SNAKE!!!

[WV Kim]

HELP!

I have a water snake in my pond. It has shed its skin in the box around my filter that is on the outside of pond. I did remove the lid so I can see in the box at all times. I have only seen the snake twice. It raised its head out of the water to look at me the first time with no fear. I looked at him for several minutes thinking wow, that frog looks different, no frog...SNAKE.... then again two nights ago, I was feeding the fish and thinking of changing the water flow in the hand pump and I seen this zig zag movement towards my fish that are feeding and then it did it again and raised its head to look at me again. I am afraid of it. My husband would kill it if he ever gets to see it, but both times he has not been there. He told me the first time it was a Gardner snake and not to be worry. It is not,,,,,, its a brown to tan color and it stays under the water not on top. I have lost 4 fish, thinking its do to changing the food but now I think its the snake attacking them. I did not find any markings on them. I have two cats that bring in small snakes, but one cat will no longer go to the pond. I do not believe it is poisonous. But I want it goooonnnnnnneee. This is the most we have had snake around our home. We are in a very bad dry spell now.
Please  give me some ideas.
Thank you
Kim

[barb]

   I have no clue!  I suppose it all depends on where you live, which would help to narrow down what kind of snake you have.  You could call your town Park and Recreation department, and see what they have to say about it.  I once did that about the first snake I saw in our yard, and the man I spoke to even offered to come out and have a look.  Of course it was just a garter snake (stripes), so I didn't have him come out, but maybe they would do so where you live.  It can't hurt to try!   

That is a shame about your fish.  But ewww, I am not able to picture that snake without getting an icky feeling.  I like snakes, but I prefer small ones, and definitely not in my pond!  I hope some of the pond experts can help you here.  I will keep checking back for updates on this. 

[andrew davis]

Ponds are quite the oasis when all about is droughted, occasional visitors may decide to hang around and outlive the novelty of their visit.

Snakes are quite vulnerable, sensitive critters... while they slither and wriggle to delight our sense of what is creepy and crawly, they barely add up to the equivalent of a largish lizard in body bulk...

They like nothing better than a quiet place abundant with easy pickings, good water, places to hibernate and lots of cover... Something I found when confronted with the occasional bulky three foot cottonmouth or five foot plus long rat snake that take a shine to clusters of tubs by the house with a lot of plants in is, they will scuttle into thick cover when they are uptight...

The idea of poking around those tubs and plants to try to get a snake out is not going to appeal to anyone... something that does persuade them to amble away from the tubs by the house is a stern spray of water... directed at the tail end they took the hint and worked their way out and away, fairly easy to steer from a safe distance...

I dare say all the undignified but harmless harassment is more than any snake can handle... they don't seem to come back after that. The  last thing in the world they want is to be noticed or harassed, and something which really really makes them coil with indignation and shame is a modestly strong squirt of water... a steady spray of water directed toward their rear end usually sees them scuttle of never to risk the indignity of a persistent squirt...

While it is fairly easy to put a round through them, I am reminded that each largish snake is likely to get through fifty rats or bullfrogs in a year, so as far as I am concerned, the snake is on my side if it goes about minding its own business at a respectable distance

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

[Vickie]

We had a brown one a couple of yrs ago it was called Eastern Water snake. It was getting in my ponds and eating fish. A friend of mine killed it for me. This yr we have had 10 snakes.  We use to let garter snakes alone untill there were ten this yr. That is too many.

[WV Kim]

Thank  you all for responding!!!!

I think the water hose might make me some braver but not much. I fear them more than they do me. Ten snakes are more than I care to see in one summer.   I was hoping for something to spread around the pond that might detour them. I don't care to breed snakes in my pond and I read that late summer is the time for babies to appear. The picture might be close but I don't see the whole snake so I am not sure. I do notice that the larger frogs have moved on but I still have two baby frogs that don't seem to be bothered yet.

Thanks
Kim

[tranquility]

I don't sweat the small ones anymore...I used to freak out anytime I saw a snake whether it was 6" or 4' didn't matter to me...a snake was a snake...but, since I have been ponding for going on 10 years now...they no longer bother me unless they are eating my fish...we have a small brown water snake living in our larger pond and he was about 1' 6" when he showed up this spring now he is well over 2'....I go into the pond and do what I need(mostly reconnecting my 2" bottom drains that my 24"+ asagi female keeps dis connecting) and as soon as I get out...here comes the snake out of hiding to see what I was doing in his pond....last night I did my usual 25% water change for the week and out he come...but, this time he just swam around and around...stopping everytime he came by me  to stop and  look at me...almost like he was saying hi...... I will tell you if you have a bullfrog in the pond....they will eat the fish too....and we found one in the pond yesterday also-So hubby relocated him to the creek....So the snake maynot be the only one eating your fish....
Lawanna

[MikeW]

I am still freaking out over spiders, aphids, fleas, ants, and termites. I say nuke the little bastards. Why do we need spiders if there were no little bugs in the first place? God had an oversight apparently.

Ckeers,

Mike

[barb]

Wow, what a creepy thread!  LOL!  I like garter snakes, but some of these posts have made me really scared of what might appear in my new pond.  OMG, if I went outside and saw a cottonmouth (which thankfully we don't have up here) I would run screaming.  Oddly enough, where I grew up in Oklahoma we had them, and I remember stepping around coiled cottonmouths in the tall grass to go fishing in a pond.  But I do not want anything remotely like that in my own little pond.  I wouldn't want to kill one, but a humane relocation would be in order.   

Keep us updated please, Kim.  Maybe you could get brave enough to snap a pic of him? 

[LouAnn]

I did see a cottonmouth in mine. I did not do any maintenance while he was there. He stayed a bit, then moved on. I just have black racers and rat snakes now. And lots of those.

[Marie Fisher]

Whether this is true or not, you can judge for yourselves.  I bought some fire ant
repellant stuff, sprinkled it around ponds (rain doesn't deter  it from remaining good),
thankfully not seen a snake this year.  I absolutely cannot stand the things, will hurt
myself running from one, and will kill one in heartbeat. I keep shovels handy in several
places, just in case I see one. Those are my frogs and fishes, not the blasted snakes.

[Johns]

Here ya go...

http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/list.asp?UID=200608301205098757030987&SKW=snake

[WV Kim]

Johns,
Do you think there is anything in the snake away to kill the fish or frogs? The frogs come and go and are bound to hop right in it and then back into the pond. I did not know they made such a thing. I was thinking about moth balls. I always hear leave them for this or that and they will go away and snakes don't like lime but I didn't want that in the pond either. I have not seen it this week but still not brave enough to put my hand in the water. I need to drain some water due to the down pours we are going to get  today. But I cant do it. I have shrubs around where I need to go and I know it could be there.
Thank you all for the help.  It helps to know you are not alone!!
Kim   

[reptilegrrl]

Those "snake repellants" are usually made with cedar or even more toxic chemicals.  They are neurotoxins for snakes and all other reptiles.  That means that frogs and toads, turtles, or any little backyard lizard that encounters those chemicals will be damaged and probably die.

Those things are terrible for the environment, too- please don't use them. 

If the snake is non-poisonous I really wouldn't worry about it.  I think making the pond uncomfortable for him would probably get him to move on. 

[10kpond]

your reaction is completely understandable, but completely irrational. no offense, but all nature can work together. frogs will return even if they've been all eaten because the snakes will leave when they have no more food. beating them with shovels or poisoning your area makes little sense. they come to a place because it provides them with something they need. they will always do it, just like spiders or dragonflies or the odd plant or any other thing that the pond provides for them. allow the area to achieve its natural balance.