Snake season

[jamglor]

Now that the weather is warming up the old snakes are starting to pop up around the place as its also breeding time for them.
to protect our little and big friends a good thing to spray around the yard at all areas where a snake could get in is PHENYLE, you can get this at Bunnings or any type of hardware shop. It comes in 1 ltr bottles. the best mix is 1 ltr of phenyl to 4 ltrs water and spray it around every few days to once a week during the season and also straight after it rains.
and yes it does work, if a joe blake slides across the phenyl if its still wet there is a good chance that if it gets under the scales it will die.

[Dot]

Interesting Jamie,

[dapope]

I tend to leave em alone...they soon slither off..

[native pepper]

Thought they'd banned phenyl, it's a horrible, dangerous and heavily polluting chemical, whilst there are many different safer ways to discourage snakes. I leave them alone and make sure they are aware of our presence, as well as the boundaries we may set for them in our living area. Keep all grass very low and make sure you have no line of bushes or plants that will offer them protection as they move into your area, they hate being exposed and vulnerable to attack from the air.

We have some rather large black tiger snakes on our property, one lives under my workshop and can be seen at times sunning outside it's den. One lives outside our gardens down a small slope and a couple live around our dams. In all the years we've been here, they have never been a problem, as long as you let them know you are around by making a noise, as they feel vibrations through the ground. Carry a long walking stick or every few steps thump the ground with a heavy step when in places snakes may be. Because of the dogs they stay well away from our house and if you don't leave any water laying around in puddles, ponds, bowls etc, they will stay clear. You can go to another length and put a boundary of crushed glass around the places you don't want snakes to go, as soon as they move onto the glass, it irritates them and they won't cross it and it does no harm. Our resident kookaburra family also helps with controlling snakes, they take out most of the new born when they leave the den and now their 2 offspring are out and about, the snakes will keep well away from open areas.

The last thing a snake wants is to waste it's venom on something to big to eat and unless you disturb or try to catch it, it will stay away from you. When you do see a snake in your path, stop and let the snake decide which way it's going to go. If it comes towards you, walk to the side as you are probably between its home and it. Snakes don't turn very well, so they are easy to avoid by moving to the side of their path.

Killing native life because we unjustifiably fear them, to me is just a sign of how far from reality we live and why we are rapidly destroying life on the planet. Most life other than humans, follow a live and let live philosophy, unless for food. It's a pity ideological humans are the opposite and kill purely for fun, fear or to feed their faces at the expense of future life.

[jamglor]

What I forgot to say is that the snakes do not like the taste so will not cross where it has been sprayed. (this is a deterrent) to keep them out of the yard. not the paddock?.

[Dot]

I know some humans that are lower than a snakes belly

[T1 Terry]

In general I'll go along with you NP, the death adder is the only one that comes to mind that will actively chase rather than escape, 15 mins from bite to muscle paralysis and likely followed by cardiac arrest for human and under 1 min for an animal, yet it has no interest in eating what it kills unless it is small enough to swallow. Tassie seems to be the only place they are not found, must be too cold, kill a few on the mainland but lots in New Guinea apparently. Easy to spot, very heavy body with a broad head and tiny tail it uses to lure birds and small animals when it's hiding in leaf litter. Around NSW Illawarra region it was the most likely reason your cat didn't come home, yet feral cats are wise to them and keep well clear of the Illawarra death adder, no idea if this is the same for other areas on Australia though. Racking up the leaf litter was a case of taking your life in your own hands in the Illawarra if you lived any where near a bush/scrub patch.... and that covers just about the entire area beside to upper storey of a beach side high rise

[JohnM]

I read that some of the old time drovers used to put a length of rope on the ground around their swags, apparently a snake will not cross the rope, it irritates their underbelly, or something. Not sure of whether this works or not, just something I read some where.

[BernieQ2]

Another furphy .
Bernie .

[pet-els]

Afriend of mine uses bird mesh, just a small section rolled up and in front of doors and holes in his back room/shed. The snakes goes into the room through the mesh finds it a bit tight but then annot back out as the mesh catches under it's scales and it will die there.

peterH