Pygmy Rattlesnakes

That is EXACTLY the snake that my husband found in our garage last Thursday. It actually got caught in one of his casting nets, so it was pretty easy to kill it. My husband made sure to show it to me so I knew what it looked like just in case I ever came across another one. How scary though for it to be in our garage - I don't even like going out there anymore!

Go to Flickr.com and type in pygmy rattlesnake for more pics...We do not have that variety here in Kentucky...but we do have rattlers...and most commonly copperheads...but our newest nuisance has become the ever growing black bear population in the hills and mountains behind our house....eeekkkkkkeee....

Hope I do not run into any of those critters when we visit Fla in July

Okay, so now that we've established there are snakes everywhere down here...how do we keep them out of our houses and yards? My exterminator last weeks said the only thing he knew of was to put moth balls around the outside of the house, but that STINKS up my whole yard. Anyone know any other remedies for snakes?

I'm also curious how to keep those darn lizards out of my kitchen and living room. They keep getting in my house somehow when I let the dog out and they're impossible to get back outside. Any ideas on how to get them away from my house?

many thanks for any suggestions! :clap_1:

Okay, so now that we've established there are snakes everywhere down here...how do we keep them out of our houses and yards? My exterminator last weeks said the only thing he knew of was to put moth balls around the outside of the house, but that STINKS up my whole yard. Anyone know any other remedies for snakes?

I'm also curious how to keep those darn lizards out of my kitchen and living room. They keep getting in my house somehow when I let the dog out and they're impossible to get back outside. Any ideas on how to get them away from my house?

many thanks for any suggestions! :clap_1:

Moth Balls is a suggestion I have gotten too, here in Kentucky...you can also buy a product at your local hardward called snake away but it does not work on all snakes and in the case you encircle a snake, guess what? You have built a perimeter around your house and the snake won't leave...otherwise keep your weeds and grass cut low and watch out!!

If anyone else has a suggestion, please please let me know...I am scared to death of snakes...

Okay, so now that we've established there are snakes everywhere down here...how do we keep them out of our houses and yards? My exterminator last weeks said the only thing he knew of was to put moth balls around the outside of the house, but that STINKS up my whole yard. Anyone know any other remedies for snakes?

I'm also curious how to keep those darn lizards out of my kitchen and living room. They keep getting in my house somehow when I let the dog out and they're impossible to get back outside. Any ideas on how to get them away from my house?

many thanks for any suggestions! :clap_1:

The lizards are running from the snakes. One way to get rid of the snakes is to iliiminate all of its food and water sources. Walton County Mosquito control is working on taking care of that for us by widespread aerial spraying of poisons as well as using truck sprayers which run up and down the streets spraying toxins into our air.

Until the poison spray kills everything, moth balls do keep away the snakes. Not sure if they repel the food sources too, or just the snakes. They probably repel everything in their path, including me. Other than moth balls, keeping pigs in the yard also works. Pigs will kill the snakes for you. I really think the moth balls probably smell better than pig urine, but that may be a personal preference of mine and not universal. Best scenerio is live with nature. I keep the spiders around the house because they eat the roaches. ;-) The snakes help to maintain balance too. I know many of you have fear of snakes. I do too. However, I am proof that one can live with the fear and embrace them being alive in my yard. When I do occasionally find a poisonous one in my yard, I will relocate it down the street in a place better suited for it an me and my dawgs, but killing them is very unnecessary and shallow-minded on our part. Just watch a few episodes of Jeff Gorwin (or whatever his name is) and you will learn how you too can capture and relocate snakes. I just use his ideas as guidelines. I never pick them up with my hand. It is easy to scoop them into a bucket or trashcan and haul them down the street into the woods. Try it. You may surprise yourself.

