Snakes The Garden

[Beth_B]

I understand that fear of snakes is primal and quite natural (and in certain locations quite sensible!) Personally I like snakes and have no problem handling them; I find them quite fascinating. But venomous ones are practically non- existent where I live now. When I lived in Colorado however it was not uncommon to encounter rattlesnakes while hiking - I just left them alone of course and made sure the dogs were leashed and safe. But if I had rattlers coming into my yard on a regular basis I'd be asking the same question as @sixxup! I knew someone whose German shepherd was killed by a rattler on a trail near their house.

Note that he is asking for ideas on how to keep them away, not how to kill them.

Anyhow. I know that yellow jackets are beneficial and have their place. And i dislike killing things without good reason. But when I discovered a giant ground nest of yellow jackets about 20 feet from my front porch I had no problem nuking them into oblivion.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Reminds me, My nephew when he was about 15 years old decided to surprise his Aunt with his pet snake. He put it in front of my face and said see. you could see in his face he thought, I am going to make my Aunt scream and run. I picked it out of his hand and said, why thank you dear for me. The look was wonderful on him. LOL, don't mess with a tomboy kid.

 

[Chuck]

I did a Google search on the snakes of Kenya. It turns out that there are over 120 species of snakes in 4 families. Of all the snakes in Kenya only 12% are venomous but these 12% are some of the most dangerous snakes in the world. I don't believe a wall would be an effective deterrent as there is always an entrance and exit to any walled enclosure and some climbing snakes can climb a vertical wall. I still believe the best deterrent to being harmed by a snake is to be educated about them and to always be alert in your surroundings. I can attest to being educated about snakes from a very young age and taught to always be alert to my surroundings and yet I was still bitten by one. I have always had a dog and many times over the decades that I have been in the outdoors my dog has alerted me to a snake, so I would have to say that if I had kids in Kenya walking around outdoors, I would have a dog with them and teach them all about snakes, both venomous and non venomous and to always watch where you step

 

[marlingardener]

I didn't think of this before, but we have used Snake Away, a granular product that you sprinkle where you don't want snakes. We put it around the perimeter of the house to keep snakes from going under. I don't know if this or something similar is available in Kenya, and I also don't know if you could protect an entire garden with it, but you might look into a product that could be applied to deter snakes.

 

[Java Guy]

I understand that fear of snakes is primal and quite natural (and in certain locations quite sensible!) Personally I like snakes and have no problem handling them; I find them quite fascinating. But venomous ones are practically non- existent where I live now. When I lived in Colorado however it was not uncommon to encounter rattlesnakes while hiking - I just left them alone of course and made sure the dogs were leashed and safe. But if I had rattlers coming into my yard on a regular basis I'd be asking the same question as @sixxup! I knew someone whose German shepherd was killed by a rattler on a trail near their house.

Note that he is asking for ideas on how to keep them away, not how to kill them.

Anyhow. I know that yellow jackets are beneficial and have their place. And i dislike killing things without good reason. But when I discovered a giant ground nest of yellow jackets about 20 feet from my front porch I had no problem nuking them into oblivion.

You have to do what you have to do. I love animals but when it comes to my safety or my loved ones safety, sorry animals...especially those that will kill you. You cannot coexist with deadly animals. Do people in Florida who find a 12 food alligator in their back yard just go about their business and watch where they step? No, you call animal control and they come and remove it. As a matter of fact, what happens to the alligator in America every year? There is a history channel show "Swamp People" that chronicles the government authorized thinning out of these deadly animals every year. I still maintain, you build whatever barricade (wall, fence, whatever) to keep the snakes out in Kenya. I also agree with Chuck about education, especially for children. However, if I were living in Kenya I would not want my children close enough to a snake to even identify it. You cannot have snakes in your yard/garden when you live in areas where deadly snakes are common. Non deadly snakes in your garden are just invitations for the deadly snakes who prey on them to come to your garden.

