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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2005-01-06          103628

Guys, I need help and fast. This morning, after clearing the snow, I heard a mouse trap snap. After having gotten in trouble for not clearing them quickly (she's terrified of mice), I went and checked right away. It's no mouse, but a snake. I suspect it's a Bull snake based on how populous they are in the area and some internet searching.

I ran upstairs to get an implement of destruction, but they are pretty much out in the shop and I didn't want to use the shotgun in the house. When I got back, it had squirmed out of the trap. The trap was along the wall about 2-3 feet from the hot water heater. It looked like he was headed towards the hot water heater. It would be a great place to hang out for a snake.

How do I lure him out from underneath the heater and get rid of it before my wife finds out? For my personal safety, I need to know this!! BTW, I will NOT be putting on a welding glove, laying on my belly and reaching under the hot water heater to grab it. I will replace the hot water heater and use a shotgun in the house before I do that.

Mice don't bother me, snakes do. My wife is even more terrified of snakes than she is of mice. I need to get rid of it fast!


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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2005-01-06          103631

I would hose the underside with something nasty, like Raid bug spray. If it is a gas water heater I would shut off the gas first.

Another option would be to let your shop vac do the reaching out and touching. Snakes will not let themselves get sucked down the hose, but a good strong vac with a crevice tool might latch on to it and drag it out where you can do the right thing to it. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
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2005-01-06          103639

Second thought: No air breathing critter can stand ammonia... even a big dose of windex should get it to move. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2005-01-06          103640

Most snakes are pretty defensive but not really clever.

A long thin dowel or stick of some form with a bit of a ball of soft material or another mouse trap works well, especially if you can see them.

Push it right up to him and poke him in the nose a few times. Generally they will not take thios for long and will snap and bite at the end of the rod, when they do pull them out with one hand and whack em' a good one with something in the other hand.

If you were closer I'd loan you Deputy Dog, so far he's got about a 25:0 record with snakes.

Best of luck. ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2005-01-06          103649

Thanks guys. I found a backup to help me out. Then my one dog loves to kill things. So I've now got a list of things to try. Thanks! I just want it gone before the wife finds out and wants to move. ....

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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003
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2005-01-06          103672

Don't even think about mentioning the snake to the wife. ;O) Just won't be worth the grief. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
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2005-01-06          103673

If your weather has been pretty cold, I would suspect that the snake has been inside and warm for awhile. Probably followed the mice indoors. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2005-01-06          103675

Hang on a minute, Iowa might be onto something here......

You mean if my wife thought there was a snake in the house she would want to move ???

Naw, never mind, even if my wife DID want to move she'd expect me to go along anyways ...... hehehehe.

Although, would this snake thing work on Mother-in-laws ???

Oh I'm in soooooo much trouble when she sees this..... ....

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denwood
Join Date: Jul 2004
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2005-01-06          103711

I heard an old trick to catch snakes, don't know if it is just an old wives tale. You get a wood or other box and cut a round hole in it just big enough for a snake to go in. You bait it with an egg which the snake eats and cannot get back out the hole until the egg is digested. that is providing the snake is big enough to eat an egg. ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2005-01-07          103726

Denwood, that sounds like the old pipe and pebble trick with racoons. Might work.

Anyway, we didn't find the snake last night. Two grown men, me with my hatchet and my buddy with a metal ice scraper on a 5 foot pole. We tore that place apart but found no snake. I've got booby traps set up now. Catch me either a booby or a snake!!

We think we found where the snake came in at and also the mice. Seems the sump pump well was not tied to drain tile like I thought/assumed. Closer examination shows that sump well has one opening for water to enter and that just opens to underneath the concrete slab for the basement floor. Perfect way for mice and snakes to enter. In fact, there is a debris pile in the sump pump from that opening. Could be from the water or from mice and such entering. It would be really easy for them to climb out of that well. It's sealed off now so they can enter the well, but not the house.

I did tell the wife since she accused me of forgetting to put the trash out yesterday morning. I responded with "I had a good reason for forgetting!!" and proceded to tell my story.

