Would love some info how to get rid of a watersnake

[AlyssaFish]

I've seen two different garter snakes a couple of times. Very cute. My friend insisted on picking one of them up and taking pictures with it (she's a big animal lover like me, and has a pet hog-nose snake). I am not sure what I would do if I had a snake that was more dangerous, especially one that was dangerous to my fish. Relocating it would be ideal, of course.

 

[mrsclem]

I had to post that I hadn't seen a snake! 5' black snake in the yard next to my heat pump. Hubby was mowing - he doesn't like snakes!

 

[Tula]

OMG, same here ! Hubby said he almost stepped on a large one this afternoon

 

[Lisak1]

@SEKCOBRA - your screen name may give away your love of snakes!

 

[Tula]

I was just wondering why my frogs and toads weren't singing

 

[AlyssaFish]

Speaking of coincidences, I ended up seeing a big garter a couple hours after my post!

I decided to pick him up and he decided to go to the bathroom on me. Oops! I didn't mean to scare him that badly! I usually leave alone all the wildlife that shows up to visit my ponds (excluding mosquitoes, those get swatted), but something about having just been talking about them made me want to say hello more...assertively. My mistake.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Speaking of coincidences, I ended up seeing a big garter a couple hours after my post!

I decided to pick him up and he decided to go to the bathroom on me. Oops! I didn't mean to scare him that badly! I usually leave alone all the wildlife that shows up to visit my ponds (excluding mosquitoes, those get swatted), but something about having just been talking about them made me want to say hello more...assertively. My mistake.

LOL! Yeah, garter snakes are quite 'smelly' when they want to be left alone.

Per one website: Garter snakes have musk glands that produce a pungent, foul smelling substance. A garter snake will release the contents of its musk glands as well as the contents of its cloaca (a common chamber that contains wastes from the digestive tract, excretions from the kidneys and reproductive products) and smear this pungent mixture on themselves and their attackers. As if this is not enough to discourage the predator, garter snakes can also regurgitate the contents of its stomach onto itself and its attacker. Quite an interesting array of deterrents!

Still, all in all, I do love my resident snakes.

 

[GBBUDD]

S H O T G U N end of story

 

[GBBUDD]

Just kidding I would just catch it. they are opportunist put a fish tail from the store in a net put it in the pond and wait. or the old use a stick to pin the head. and grab um. if your not so ambitious with snakes call a pest control but you better know where it is

 

[Tula]

I do't mind smaller snakes, but these huge snakes that eat my frogs and toads.....well, they need to find new digs !

 

[JamieB]

Here's a frog I found on my way home i think is safe. Should be better at eating the snakes than feeding them. Took both hands to move it out of the road!

 

[JamieB]

As for snakes, we've found 4 pair here breeding, or maybe a very armourous female with two or three males. All plain water snakes. Just tells me I'll have to get big fish, and will have populatin controls in the pond.

 

[addy1]

Here's a frog I found on my way home i think is safe. Should be better at eating the snakes than feeding them. Took both hands to move it out of the road!View attachment 129389

That is a BIG sucker!

 

[Alice_Bee]

I mainly have had diamond back water snakes. First time was in the drought of 2006, after half my fish came up missing I spotted the snake. She hid under the waterfall and played peekaboo with me for a month after I moved my fish to a stock tank with a filter out front. I know it was a she because she left her baby, and that's how I ID'd the species. I never did catch her but after a month no food she took off. Daddy Diamondback watersnake got his head cut off when he turned up a few weeks later, and the baby got relocated to a creek...

since then I have acquired a snake grabber, minnow traps which will trap a swimming snake, and a phone number for volunteers that will pick snakes up.

And currently there is a yellow bellied racer about 5 feet long somewhere around my front flowerbeds, but since he doesn't eat fish we can give each other space

 

[j.w]

Did I already say I was so glad we only have garter snakes