 

[Java Guy]

I did a Google search on the snakes of Kenya. It turns out that there are over 120 species of snakes in 4 families. Of all the snakes in Kenya only 12% are venomous but these 12% are some of the most dangerous snakes in the world. I don't believe a wall would be an effective deterrent as there is always an entrance and exit to any walled enclosure and some climbing snakes can climb a vertical wall. I still believe the best deterrent to being harmed by a snake is to be educated about them and to always be alert in your surroundings. I can attest to being educated about snakes from a very young age and taught to always be alert to my surroundings and yet I was still bitten by one. I have always had a dog and many times over the decades that I have been in the outdoors my dog has alerted me to a snake, so I would have to say that if I had kids in Kenya walking around outdoors, I would have a dog with them and teach them all about snakes, both venomous and non venomous and to always watch where you step

I do think if you were committed to building something to keep snakes or other animals out of your garden/yard it could be done. It may not be easy or cheap, but you have to do what you have to do. You are right about climbing snakes. This means you would have to put a 45 degree angle outward on the top of your wall making it impossible for the snake to get over. You would have to build your wall a couple of feet below ground to keep any burrowing animals out which would make holes snakes could use for access. The entrance would be a bit tricky. If you cut everything square and level you could have a gate with a minimal gap all around. Even with all this, you would still have to be vigilant, ensuring that the gate stays closed at all times and also inspecting the perimeter of you enclosure as well as the interior for any possible slippery intruders.

We can agree to disagree I suppose. 12 % are venomous. 12% of what? 12% of 100 or 12% of 10 million? It's all relative. One thing is for certain, they kill.

http://www.stripes.com/news/soldier-died-of-venomous-snake-bite-autopsy-confirms-1.334382

 

[Pat]

I am one of those people that really does not want anything to do with a snake. I don't need to kill it just not near me.

 

[alexiskilgannon]

It's really hard to get rid of snakes. I wouldn't worry about them too much unless they are poisonous. Majority of snakes mind their own business and go on with their day. The only thing I would worry about is if you have animals in your back yard that could be potentially bit.

 

[CanadianLori]

Okay, I'm a crazy person. I even jumped away from a dead snake one time. I won't go to a "pick your own"strawberry farm since the day my OH told me snakes hide in the straw that they pile around the base of the plant.

I have never seen one in my back yard. That makes me happy.

 

[Chuck]

The very best deterrent against snakes is something that most humans have a hard time doing...........and that is removing their food supply and their habitat. Snakes are carnivores which means they like rodents like mice and rats and even other snakes. Some snakes are bird eaters and egg eaters which means they climb trees. So what is one to do. The main thing is to get rid of the food supply and the habitat of rats, mice and other rodents. Keep your place clean. If there isn't anything to hide in or eat the snakes won't hang around and that includes Kenya

 

[Chuck]

I do think if you were committed to building something to keep snakes or other animals out of your garden/yard it could be done. It may not be easy or cheap, but you have to do what you have to do. You are right about climbing snakes. This means you would have to put a 45 degree angle outward on the top of your wall making it impossible for the snake to get over. You would have to build your wall a couple of feet below ground to keep any burrowing animals out which would make holes snakes could use for access. The entrance would be a bit tricky. If you cut everything square and level you could have a gate with a minimal gap all around. Even with all this, you would still have to be vigilant, ensuring that the gate stays closed at all times and also inspecting the perimeter of you enclosure as well as the interior for any possible slippery intruders.

We can agree to disagree I suppose. 12 % are venomous. 12% of what? 12% of 100 or 12% of 10 million? It's all relative. One thing is for certain, they kill.

http://www.stripes.com/news/soldier-died-of-venomous-snake-bite-autopsy-confirms-1.334382

The way the research explained it was the percentage of poisonous to non poisonous in Kenya. I suppose more research could be done as to ascertain how many snakes there were per square foot in Kenya and thereby learn how many snakes there are,but the fact remains is that 88 out of 100 snakes there are harmless

 

[Java Guy]

So 12 out of 100 are deadly. Also, that is a percentage of Kenya as a whole. Meaning, there may be whole areas of Kenya where nearly all of the snakes are non poisonous and other areas where there are more poisonous snakes. It only takes one and if you do a little searching you will see that snake bites in Kenya are on the rise. Here is a video about it. People in the county this video profiles are being bitten in their homes.

 

[Beth_B]

Wow, quite a scary little video! One suggestion offered was to leave bowls of water some distance away from the house. Suggesting snakes enter dwellings looking for water, in such a dry climate?

There's another suggestion for @sixxup .

 

[mgmine]

For me snakes are not a mental disorder or for that matter any other type of phobia. They are a large pests and that is why I dispatch them with a stick. As a matter of fact I have the stick close by so that I can get at it before they get away. I do the same for mice, flies and yellow jackets, mosquitoes and a host of other pests . I live in an area where there are lots and lots of snakes and other pests. So many that they have even gotten into the basement. Sure I could simply pick them up(snakes, mice, flies etc.) and put them outside but they would simply come back in. Since I don't have any mongoose around me my method of controlling them is straight forward.

 

[Chuck]

One good snake=one less mouse