My dodg didn't pick up any scent of an unauthorized critter so I think the snake went back under the slab after getting startled by the trap. ....

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lbrown59
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2005-01-14          104194

Snakes in the winter? ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
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2005-01-14          104197

That is what lead me to the conclusion that it had been in the house all along.

Same deal with the lizard I found on the wall the other morning when it was 8 degrees outside. ....

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Iowafun
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2005-01-14          104211

I think it had been hanging out underneath the concrete slab for the basement floor. Nice place for a winter hangout and plenty of mice. I haven't found any signs of it and neither has the mutt.

I'll post anything if I find it. I'd feel better if I had it's body as evidence. ....

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lbrown59
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2005-01-14          104213

If your wife finds it you will be the first one to know.
....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
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2005-01-14          104235

Lbrown, that's my biggest fear right now. I'm more afraid of her finding it first than I am of the snake.

I thought I had set a rat trap in that room before I left. So I asked my wife if I had. She didn't know. So I said I was going to go get my shoes on. I came back into the room (no shoes) and she was standing on a chair!!

If I was an evil minded person and owned a rubber snake, I could be having some fun. Unfortunately, I don't own a rubber snake... ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
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2005-01-15          104251

I have never owned a rubber snake.

I did, however, have a rubber chicken for several years.

I can imagine what I might do with a rubber snake, but it remains a mystery to me as to what you are supposed to do with a rubber chicken.

I guess it is just supposed to hang somewhere and be what it is....?? ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2005-01-17          104359

Maybe you could use the rubber chicken to lure snakes away from the house, they like eggs and birds so they would probably be tempted by a rubber chicken in the yard.

Of course you might only attract rubber snakes ..... ....

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JDFANATIC
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 119 Southington, CT
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2005-01-20          104571

Iowafun,

Under your profile pic 4 looks like a circuit board with a snake on it; is this the end of your story, or a different one?

Hiss,

JDFANATIC ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
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2005-01-21          104621

JDFAN, pic 4 is from a test unit that some of our techs brought back to the building due to it's failure to function. It was clear the motor control board (located in the bottom of the washer) had fried. When they opened up the board cover, they found the snake wedged in there. It had found a warm place to spend the winter. Then it shorted itself across the board. Fried control board and fried snake. It was about 18-24 inches long.

It's not from my incident. I still have no snake body. The mice seem to have stopped getting in since I plugged up the hole. ....

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JDFANATIC
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2005-01-25          104927

Iowafun,

That's a hoot! I suppose the techie was a little surprised! BTW, have you located your little squirmy friend?

Cheers
JDFANATIC ....

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cityguy
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 6 Muncie, IN
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2005-01-26          104962

Too bad you don't like snakes. Bullsnakes like to have rattlesnakes over for lunch, if you know what I mean. Sounds like you might need a cat. That was recommended to us when we lived in NM in the '80s -- good for mice AND snakes. Good luck! ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
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2005-01-26          104968

Still no snake. Haven't heard any mice either since I plugged up the suspected entrance. So I have my fingers crossed and my traps set.

I can't get a cat cause the one dog will kill it. She likes to hunt and kill things. She almost go the neighbors cat. It hasn't been back since. Not a bad thing, really... ....

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cthonestguy
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 267 northeast
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2005-01-26          105020

Nobody hates snakes more than me. I am here in CT and my 5 acres had more snakes than Bronx NY has people. I used to cut my grass on my Velke behing my Scag with my 6 shooter filled with snake shot! Boys I am telling the truth! I'm over 200 pounds 6'1" and terrified of snakes. I saw one copper head and couldn't get the sucker and that was 8 years ago. I still dream about that one. I had a big fat black snake go under a huge boulder I put up in the front of the house as a retaining wall. I fixed his butt. One full can of ether and a match and it was like what Hiroshima must have been. I swear that 4,000 pound rock lifted up a few inches. My wife was pissed because I didn't have eye lashes or brows the whole summer.

