2022 caught 20 , 2023 #22 - #27 just caught about 18inches

[addy1]

We have seen one copperhead, years back, none after that. Whew!

Yeah it was sort of fun when I saw the first one , then 4 last year, 9 this year. Not fun anymore!

Luckily my favorite place to put the trap has shown to be a perfect spot. A few fish have loss their lives, I try to keep them out of the trap, but it is called a minnow trap and it does trap the small fish. The trap is in the hyacinth that I put in for the first time in years.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

We have snake traps to try & get the copperheads (we have a lot of them & relocate when we can) but I have never had any success with the traps catching any. We just use the grabbers when we can find one far enough out of the wall & use our large garbage can as the 'containment vessel' to transport them out of here.
From earlier last month:

It was a good sized one! Now we just have two or three smallish ones remaining. Well, at least that we've seen!

 

[addy1]

The water snakes dive under water and can stay there up to 1.5 hours. Seldom see on land where you can grab.

 

[addy1]

Happy my invasion is not copperheads!

 

[GBBUDD]

We have snake traps to try & get the copperheads (we have a lot of them & relocate when we can) but I have never had any success with the traps catching any. We just use the grabbers when we can find one far enough out of the wall & use our large garbage can as the 'containment vessel' to transport them out of here.
From earlier last month:

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View attachment 152252
It was a good sized one! Now we just have two or three smallish ones remaining. Well, at least that we've seen!

Crazy , I know you'd rather keep the look you have but why not remove the cracks and crevices the snakes go for time and again

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Crazy , I know you'd rather keep the look you have but why not remove the cracks and crevices the snakes go for time and again

The natural stacked stone wall is 4' high & about 60' long. It runs across the entire front of the house & out halfway to the garage. I'd have to remove it & replace it with something else, which is financially impractical at best. We've just learned to coexist with them, as well as all the other numerous snakes we have on the property. Since copperheads hunt primarily at night, we are careful when we go out front after dark & never walk down through the garden to the yard/pond at night. We're also cautious when turning over any rocks or logs, which they like to hunker down under. It's just sort of a fact of life here.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

The water snakes dive under water and can stay there up to 1.5 hours. Seldom see on land where you can grab.

My Nessie used to bask out of the pond on the rocks all the time & she let me get right up to her without any fear. I was able to walk up to her with my grabbers & she only made a dive into the pond as I was just about to touch her, so I was able to get her as she just hit the surface of the water. I did consider it very lucky I got her on my very first attempt.

 

[GBBUDD]

The natural stacked stone wall is 4' high & about 60' long. It runs across the entire front of the house & out halfway to the garage. I'd have to remove it & replace it with something else, which is financially impractical at best. We've just learned to coexist with them, as well as all the other numerous snakes we have on the property. Since copperheads hunt primarily at night, we are careful when we go out front after dark & never walk down through the garden to the yard/pond at night. We're also cautious when turning over any rocks or logs, which they like to hunker down under. It's just sort of a fact of life here.

I was thinking more like In filling the cracks not so much so they are gone just less attractive and comfortable. Like use. So pond foam and trown peastone at it to make it look natural or s t one chips . Love the look of the rocks split and crevices .

 

[j.w]

Man I am so thankful we have none of these here...................I am never moving! Not sure which is worse tho the snakes on the ground of the snakes in our state gov't here...............oops

 

[Tula]

Wow, I didn't know it was illegal to kill a snake in MD........always learning.

 

[addy1]

My Nessie used to bask out of the pond on the rocks all the time & she let me get right up to her without any fear. I was able to walk up to her with my grabbers & she only made a dive into the pond as I was just about to touch her, so I was able to get her as she just hit the surface of the water. I did consider it very lucky I got her on my very first attempt.

Ours run the second they see you, no delay, right into the water. At least the ones this year. Last year I could almost walk up to the big fatty snake that I think was big mama. But she would also leave fast. I found her skeleton in the yard.

 

[GBBUDD]

Man I am so thankful we have none of these here...................I am never moving! Not sure which is worse tho the snakes on the ground of the snakes in our state gov't here...............oops

I'D HAPPILY EXCEPT THE VENOMOUS SNAKES IN @BKHpondcritters area over yours. Your area has been drinking the poisoned coolaid since the 70's. IT'S DEEP

 

[j.w]

I'D HAPPILY EXCEPT THE VENOMOUS SNAKES IN @BKHpondcritters area over yours. Your area has been drinking the poisoned coolaid since the 70's. IT'S DEEP

I wish we here that don't like what is happening could overwhelm the ones that are so deep into this crazy stuff going on but alas I think we are the minority and the only way out is to just leave but hard to do when you have lived here all your life and have all your family here.

 

[zinjy]

Man I am so thankful we have none of these here...................I am never moving! Not sure which is worse tho the snakes on the ground of the snakes in our state gov't here...............oops

I actually have developed a problem with garter snakes here in WA :S The first couple years they were just ordinary size and didn't seem to do anything to the fish, though they liked swimming in the pond occasionally, but they apparently grew large on a diet of baby fish. I caught some huge ones last year and relocated them, after I kept finding dead fish on the side of the pond and finally figured out what was happening. I'd never seen garter snakes this big before. They were now big enough to catch the 10"+ fish and drag them out of the water, but the fish were too big to swallow despite the fact that the snakes had grown large, so they just died . I've already caught two not-quite-so-big snakes this year going after my smaller replacement fish. A month or so ago I caught a snake with a fish in its mouth (head first) on the side of the pond. When I netted the snake it dropped the fish and the fish has actually survived, amazingly. The snake is now far away.

 

[GBBUDD]

Wow never saw a garder large enough to grab a 10 inch fish