1-19 caught #20 & 21 showed up, not the big one.

[addy1]

The snakes will move on no snake will hang in a pond full of cows

As long as they don't wiggle back here I am happy. There is another pond close to the farm pond with less cows. More seasonal, always a bit of water but it does dry up sometimes.

 

[addy1]

Darn darn darn #16 showed up! Watch the top of the screen, middle area, you can see the disruption as the snake attacks the fish. 8:10:35 It swims towards the bottom with the fish in its mouth. Trap going out again.......................

 

[GBBUDD]

16 full size snakes is hardly a endangered species , time for snake kabobs

 

[addy1]

16 full size snakes is hardly a endangered species , time for snake kabobs

They move so darn fast, no easy way to catch except the minnow trap with a sacrificial fish in it. Setting traps out tomorrow again, leave them out until we leave again in xx weeks,

I did remove all the hyacinth, so easier to spot them again. Still blooming but they will start rotting, easier to do now. The spiders were not happy, tons of them running.

 

[addy1]

Today removing all the hornwort, it is a forest. The snake lays in it and snatches the fish as they swim through it. Snake traps going back in. The blue is sort of a outline of all the hornwort, in the 5 foot deep area, a forest

 

[rubyduby]

Today removing all the hornwort, it is a forest. The snake lays in it and snatches the fish as they swim through it. Snake traps going back in. The blue is sort of a outline of all the hornwort, in the 5 foot deep area, a forestView attachment 153945

That is SOME video addy1...Wow! My watersnake just molted and left a huge snakeskin in my pond but I have counted my fish and still none taken...Good luck in trapping him!

 

[j.w]

Darn, darn, darn...................be gone w/yee, snakes! Was sad to see another one. Glad you know how to get them now and wonder how many fish they have gotten since you bought the new ones?

 

[addy1]

By the time done, double this amount of hornwort removed. Still some in the pond, the fish do love it. But not the forest that filled the deep end. It hid the snake well and it just waiting until a fish swam by, resting in the hornwort.

Had to shake out the snails, the little critters that live on the hornwort. of course putting the dirt right back into the pond. But critters more important.

 

[addy1]

AND found this just dumped snake skin, a baby................darn it. This fight will still be here next summer

 

[j.w]

AND found this just dumped snake skin, a baby................darn it. This fight will still be here next summer View attachment 153961

Sure looks like you may be fighting this snake thing forever!

 

[Tula]

Ugh.....was so hoping this ordeal was over for you. It's too bad you can't just remove the net and let snake predators dine on the snakes.....problem being they'd also dine on the fish.

I think thinning out the hornwort will help, anything to increase visibility and give snakes less hiding spots. Do they only birth young once a year in the Spring? Do you know how this type of snake winters?

 

[addy1]

Do they only birth young once a year in the Spring? Do you know how this type of snake winters?

They go into a den, ground, rock hole,

"Northern water snakes mate after coming out of hibernation in late March to April. Females give birth between late August and early October to live young, having anywhere between 12 and 36 at a time"

"Many winter in rock crevices, often with other snakes"

 

[Tula]

Wish we could put an Apple air tag on one and find where their crazy den is - LOL !

So they could give birth to more youngins till early Oct. ? Yikes ! Hopefully fully you've trapped most of the mature enough to breed ones and have a good start on population control for next year.

 

[addy1]

Who knows I keep thinking we are done, but nope not

 

[GBBUDD]

MIGHT BE TIME TO FIGHT THIS DIFFERENTLY . GET POND FOAM AND START FILLING ALL THE GAPS AROUND THE ROCKS .. I KNOW THIS COULD GET PRICEY BUT YOU MAY REMOVE THE MATING BALL

 

[addy1]

Thanks for the thoughts! BUT

LOL Well................my big pond has a 4 foot high 27 foot long rock wall to hide the dig down on the up slope to make a flat area for the pond. The stream, 85 feet, has stacked rocks hiding the dig down as I did switch backs to get down the steep slope, the down side edge is rocks. A lot now intermingled with plants. The 1000 gallon pond, a stock tank, has rocks hiding it where it was out of ground (slope), the loop ponds (three) are surrounded by rocks.

Our house is at the top of the slope which is about 25 degrees down to the pond area. Then we slope down into the woods.

Almost a impossible job.

Our land is a bit of dirt with shale, they could even be using the ground hog dens, at least 4 of them, that I know of.

 

[addy1]

#16 small but will become big, so now waiting for #17 another big boy Actually removed from the trap by hand with my bee glove on. Thickness size of my finger.

 

[GBBUDD]

you need to find some with a mouse and rat problem and you could make some money

 

[YShahar]

Ha! I was just thinking "you should grow them for export!" Change the purpose of your pond from "fish pond" to "snake farm" and start advertising in the local pet stores or something. (OK, I'm pretty sure water snakes aren't all that popular as pets. Or as anything else, now that I think about it...)

 

[addy1]

you need to find some with a mouse and rat problem and you could make some money

We have mice, moles, chipmunks, suckers likes the fish and frogs