 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Other Stuff : Snake!
Page 1 of 3   |
|||||
| Author | Message | ||||
Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
OK, this is a topic I've wanted to discuss for a while now. Its typical "back shed" stuff. I live on a rural property, and keep my grass short for about 15 meters around the house. I have no mice or rats in the house, and check the mouse traps regularly. I have very few places for a snake to hide. Yet, I've seen a big eastern brown ( for our international friends, a very dangerous snake. Fast, highly venomous, about 6 foot long ) at the bottom of the stairs to the house twice in the last few months. The last time was yesterday, noticed it as I walked down the stairs, so I stopped and stomped my feet, and it took off. Man, its scary how fast it could move. I worry more about my dog or visitors than myself, and I dont want to see this type of snake around my house. I would rather not kill it, mainly because I don't have a shotgun and besides, native snakes are protected and its illegal to kill them. So, what are my options? I do have 4 of those solar powered snake repelling devices, that vibrate every couple of minutes. Now I know the snake handlers will say they are a waste of money, but I'm not so sure. I've seen videos of a handler dropping a snake next to a snake repeller, and commenting on how the snake just ignores the repeller. I figure the snake in that case is already feeling uncomfortable and stressed, a mild vibration in the ground is nothing compared to what its just been through, so of course its going to ignore the repeller. But I do think a snake that's going about its business looking for food or shelter, and not feeling threatened, will be more aware of a strange vibration and may decide to turn away. Most of my neighbours have several snake repellers around their homes, and all say since they put them in, then haven't seen any snakes. Like I said, I have 4 of the snake repeller units, but none near the stairs that I've seen this snake, until yesterday that is. I'm thinking of buying more units, but I wonder what experience others have had with them. I have the solar powered model, which uses batteries for night time use, but I'm thinking of buying the battery only model, connected them in parallel with some figure 8 cable, and then powering them off a 12v supply. The units run of 3 volts, so I though of using a regulator at the 12v supply to provide a 3 volt feed. I also want to run a finer mesh along the dog fence. My yard is fenced with dog mesh, and I want it to be a "green" zone, safe for me, the dog and friends. The real nasty snakes generally dont climb, and a snake handler told me waste high should be more than enough to deter the big snakes, they would rather go round than climb up, so I priced 50 meters of 900mm bird wire. The holes are big enough for me to poke my finger through, but not my thumb, which should stop the big snakes. I can get a vermin proof wire too, with holes about 5mm square, but its very expensive. So thinking out side of the box, or thinking like a snake, what other ways could I use to deter snakes? What about movement? Would a large moving object deter a snake, like a flag waving in the wind, or a vertical windmill with a dark and bright side? How about a thumper, something that drops a weight onto the ground every couple of minutes? Bad smells? One thing I've noticed is I've never seen a snake near the shed. The shed has the inverter, mounted on a wall, and it hums all day long. Maybe that's worth looking into? Open to idea's. The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
norcold Guru  Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
Introduce and welcome a carpet snake to your shed. A resident carpet snake or python will eradicate all other snake young. Whilst this will not get rid of your larger fellow, call in a snake handler for him/her, it will be a long term solution. Apparently carpets & pythons love to eat young snakes, sort of a delicacy to them. 
Whether this is fact or fiction, only know it is an old passed around "OZ folklore" and so far has worked on my block. But than again there`s no tigers or elephants. 
Getting the Missus to accept a resident snake was my biggest hurdle. Our resident carpet (Slinky, Missus named it) "camps" near the inverter We come from the land downunder. Vic |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Yeah I like pythons. Had a few in the shed in Mackay, along with those beautiful green tree snakes. Only saw a dangerous snake a couple of times in the 5 years I lived there, out in the yard well away from the house. The thing that's got me peeved with these eastern browns is I'm doing all the right stuff, short grass, no mice, etc, but I still see them at my front door. Maybe I should drive back up to Mackay and grab a dozen cane toads to bring back with me. Nothing wipes out the dangerous snake population quicker than a few cane toads in their diet.
Joking of course, but I do miss the tropics, seamed like a better balance of wildlife. All I see here are eastern browns and red back spiders. I might look into making a snake trap, relocate the delightful creatures, to the bottom of the creek  Joking, of course.
Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
Hi Glenn I have a few living in my workshop/shed and have had no problems with them but you must watch where you are walking, generally they hear you coming and just run away and hide, not good for the nerves but they are not as dangerous as made out. Had several small ones in the house and evicted them with a broom and got the wife down off the table. At mum's place in maroochydore there was a lot of snakes around the house so she hand fed the Kookaburras so they would hang around, and the snakes are scared of them and open lawns. Have some big carpet snakes and they do not seem to worry the browns, but the red belly blacks kill them. if you want some toads I got plenty for you. All the best Bob Foolin Around |
||||
| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
Whatever Bob wants for his cane toads I`ll halve, bloody things!!!! Plus the ones up here are built like brick *****houses, sort of Arnie versions. Had to cut one open with the chainsaw, to get me German Shepard back Snakes`ll be no drama to them.
Because my missus is a wildlife carer, had to fence in an acre or so with 6ft chainmesh, buried 9" in the ground. Put a 24" strip of shade cloth at base also, thought it`d keep the toads out as well as venomous snakes. Bloody toads squeeze up betwween shade cloth and chainmesh. Look I`ll pay you to take them. We come from the land downunder. Vic |
||||
vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Hi Glenn, Maybe a little "ground" drone(tracked), solar powered, patrolling at regular intervals, on a designated route, "attacking" everything on sight. Well, just patrolling, reporting to your phone the GPS position and maybe also a camera. Is there a smell which can repel them? Or a photo with some politicians - joking. Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
A little drone that drives around the yard is a good idea, but no easy task. It does get back to the theory that movement scares them off, but what sort of movement. The snakes I've seen will freeze when they spot you, and wait to see what you do. If you stop, and then back away, the snake will watch you for a while, then make a quick retreat. If you don't see them, and keep walking forward, then that's the danger, cause the brown snake will wait till the last moment, and either take off when your nearly on top of them, or get ready to strike. Most other snakes I've seen will always scatter as you approach, but not these browns, they just wait to see what you do. It really depends on you to see them, not the other way around. Quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of looking down at the ground all the time. Its a shame no real independent testing has been done. I mean we have ways to control mice, spiders, insects, cows, dogs, etc, etc. So why don't we have a way to control snakes, other than "look where you step". Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Another idea. Snakes should have a race fear of birds of prey. Even the big old snakes should still have that fear. Thinking of a large bird cut out, on a pivot so it swings around with the wind, and loose fabric wings that flap around a bit. Near the shed, where I don't see any snakes, I have a couple of old work boots on sticks. From a distance they do look like birds perched on a stick. Or, what about making some funnel traps, pegged about 50m away from the house in the longer grass, with some scent that attracts snakes, like a mouse smell. Only thing is I'll have to make sure the traps are upwind of the house, so snakes on the opposite side of the house aren't attracted. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Chickens, geese, and similar domesticated birds hate snakes and will warn if anything slithers into their territory. These domestic birds also attract hawks and other predators that also feed on snake. If you can keep a few local hawks interested, the open ground around your home may be keenly patrolled by hungry hawks. Cheers, Tony. |
||||
| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Regarding to birds, turkeys (specially females) are simply fantastic for that. It will surround the intruder and attack it, while emiting "alarm" sounds. That mean you must give them free access to your entire area, and their droppings on your house entrance (stairs) may be a problem... Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
||||
Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
I dont think dangerous snakes are protected if close to a domestic dwelling, and for that reason they get the long handle shovel across the back of their ears real quick with me, better them in a hole than me.(just aint worth the risk i think) All the same i have great respect for snakes in the wide open spaces and will bring no harm to them, but in my personal space the shovel treatment is dished out real fast. Sometimes it just works |
||||
Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
My two cent's worth : What most of you seem to forget is that snakes use their forked tongue to sense heat from potential prey. I'm not sure if they have much nose type smell sense nor if their eyes are much good to distinguish boots on sticks or flapping bird cutout images.
They do sense vibrations rather well and can easily figure out if something is advancing towards or retreating from them. So, here is my suggestion  , what about one of those robotic vacuum cleaners modified so it can navigate on grassed areas? It makes plenty of noise but might need a fine mesh intake screen to prevent it sucking up too much stuff.
