Feeling kind of bad and kind of Amazon-ish

[crimsonandclover]

DH, DD, and I got home from Mother's Day lunch with my parents, stepped out of the car, and DH (total city boy) goes, "Gah! A snake!" Around here it's not that big of a deal, so I came around the back of the car to look, and it was a bit bigger than I was expecting and laying right inside the garage. I'm 90% sure it was a (non-poisonous) bull snake, but it was big enough that I didn't want to just push it back into the grass for it to get even bigger since DD plays out there. I also wasn't really up for trying to somehow catch a live snake and carry it over to the fields on the other side of the road, so I took out a shovel and killed it (I wish I could say I killed it with the first whack, but it took two :-( ).
Now I'm feeling a mixture of guilt for not having thought of a way to get it a safe distance from the house without killing it and also kind of a little Amazon-ish. I think DH was impressed with how calmly I got out the shovel and killed it then took it across the road.

So is anyone getting on the phone with PETA or do you have suggestions on good ways to transport snakes away from the house without getting bitten? How about you Aussie ladies? I'm guessing you have more experience than average.

[Cheesecake]

If it's up to me, dead isn't dead enough regarding snakes. I have terrible, terrible snake phobia.
So sorry, no help regarding the transport. MAybe now that it's dead, make that part YH's job??!!

[crimsonandclover]

May 13, 2012 15:09:09 GMT -5 Cheesecake said:

If it's up to me, dead isn't dead enough regarding snakes. I have terrible, terrible snake phobia.
So sorry, no help regarding the transport. MAybe now that it's dead, make that part YH's job??!!

I carried it to the other side of the road using the shovel, I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for the future and how to get it there alive. I don't mind snakes, but I don't like the thought of relatively big ones (it was about 3 ft long) in the yard where DD plays.

[elenetxu]

I'd share some stories about my mom's redneck-ness, but I'm too embarrassed. All I can say is don't feel bad.

[mrsukyankee]

What about using a sheet over it and then roll it up to transport it?

[lolo]

Are you worried that the snake will hurt your LO?

This site suggests one way to catch and release a snake: www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/gettingalong.htm. There are snake images on the site, so if that makes you uncomfortable, the gist of it is to sweep it, using a long-handled broom, into a garbage can that has a lid. Then put the lid on.

UKYankee's suggestion is also valid, but there are some further steps here: www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-a-Snake-in-the-House.

Do you live in a city or rural area? Are there reasons why snakes might want to come near the house, i.e. places to hide or things to eat?

What venomous snakes live near you?

[crimsonandclover]

May 13, 2012 16:06:27 GMT -5 lolo said:

Are you worried that the snake will hurt your LO?

This site suggests one way to catch and release a snake: www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/gettingalong.htm. There are snake images on the site, so if that makes you uncomfortable, the gist of it is to sweep it, using a long-handled broom, into a garbage can that has a lid. Then put the lid on.

UKYankee's suggestion is also valid, but there are some further steps here: www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-a-Snake-in-the-House.

Do you live in a city or rural area? Are there reasons why snakes might want to come near the house, i.e. places to hide or things to eat?

What venomous snakes live near you?

That is an awesome idea. I herded this one out of the garage before bashing its head and thought about putting it in the trash can when I was done, but hadn't thought of putting it in there to transport it. I'm not scared of snakes in the least, but I'm also not keen on the idea of throwing a sheet over a 3-ft bull snake and carrying it somewhere... I'm sure I would be scared if I were hiking in New Mexico and heard one rattling at me, but where I am now, poisonous snakes are few and far between. Technically, there are 4 kinds but they're all rare and most of them are found farther south.

Just like most snakes would, this one struck at me /the shovel as I was pushing it out of the garage because it felt threatened. Even though it's not poisonous, I would NOT want a snake to strike DD while she was playing in the yard, obviously, which is why I felt it needed to go far away or die.

[dorothyinAus]

I can't really help. I usually screamed until my parents came out to deal with the snakes. Mom favored a hoe to hack it to bits while Dad used the shovel bashing method, or just took it out with his pistol. We then dumped the bits in the canal across the street. But the snakes we had in or around my house were most often poisonous cottonmouth snakes.

Thankfully I haven't seen any such slithering reptiles since I have been here. I'd probably just scream until DH came to deal with it.

[crimsonandclover]

May 13, 2012 18:31:15 GMT -5 @publius said:

Are there poisonous snakes in Germany?

Not that I know of, but I'm back in the US for the summer.

[bail229]

Being one of those Aussie ladies you mentioned, my advice for dealing with snakes is to run screaming far, far away.

Sorry, I'm not really helpful. I'm deathly afraid of snakes!

[aMrsin09]

Yep, I'm with Bali.

Run fast and far while screaming for DH or just anyone who is willing to deal with it. And have the reptile remover on speed dial.

[lolo]

Thank you for looking for a safe way to transport them in future. I know they are really alarming at the best of times (and terrifying at the worst), but they really do play an important role in the environment.

There was some good info on some of the links I checked about checking to see if there's something in your environment (i.e. a wood pile) that makes a good snake home, and addressing that by way of prevention.

[CakeLover]

Good job, I prefer to have any snake away from my property. I could care less how the job is completed. Hell we paid a woman to our dirty work. It was money well spent in my eyes.

[crimsonandclover]

May 14, 2012 6:17:14 GMT -5 lolo said:

Thank you for looking for a safe way to transport them in future. I know they are really alarming at the best of times (and terrifying at the worst), but they really do play an important role in the environment.

There was some good info on some of the links I checked about checking to see if there's something in your environment (i.e. a wood pile) that makes a good snake home, and addressing that by way of prevention.

My parents used to have a woodpile and we occasionally had snakes there (mostly garter and bull snakes), but they haven't had that for years now. We just live out in the country where mice and other rodents abound, so it's rich hunting grounds for the snakes. Especially around harvest time all the creatures that usually live in the fields get kicked out and run/slither across the road to our house. The snakes generally aren't a nuisance (we have to deal with one maybe once every 2 years or so), and I'm usually of a live-and-let-live mentality (Unless the spider is hairy and in my house. If I can see the hairs, it dies ::shivers in fear and disgust:, so I'm glad to have the trash can idea for future reference. :-)

[ninjajeditofu]

You need to get one of these:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

[crimsonandclover]

May 14, 2012 8:00:07 GMT -5 ninjajeditofu said:

You need to get one of these:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

haaaaaahahahahaha! I couldn't listen to it with sound since I'm supposed to be working on my dissertation, but I have a feeling our enormous but cowardly dog would forever be afraid to go outside if we got one of those things. And I'd rather deal with a snake every 2 years than pick up dog poo messes in the house for the rest of his life :-) But thanks for the suggestion ;-)