I think the moth ball plan is flawed-they are napthalene which is toxic. This sounds like a solution that has been handed down by the oldtimers but probably doesn't work. Joe is right, the snakes are coming to the house because that is where the food is. If you have mice, you have snakes. Which flows well into my big question-why is eveyone just killing these things? I understand getting upset if they are on your porch or in your house, but honestly, just seeing a snake and bashing it to death with a shovel is incredibly short sighted. Not only do they keep the varmints under control, THEY WERE HERE FIRST! So, if you bash snake brains, don't get mad about sea turtle nests getting plowed or manatees getting buzzed by boats-all instances of human hubris!

The snakes I see around my yard (typically Black Racers) enjoy eating the cute Frogs, Anoles and Skinks of which I post photos. I have seen them in the mouth. Just a part of life and death. I have often seen the Anoles eating Honey Bees. It is just a big cycle. The Frogs eat the insects, which are now being killed off by the man in the Poison Truck. Etc. Once we take something out of the loop without replacing it, there are widespread effects. We have to wake up and smell the coffee. Learn to fit into nature rather than attempting to make nature fit into your world. ;-)

Yes, mothballs are highly toxic.

I hear what your all saying, but I still don't want any of those things in my house (I don't care WHO was here first!) And I would never hesitate to kill a snake, especially with dogs and children in the yard. I'm just looking for some other ways to keep them at bay.

I've never heard of any sure fire ways, and there may not be any. I was just curious.

I hear what your all saying, but I still don't want any of those things in my house (I don't care WHO was here first!) And I would never hesitate to kill a snake, especially with dogs and children in the yard. I'm just looking for some other ways to keep them at bay.

I've never heard of any sure fire ways, and there may not be any. I was just curious.

Tater, I acknowledge your fear and concern of a poisonous snake biting you guys or your pets. It is valid. However, there are other ways to handle it without incident.

The first thing you can do is to educate yourself on poisonous snakes found in your region. There may be different markings on similar snakes, or similar markings on very different snakes. The easy part is that there aren't many to remember around the US. My dad used to kill anything he didn't understand, so he would kill a non-poisonous Chicken Snake (for what? to protect the family and dogs?) If you kill all snakes in your yard, you are doing so out of your own ignorance. Educate yourself and help make the world even more beautiful.

I've never been referred to as ignorant on this board before, and I usually try to censure my posts, so that kind of thing doesn't happen. I'll be more careful what I type in the future. Thanks for the suggestion, SJ.

There is no sure fire way to keep snakes out of your yard. Snake repellant is a waste of $$$. If you really want them to keep away, minimize the amount of ground cover. They love woodpiles, stones, leaf piles, etc. They don't want to end up like that snake on the Mexican flag!

I've never been referred to as ignorant on this board before, and I usually try to censure my posts, so that kind of thing doesn't happen. I'll be more careful what I type in the future. Thanks for the suggestion, SJ.

Tater, I use the word ignorant only to mean uninformed or uneducated in the identification of snakes. Nothing more. I am just encouraging you to learn about the potentially dangerous snakes in your area. There is a difference and the non-poisonous ones pose zero threat to you and your pets, obviously. If you can learn to identify the poisonous ones, you can leave the other ones unharmed. ;-)

:clap_1: SJ and Skunkape! I too think that you should not kill anything in your yard if you can possibly help it. I found a small garden snake in my guest bath a couple of years ago, and let me tell you, that's quite a shock when it's 5:00 in the morning. But, while mr. dd freaked out, I just picked it up and "relocated" it outside. We have quite a few in our yard. Once in a while, the cats will get one, but like you said, SJ, it's just the natural cycle of nature. I do, however, have a spider story that I'm not proud of. Let's just say, when I tried to get the thing out of my house, a million babies came flying out! The resulting fiasco was not pretty--especially for the spiders. Personally, I would rather deal with a snake any day than a spider or one of those palmetto bugs!

: Let's just say, when I tried to get the thing out of my house, a million babies came flying out! :

Did this by chance involve an exploding cactus???