A light bulb on top might be sufficient heat source for the snake to blunt its fangs on if the vibrations do not scare it off first. This could be a fun project Glenn, maybe even have commercial potential Klaus |
||||
| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
What natural predators do snakes have ? As far as I know only large birds such as hawks and owls. I don't think any passive device would discourage them, but an electric fence might. And I agree with Downwind, protected or not, any venomous snake that happens to find itself directly underneath my axe, shovel, or pick handle, has plum run out of luck. Cheers, Tony. |
||||
| Privatteer Newbie  Joined: 09/06/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 39 |
Let me take a guess. Is the bottom of the stairs a nice flat concrete or timber area? One that will absorb heat perhaps on the east side? Tigers and Dugites were pretty common on the farm I grew up on. Make some noise/vibration and 99% of the time you would never see that particular snake again. Think we killed about 2 in 15 years that decided not to move on, both times hanging around the chook pen due to mice. |
||||
AMUN-RA Senior Member  Joined: 10/03/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 144 |
guinea fowl make a great noise and are said to deter snakes and can be eaten now and then when you have to many Or there is a lawn mower similar to the robot vac mentioned it mows the desired area and returns to its chargin gararge good luck  Every day the sun shines & gravity sucks= free energy. |
||||
| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
AMUN-RA, Good point, i have heard the guinea fowl make very good yard managers (friends had them in the country), and are the best intruder alarm you can have. Although they do knock off each day and roost, where as snake dont always settle down for night if the ground temp is high enough to support their body functions. Im not sure on wanting to eat the watch dog/lawn mower, although a good door mat is required to remove the fertilizer from your feet. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
||||
| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Yeah I've heard chickens are good at alerting you to snakes, but that they also attract snakes. A chicken will eat a little snake, as will birds of prey, as suggested. But the snakes I'm seeing are a lot bigger that any bird of prey I've seen around here would take on. I've bought some 12mm square wire mesh, 900mm wide, will run it around the green zone. That will stop the bigger snakes, and I'm not concerned about the smaller ones. I'll put the vibrating snake repeller things near the gates. And maybe funnel traps at the end of each fence, so anything going along the fence will get caught before it finds a gate. That should make the place pretty safe. I was cleaning up along the fence line this morning, and came across a few lengths of 25mm PVC pipe I had left in the grass a few weeks earlier. They were joined end to end, about 12m long all up. Now I though, if a snake was about to slither across this, and it vibrated, what would the snake do? If I were to mount a little vibrating motor at one end ( likes in those snake repeller things, a bigger version of a mobile phone vibrating motor ), and set it to vibrate every minute, the vibration would go the full length of the PVC, so anything sliding over it would feel it. But would the snake retreat, or be attracted to it? This gets back to the fact no one ( that I can find ) has done any peer reviewed research into ways to deter snakes, which considering the potential danger of these things to kids and pets, is a little surprising. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
A really angry emu might do it. Or better still, the bird from hell, the cassowery. Cheers, Tony. |
||||
sPuDd Senior Member Joined: 10/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 251 |
Not mine. Mate designed & built it. Protects his breeding dogs. 100% effective. Nothing gets in. Spiders, baby toads, insects, snakes - everything is killed. 
Wire is closer together at the bottom, more spaced as it rises. 20mm conduit with holes drilled, stood off with conduit spacers. Bit of poly pipe to help shape changes in fence mesh. Good earthing is critical. Makes a sound like a whip snap when jumping 25mm gap. sPuDd.. It should work ...in theory |
||||
| Ron B Newbie Joined: 26/04/2013 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5 |
my first post.. I lived out west in the bush for quite a while so I am fairly car for parts a few years ago from Mt Glorious ,north of Brisbane. The tow truck driver said to me as he dropped it off.." a lot of effing wild life on that blokes place,I seen a spider under the car as big as dinner plate..! " Mm... maybe so i thought and once the car was on the ground I looked it over. I didn't take much notice of the snake shedding on the dashboard,I'd seen plenty of those.. So when I opened the boot and saw a big brown sanke,I slammed it shut and phoned the local snake bloke. he demanded $95 up front .. 
Once he had my cash in his hand he opened the boot and jumped back. "it's rough scale snake~!,you didn't say it was one of those!" and slammed the boot shut. meanwhile the snake dropped out under the car through a rust hole and dissapeared into the neighbors yard. $95 down the drain. Second tale involved an ex sister in laws husband. He had lost a couple of working dogs on his farm and then found a horse dead . An examination showed that it had been bitten by a snake. So he decided to hunt it down and kill it...with a peice of wood. He found the snake, a very large red bellied black snake, and gave it a whack. It came back and bit him on the neck. he was found dead by his Wife who phoned the police. When the Police arrived ,she was arrested on suspicion of killing him with the wood. It was only when the ambulance drivers ,who were collecting the body noticed the bite on his neck that the police released her. The snake was found dead nearby with a broken back. So it pays to be very very careful with Oz snakes. Policitcal or otherwise.. 
|
||||
| Page 1 of 3 |
|||||
 Print this page |
