gate, will be sufficient to prevent all but the most determined turtles. A very thick growth of iris, thick plants like that which won’t hamper the look of a pond, don’t die back completely in the cold, could be another option if you are willing to take the time. Include pictures if you can, size of pond, etc. A small garden pond would be easier to enclose, where a big pond would not. You know fish are part of the attraction, find ways to make your pond less attractive to them. If you have favorites of your fish, or high dollar fish, living in the south, I recommend a raised pond. Snakes, possums, turtles, raccoons, have a harder time getting to them. I converted our above ground pool, just a big Intex, into a pond. I love well water! We get seasonal flooding, assorted varmits, large snappers, I saw a beautiful female red rated slider. So a raised pond is best for me here.