One of the dangers that await summer residents on their own plot is a poisonous snake. Those who say that reptiles are not eager to get to know us, of course, are right. But sometimes, in search of better conditions, they have to crawl out to people.
That’s where the problems associated with fighting these unpleasant and dangerous neighbors begin.
How snakes appear on garden plots
The appearance of snakes is easier to prevent than to fight them. And to do this, you need to know why reptiles come to garden plots. What attracts them?
- The presence of food
We all remember from school that snakes feed on rodents, insects and bird eggs. Sometimes their diet is expanded by small birds or other snakes. Therefore, if you have a lot of rodents and insects on your site, it is likely that snakes will look in on you.
- Availability of hiding places
Snakes like to hide in composting pits, piles of garbage, tall grass, dense bushes, tree roots, shaded piles of firewood, boards, etc., As for owners who regularly clean the territory and monitor the height of the grass and the condition of the bushes, they are not afraid of anything. Open, sunny areas of the snake especially do not like the noise and vibration of lawn mowers.
- Neighborhood with abandoned / undeveloped land or forest
Sometimes in country villages and partnerships there are completely abandoned plots that gradually turn into a forest. This is another source of potential danger. Snakes, for one reason or another, can crawl from them to their neighbors. Having two houses of such a “forest”, I can say that the neighborhood is unpleasant. Having seen the Viper, which is quite freely located in the partial shade under the trees, even the mown grass and the cleaned space do not allow you to relax.
These are the main reasons why snakes appear near people. There are two of them:
- Snakes are imported together with construction materials. It’s rare, but it happens.
- If the site is located next to a forest that is being cut down for further construction, snakes can leave their homes and move to new places.
What are you afraid of snakes
In addition to the factors that lure snakes to the site, there are moments that scare them. So, what are snakes and what are they afraid of?
- Sharp pungent smell (both natural and chemical). These can be the smells of dry mustard, garlic, burnt grass, burnt rubber, perfumes, naphthalene, saltpeter, ammonia and various herbicides.
- Noises. As mentioned above, snakes are very fond of silence. They will be scared off by the noise of mowers, generators and other equipment, as well as music, human voices, the rustle of garden turntables or bells.
- Hedgehogs. It’s no secret that hedgehogs are the main enemies of snakes. By luring hedgehogs to your site and feeding them, you can protect yourself from creeping intruders.
Interesting: in the process of preparing the material, I came across one very interesting way of dealing with snakes related to hedgehogs. It’s called “Hungarian, or Drunk Hedgehog”. Hungarian — because it was actively used in medieval Hungary, and the second name indicates that the Hedgehog is in good condition. It turns out that in addition to milk, they are not averse to enjoying beer or wine. In accordance with this method, bowls of beer were placed on the territory that needed to be freed from snakes. Hedgehogs, who already hated snakes, “gradually” became real hunters. But this is just a legend that has hardly been verified in our time.
- Cats and dogs. Cats and dogs (mainly Jagdterri breeds) can hunt snakes. But before you allow such a hunt, you need to evaluate the benefit-harm ratio a hundred times and whether to involve your pet in this matter.
Several ways to get rid of snakes in the country
If preventive measures did not help, and the snakes still found something attractive on your site, it’s time to move on to fighting them. What can be done?
- Call specialists to fight snakes. These may be herpetologists – people who are engaged in trapping. But summer residents rarely turn to them due to the fact that one snake was caught — the next one crawled. And you can carry out professional processing of the site by contacting the appropriate services.
- Install repellent devices. They are similar to those used against rodents. The principle of operation of the device is based on the rejection of snakes to noise and vibrations. Repellents can be sound, vibration or ultrasonic. The choice depends on the type of snakes. For example, you can’t scare a viper with ultrasound, but they will go away from vibrations. It is best to place the equipment in places where the snake is most likely to settle: compost heaps, prefabricated plates, etc.
- Use chemicals and poisons. Now on sale you can find poisons designed specifically for snakes. But this method has not proven itself very well, because snakes feel the “aroma” and do not crawl to the bait. And besides, if children and pets run around on the site, then the use of poison is more dangerous for them than for snakes.
- Use folk methods. Folk methods are considered the most humane. They are based on people’s knowledge of what snakes are afraid of. Here are some of them:
- Plant a lot of garlic beds. His smell is clearly not like snakes;
- Sprinkle the area with dry mustard powder;
- Place the crumbled mothballs in the destroyed nest or in a potential place of its creation;
- Install propellers, the blades of which will rotate from the wind and transmit vibrations.
No matter what you do, trying to drive away snakes, no matter what method you use, the most important thing is to remember that safety is above all!
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