I solved my problem. The second thing I hate (but am not afraid of) is a cat. I went to the local humane socitey and told them I was looking for a good cat. They asked me what I was looking for. I made the mistake of telling them I needed a barn cat. They asked what that was and I said a cat that would live in the barn, poop in the woods and NEVER come in my house and eat mic3e for food. They asked me to leave. I then went to the local dog pound. I figured any cat in the dog pound would have a better life being my cat that finishing his years in a dog pound. Well - there she was- 001. I paid my 10 bucks( cost for a rabies shot) and took her home in a box. I wasn't going to name it. I gave her an employee number- 001. I let her loose and fed her just enough to keep the "hunger" and wouldn't you know it, 2 days later she dropped a dead mouse on my garage step. Good cat. Well a couple of days later my 5 year old son and I are on our way home from the local coffee/icecream shop and he sees a cat in the yard (001) and asks if we can keep it. I told him I'd think about it and then find him petting it and playing with it and boy was I mad. This isn't a pet it was my first ever employee , my 5 year old was killing my master plan, messing with my employee! He even named it - SPRINKLES!! What kind of a cat named sprinkles is gonna kill a snake? I figured he had sprinkles on his icecream and that came to mind. Whay couldn't we have been coming home from the dump that day so he named her JUNKYARD or something tough? Sprinkles? My GOD!

Long story short (are you still with me?) Sprink..I mean 001, wiped out every mouse withing the radious of my house. She never left my yard yet. She is freindly and a real pussy when it comes to leaving the close proximity of my house. I went from snakes galore every day in the summer, ( No kidding every day I saw a freakin snake) to only 2 last year. Haven't had a mouse in the garage for 2 winters either.

I hate cats but hate snakes more. Spend the 10 bucks and pretend to be a cat lover. Go to the pound so you might get a mean one that will kick the crap out of a dog. Let her looose in the basement and throw a box with some speedy dry in there and that cat will get that snake- trust me. Make sure you don't get a whimp cat with no claws. go for the one that swings it's paw at you when you go to pet it. Or better yet the one missing an ear or tail. Or better yet ask the kid at the pound which one is the next one on "death row" so you bail one out and if your dog gets it, the critter got a few extra days because of your generosity and your only out 10 bucks.

It worked for me. Even if the cat doesn't get the snakes it will get the mice and little frogs and stuff and the snake will run out of chow and move on. The only good snake is a dead snake. I don't care what anyone says, they serve no purpose. I had lots of snakes and lots of mice. I had one cat and no mice and 2 snakes. I was so proud of 001 I got her a heated bed for the winter. I even brought her in the basement the other day when it hit -2. I hate cats but they make good employees. You will be suprised too if you let it have free run outside the dog will have a hard time getting it. Get one dump it in the basement for a few days and see or borrow one from a buddy. Don't forget the speedy dry. cats stink! If you lived close to CT i'd hire out 001 to you for a buck a day to try to get some of my 10 bucks back!

Good luck...Jim ....

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AV8R
Join Date: Oct 2003
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2005-01-27          105032

Cthonestguy: Gonna make a cat person out of you, yet. ....


Link:   My Employees

 
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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2005-01-27          105039

Time to build a snake trap by the sounds of it.

Two easy ones are;

A cardboard box with a hole in it at the bottom, put it on top of an electric heating pad set to low.

A heat lamp hanging over top of a very dark, black if possible, towel lying on the ground near where he might be hiding.

In either case it uses the snakes natural (and very powerful) instincts to seek heat, especially infrared, since they are cold-blooded.

To make the first one absolutely irresistable go to the pet store and buy a 'feeder mouse' or two and the smallest cheapest wire cage they have, they usually have some football sized ones for transporting feeders. Put this cage and the meese (plural of mice of course, LOL) inside the cardboard box. The sound and smell of them will make the snake crazy, it will do anything to get to them.

Best of luck. ....

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AV8R
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2005-01-27          105049

"I hate those meeses to pieces!" Jinx the cat. ....

