Snake control

cats and a 410 shotgun works pretty well

Birds are native species.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...study/1873871/

Couldn't the same be said for us? .... Joe

All joking aside, though, I live in a county that has about 2500 rural individuals and family members spread over 3400 square miles.The other 2500 residents live in one small city. In that rural area, there are LOTS of bobcats, ringtails, kit foxes, gray foxes, several varieties of rattlesnakes alone, plus other snakes. Then, we can start listing the mountain lions, coyotes, wolf-dog hybrids that escaped from the now defunct resque ranch, and a dozen or two other predators that escape my memory right now. They range pretty much where they like and almost without human interaction. They outnumber the barn cats by at least 200 to 1.

Trust me when I tell you, it ain't the wildlife that suffers the most predation. It's the barn cats. Little ads on the post office bullitin board plead for "more barn cats" in the cities and small towns, because in the countryside the females are lucky to last past their first litter. They always want to hunt after delivering kittens and something about the way they smell at that time brings on the coyotes, and about half the time they never make it back from that first hunt, and somebody is bottle-feeding their replacements.

The males usually last a year if they last a couple of months, but not always.

Now, you may, if you like, label this "barbaric" but this ugly little story is in a forum about homesteading, not running a nature preserve. Homesteaders aquire animals fully expecting them to be dead a year later, having accomplished their jobs. In some cases the job is feeding a family, in others doing rodent and reptile control. If that second job seems paltry to anyone, consider my grandchildren running around outside in my snake free yard that was badly infested before the barn cats came.

I'm not for wiping out any species, but for those who think minor species extinction is the end of the world for all of us, you might want to check in with MR. Darwin's thoughts on the matter. He merely pointed out that it existed as natural way for the betterment of ALL species that repaced those which were unfit.

Man is now a constant on our planet, along with his attendant animals and appetites. Species unfit to live in a world where he exists are headed the way of the dodo bird. We can hate it, but we can't change it.....Joe

I don't think vaccines or antibiotics can do anything against snake venom. Where in the world did that idea come from? Those things are for virus and bacteria only. Are they being treated for virus and infection that might come from the filthy scum in the snakes mouth?

I hate rattlesnakes. If I run on to one way out in the middle of no where, I leave it be. He is just doing what he was made for. OTOH, if I find one on the place, anywhere near the dogs, or the house. Too bad, so sad, end of snake. And just for the record I just can't use a shovel or a hoe to kill a buzz tail! Just gotta have my little ol 12 gauge and stand back about 25 feet. We have used barn cats for years. We still have rattlers, just not so many. Seems we have both developed the ability to be tuned in to the sound. Some people say they can smell them, but personaly I don't care to be that close to them. I do like Bull Snakes though. And yes I have seen one eating a rattler. I just gagged and went inside the house. Good luck and stay safe. We do use the vaccine for our dogs, just hope it gives us a little more time to reach a vet.

At the vet clinic I work at, we see about 15 to 20 venomous snakebites per year. We have the antivenin available. Cost is usually the reason that it is not administered. Our cost on it is approximately 500.00 per dose. Most pet owners choose not to give it. When an animal comes in for treatment after a bite, we usually administer a steroid injection for the swelling and put the pet on antibiotics for the necrotic(rotting) tissue that usually follows. The owners are also advised to give Benadryl to help with swelling at home. Most pets, probably 80% have a full recovery in a week or less. Forgot to add that the antivenin we carry is only for rattlesnakes, not effective against copperheads, moccasins, or coral snakes, which we also see bites from. Unless the owner can positively tell us it was a rattlesnake we dont even suggest antivenin. Sorry for your loss.

And then some

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it's not a sport unless the animal can kill you back

be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet

The only problem with that, Joe, is that a mediocre terrier will kill more rodents in a day than the average cat will in a month. A really good terrier will do in two hours what takes the mediocre dog all day and a cat all month. Unlike most cats, the dog can be taught to leave the birds alone. An even bigger plus is that where barn cats can become coon chow, a really good terrier will turn the coons into fur on the stretcher. When it comes to killing vermin on the homestead/farm, you just can't beat a good terrier (well you can, but that'll just tick him off & make him fight harder).

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it's not a sport unless the animal can kill you back

be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet

Can't we help the OP without insulting other posters?

Sorry for your loss ... ((hugs))

I've seen 2 "grown" copperheads in the middle of winter next to our chicken house trying to get into the brooder where the light was on. (Have no idea how those snakes got there; but believe someone who wanted our tract of land put them out deliberately.) David killed both of them...they were cold and slow to move at the time.

We have about 20 guineas that actually stay within our little 6 acres and never get on the neighbor's property. (We "trained" them to do this by purchasing keets and keeping them in the chicken house for months so they learn where to roost. We have been able to let them roost in trees now and they still do not leave our property.) I have not seen them circle a snake; but have seen them flocked in an area making noise.

I "believe" I saw a moccasin once, though cannot be sure as it was NOT aggressive. (It could have got me had it been aggressive; so maybe it was a hognose instead.) At any rate, my shephard yelped twice that night and was dead the next morning. I am assumming she was biten as the snakes were out at that time of year. I have not seen that snake since that one time. (It was short and fat and black...not a black snake.)

We have quite a few black snakes and we encourage them to stay! Yes they eat our eggs and will kill our baby fowl if they could get into the brooder; however, we ... ummm black-snake-proofed our place so as to keep them out of places we don't want them to be. Black snakes are territorial; so I believe they help keep other snakes off these 6 acres.

No I don't like snakes; but I chose to live in the country in this area. They were here before I was. I will simply stake my claim to these 6 acres and expect them to respect me as much as I respect them.

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I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

COOL! Thanks for the info......Joe

Actually, coral snakes are the most venomous snakes in the U.S. Coral snakes are related to the cobra family and their venom is a neurotoxin. They don't get as much attention though because they are generally shy and slow to bite, and will almost always attempt to flee. Rattlesnakes on the other hand, are far more aggressive, and account for majority of snakebite deaths in the U.S.

We keep a supply of Benadryl on hand for our dogs, and we've used it twice this year for snakebites already. We have a creek that runs through our place that keeps us supplied with water moccasins, and there are plenty of copperheads as well. Having guineas helps, but I also keep the snake shot handy while I'm out and about.

I've seen publications that do list the Eastern Diamondback as having the most deadly venom in the US (as tested on mice).
Some species of rattlesnakes like the Mojave, also produce a neurotoxin in addition to the more usual protolytic toxin.

I have known more than one australian cattle dog who's death on rattle snakes and larger vermin. My current ACD cross (cross is supposedly dobie) ends up with a puffy face about once a year -- I'm never sure if he's been killing rattlesnakes or snapping at bees, but benadryl brings the swelling down and he's fine in a day or two.

My other dog has more sense ...

A quick, dirty, and effective trick to teach some dogs to leave snakes ALONE is to hang a freshly dead (i.e., still moving, but beheaded) rattler on an electric fence so that it's not quite touching the ground. Get the dog good and wet, and soak the ground beneath it. Let the dog investigate the apparently "alive" snake. I've snake-broken a number of goats this way, too. Works on cane or colorado river toads, too.

Our dogs, pigs and chickens all eat snakes.

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