Snake invasion

[Harvey Schneider]

We had an unwelcome guest in our garden. Perhaps I should say in our fish pond. My first clue that something was amiss was that all the frogs disappeared. Then three of my seven Shubunkin vanished and then I saw this guy.
I'm pretty sure that he's a northern water snake. He's about three and a half feet long, and he thinks that I set out a buffet for him.
How do you capture a snake that can hide, underwater, in the rock walls of the pond, for an hour and a half at a time? I contacted snake removal experts, but It turns out that nobody was willing to assist in removal of the snake because it is considered wildlife. It also happens that it is illegal to relocate a pest to another property.
The snake has been dealt with. I hate to kill anything unnecessarily, but it was my pond or him. He drowned in a minnow trap baited with a piece of raw fish.

By the way, the fish in the second photo survived the attack.

 

[Magzire]

Oh crap I really hate snakes. I'm lucky there isn't a single native snake here.

 

[Tula]

Another option is to bait the trap , where it's partially submerged....keeping the top portion above water. Even though it's illegal to relocate the caught snake to another place........who would know ?

 

[sissy]

animal control takes removes things like that here and i live in the country .If they deem them a hazard or are in someones comfort zone they will relocate them .Animal control says it is all in the wording is why they remove them to a new home .They relocated a skunk and her babies from under my front porch .

 

[DutchMuch]

Anyone else thinks that's a copperhead?

 

[MoonShadows]

Anyone else thinks that's a copperhead?

It certainly looks like one.

 

[Jhn]

No to the copperhead, color and patterns are a little different. It is a northern water snake...

 

[DutchMuch]

NWS:

Copperhead:


That's definitely a copperhead

 

[Jhn]

No it's not, pattern is different. Hour glass pattern isn't as defined and colors are reversed in his pic and your pic of copperhead.

It's colors are just a little lighter if you compare NWS pics, which is typical variation.

 

[DutchMuch]

on the copper head the 3 "circles" don't touch, on the NWS the circles are touching.

Either way just shoot it, don't touch it.

 

[DutchMuch]

Ill post more pics just so the OP can identify it, between the two, for safety reasons.

Northern Water Snake:

Copperhead:

And of course their are different color variants of copperheads and NWS.

 

[Jhn]

I see these snakes every day and they are easily differentiated between.

Also, why kill a snake...NWS are killed constantly because people can't tell the difference between them and a cottonmouth or copperhead. Personally, I wouldn't kill one either way but that is just me.

 

[Faebinder]

If a water snake comes to my pond... it's a dead snake... don't care what animal control thinks... my fish will back me up.

Now if it is a grass snake that doesn't eat fish... then take pictures together and be on our merry way.

 

[DutchMuch]

I wouldn't kill one either way but that is just me.

Then you can let it kill you? lol im not scared to grab the AR fifteen when I see one on my property.

I see these snakes every day and they are easily differentiated between.

I saw a copperhead under the gate of the driveway yesterday, they aren't rare. They are obviously easy to ID, that's why I presume its a copperhead

 

[Jhn]

Then you can let it kill you? lol im not scared to grab the AR fifteen when I see one on my property.

Been alive a long time with my live and let live philosophy. Just because it's there doesn't mean it will kill me.