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cthonestguy
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 267 northeast
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2005-01-27          105056

Murf, you left the most imoportant part out....what th heck do you do ith the sucker once it's in the box? Call fear factor and have one of those nutcases take it out? If he's afraid of snakes like I am it will take 3-5 years off his life just checking the trap!

Get the $10 dog pound cat and let it do the dirty work. Asnake is to a good cat what a hunk of lasagna is to a pisano like me...Jim ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
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2005-01-27          105064

Jim, in the case of the box, the handyman's secret weapon, duct tape.

In the case of the towel you have several more options, all of which are rather Red Green'ish in nature. BB gun, cattle prod, tennis racket, dog, cat ..... the list is endless. The trick is to lure them into the open.

Of course the old standby, the Victor finger-eater, errr, ummm, I mean rat trap, 6" of wood, steel and ouch.

BTW, I don't know about the fat cats, but I found out recently that Deputy Dog (picture # 7) can run down a mouse quite easily. I think they taste funny though cause he just gives them one chomp then spits them out. Yech.

Best of luck. ....

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Iowafun
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2005-01-27          105065

Murf,

I have the old Victor mouse traps mounted on the end of a yard stick. Theory is to get the snake to strike it and trigger it. That way the head is captured. Worst case, I'll use some implement of destruction. If it's in a box, then duct tape can hold it until I can get it placed in the chest freezer. A few weeks below 32 degrees F should make it much easier to handle. A "snakesicle" so to speak. Or I could fill the said container with water and place in the chest freezer for weeks.

I would figure something out. Dog could kill it. She loves that activity. I know what you mean with Deputy dog. My mutt spits out the mice too. She doesn't usually eat her kills. She just likes to hunt it down and kill it. ....

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cthonestguy
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2005-01-27          105066

That's a good dog. ....

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Murf
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2005-01-28          105112

I was talking to the fellas at the feed mill in town yesterday and asked how they handle the problem of mice, rats, and the snakes that inevitably follow.

I must admit, their solution is rather clever.

They took an 18" length of 2" PVC pipe and drilled two small holes about 4" from one end, through these holes was run a small piece of wire to form a loop inside the pipe. A standard Victor mouse trap mechanism (after removing it from the wood base) is then mounted with 2 part epoxy over the 2 holes such that when the trap is set, the bail is directly over the holes, with the bail pointing towards the far end of the pipe and the trigger towards the near end, the wire loop is fixed to the bail with the length adjusted so that when the trap is set off the loop has no slack at all. When the trap is ready the wire forms an open snare in the pipe. They solder a piece of wire to the trigger that dangles straight down through a larger hole drilled directly beneath it. They then put a T-fitting on the end with the trap, the kind which is meant to connect the 2" into a drain pipe. One end of the large pipe is capped, the other gets a screw-type cleanout cap. When they catch a mouse they unscrew the cap and put it in the large pipe end and replace the cap. The whole affair is laid against a wall in an area where they know there are likely to be snakes.

It is apparently a "lady friendly" sure-fire method of getting snakes. The snake smells the mouse, and possibly hears him struggling if it's still alive and enters the 2" pipe, just after it's head passes through the snare loop it bumps the wire connected to the trigger, the trap goes off pulling the snare tight around it's neck just behind it's jaw.

By snaring them this way there is absolutely no chance of them wriggling free since they cant coil up and roll around to knock the trap off themselves, they are trapped until someone relelases them. A quick glance at the trap indicates whether it is still set or not also.

The best part, absolutely no handling required, snake-sicle or otherwise. Really cheap too.

They told me they got the idea from a guy in the US praries who uses a similar idea, put he epoxys wire mesh over the inside of the 2" opening in the larger pipe and uses a live mouse as bait, they thought they would re-cycle instead.

Best of luck.
....

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Iowafun
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2005-01-28          105135

Murf, thanks for that idea. I think I've got some PVC pipe out in the shop. I think it's a good idea. They do like to crawl into good hiding places. ....

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