Did this by chance involve an exploding cactus???

No, nothing quite as sensational as that....it was in my house, and I tried to "gently" remove it with a towel, the babies came out, millions of them! My daughter was here and was freaking out, so what followed involved a vacuum cleaner, a broom and some insect spray. Like I said, not pretty. We looked like Lucy and Ethel!

No, nothing quite as sensational as that....it was in my house, and I tried to "gently" remove it with a towel, the babies came out, millions of them! My daughter was here and was freaking out, so what followed involved a vacuum cleaner, a broom and some insect spray. Like I said, not pretty. We looked like Lucy and Ethel!

I've seen this too;seemingly hundreds of baby spiders hitchhike on mama's abdomen, and if she is disturbed they scatter into as many directions. Guess it is instinct. :shock:

I've seen this too;seemingly hundreds of baby spiders hitchhike on mama's abdomen, and if she is disturbed they scatter into as many directions. Guess it is instinct. :shock:

And unfortunately for the spiders, I followed my instinct. :shock:

buy the biggest, most realistic fake poisonous snake you can find and put it half coiled up in the bushes - then get a plastic owl from a boat store like west marine or overtons and hang or mount it where it can be seen from all the yard - no mice or snakes in yard since snakes are territorial and the owl keeps away snake food

buy the biggest, most realistic fake poisonous snake you can find and put it half coiled up in the bushes - then get a plastic owl from a boat store like west marine or overtons and hang or mount it where it can be seen from all the yard - no mice or snakes in yard since snakes are territorial and the owl keeps away snake food

THANK YOU, Aquaticbiology, for answering my post and giving me an idea to try! :clap_1:

There is a kind of 'fence' on the market now. It is a wire mesh which is nailed or tacked onto an existing fence, while the bottom part is buried. I am not going to guarantee it's effectiveness as I have seen snakes climb conventional fences, so I don't know whether they can get past the anti-snake portion or not.

Generally, snakes don't like people any more than people like them. The one exception is the harmless rat snake. A guy at FWC told me one day that they tend to like getting into structures. So typically, if you find a snake in a house or building (I had one in a rental one day scaring the cleaners) it will usually be a rat snake. They're harmless. Catch-and-release. Just make sure to ID them first.

If it has rattles, it's a rattlesnake--those are easy.

Copperheads are not so common near the beach--they tend to hang out more inland.

Moccasins are usually dark grey or black with markings that are not particularly pronounced...and fairly thick bodies with triangular heads.

Black snakes (which are common here) have no markings and narrow, slender bodies & heads.

Rat snakes look like this...

Just encountered what I am fairly certain was a pygmy rattlesnake.
It was curled up right on the walkover.
Tiny snake, tiny rattle.
Elwood never even saw it; I herded him away in another direction.

Just encountered what I am fairly certain was a pygmy rattlesnake.
It was curled up right on the walkover.
Tiny snake, tiny rattle.
Elwood never even saw it; I herded him away in another direction.

Good call. That is a Pygmy Rattle Snake.

Good call. That is a Pygmy Rattle Snake.

Just encountered what I am fairly certain was a pygmy rattlesnake.
It was curled up right on the walkover.
Tiny snake, tiny rattle.
Elwood never even saw it; I herded him away in another direction.

Are y'all mocking me???:roll:

Cil, I almost stepped on one of these when we were house hunting in July. Apperently he came with the house.

Are y'all mocking me???:roll:

Cil, I almost stepped on one of these when we were house hunting in July. Apperently he came with the house.

So frightening, a real nightmare.

Yikes, Jdarg! That is one "inclusion" you can live without!
Thanks for the confirmation, SJ.
I've seen snakes all summer but I was always pretty sure they were just harmless garter snakes like the ones my brothers used to catch.
This one was very different, and when I came home and googled pygmy, the picture was identical to what I'd seen.
I was so brave! :ats self on back:: ;-)