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I am hysterically, and admittedly irrationally afraid of snakes. Make that terrified.:0!
There have always been snakes (harmless non-poisonous ones) here where our home and business is. I just try to pretend they aren't there and am fortunate to only meet up with one about once a year. Dh on the other hand, kills several each summer.
So last night dh opened the door to the walk-through to the attached garage and found the skin of a snake that was about 2 ft long. This #@*&! thing was about 3-4 ft from where I sit all evening in the living room of my house.
I'm flipping out. I didn't sleep at all last night. Heck, I wouldn't even turn the light out until dh came to bed. I have tears in my eyes as I write this I'm so rediculously afraid of the legless little beasts.
So, how do I get rid of them? I don't need more house guests. Next time this happens I'm seriously moving into the car until snow falls. I mean it.
Dh made a concoction of garlic and water and sprayed it everywhere last night. We smell like a cheap italian restaurant. Apparently him mother used to do this when they had problems :confused:
Please don't share stories of your visitors-I don't need any more fuel for the fire. Just tell me how to make them go away. There are no exterminators around here. Menards laughed and told dh that a shovel works best.
loosechickens
6-15-11, 2:26pm
This is not any kind of immediate solution, but in general, when we learn more about things that we fear, they become much less fearful. Some efforts made to realize and learn about how harmless almost all snakes are, how helpful they are in keeping populations of other things, like rats and mice down (better than cats, really), gradually one's fears dissipate.
I'm sorry that you are being so handicapped by this fear....it can be no fun to no longer feel safe in your home. Honestly, if you are feeling this degree of fear and anxiety, to the point where it is affecting your ability to be in your home, it sounds as though it's time for some professional counseling, which would be even more useful than an exterminator. Because as long as you still have that degree of fear, you would never be able to convince yourself that the exterminator had gotten every one. And also, if he or she did, you could then worry about whether rats and mice would take over.
Hang in there.......when we lived in Central America where there were a number of snakes, and some that were very dangerous, people cleared space around their houses like a no man's land of bare earth. No shrubbery, no grass, nothing....just bare earth, carefully swept and raked daily so that even any sign of passage of snakes could be seen. It wasn't pretty, but it kept the snakes from getting in the houses so easily. Guess that isn't a solution for this country, but if you have any piles of stuff, good places for snakes to hole up, you might want to clean everything up as best you can.
Good luck......
But loosechickens, they're so hideous that they weren't even deemed worthy of legs! They just wiggle and writhe and *shudder*
They can be outside. There I can walk away and leave them be. I saw one the other night and just left and told dh where to find it so he could kill it.
My house has to be off limits. It must. The thought of sharing the shower or my bed with one is more than I can handle. I know this is stupid and foolish and I am supposed to be an intelligent human being that isn't so negatively effected by some poor animal. I am an intelligent, rational human being about most things.
We have a vacant house next door and there is a ton of tall grass and empty, rural land around here so its primo residential area for critters. I need to move back to the city where most of the vermin where clothes and walk on two feet-lol.
Hopefully someone knows of a trick to keep these unwelcome visitors outside.
I'm so sorry you feel that way. Loose chickens made a great suggestion - learn more about them. They are not evil and infact consume great numbers of rodents and other undesirable vermin.
I don't much like snakes either especially coming upon them suddenly, but I always feel just awful (and very angry) when the neighbors or their gardeners kill them needlessly - especially the non-venimous ones- since they do much more good than harm and that means the local rat, gopher and mouse population is going to get worse. Rats are far more destructive than snakes.
I know you will hate my response, and I understand you have an irrational fear of them ....but please either read about or talk to a therapist about your phobia, or learn more about all the good that snakes do instead of insisting that all of them must die.
bke, I feel your pain! Let me get this straight. Are you saying this thing is IN your house, or the garage? We had a big black snake try to take up residence under the front steps. Harmless, sure, but he needed to be harmless somewhere else! I had heard mothballs would drive them out (not sure where I heard it) so i tossed a handful under the porch. I haven't seen sign of him since. Either he left or he is being really good at hiding. I hope he left. Anyway, at the home store, Lowes I think, they had this stuff that would get rid of snakes but it had lots of warnings and caveats, so i decided against it, but you might check it out.
You know what I really hate about snakes? When you are out walking, all the other little woodland creatures will scuttle away as you approach, but a danged snake will just sit there waiting for you to step on it, or almost step on it. I live in the country and I know there are hundreds of little critters all around us at any given time, but most have the decency to hide as we approach. Not snakes!
Hi everyone. Thanks for the responses. Gina thanks for your response. I knew I wouldn't like all the answers I recieved when I posted. The issue is silly to most people and I understand that. I'm workin on this little by little. It used to be a real problem for me to see them on tv even. I guess I'm saying that I respect your response even if I don't like that there's some truth to it.
Peggy thank you as well. There is a small area (the width of a door) between the house and the attached garage. Like an aisle with doors at both ends. Its kind of an odd area but it was required for the remodeling project. This is where the snake was. Right next to the entrance of my living room and 3 ft. from my chair.
I'm keeping quiet about this. No complaining to dh. Making him feel bad won't solve anything. I'm careful when entering a room and I fluff the blankets at bed time. Oh, and I wear shoes alot. I know I can't let this get more out of control-its a stupid thing to have this kind of affect over my life.
I read about the moth balls too. Maybe I will get some for around the outside of the house. They can't be too expensive and might give me peace of mind.
A really low tech help might be to put down some double sided tape right in front of the door to the house, in the "aisle". Or diatomaceous earth, which is sort of like scouring powder and an abrasive that's probably not comfortable for a snake to slide over. Or even a little barrier of something spikey, like small cleats. And moth balls. And garlic. Having some peace of mind about them actually getting inside the house would be a good start.
I was just reading the other day that a very effective treatment for spider phobia consists of flashing pictures of spiders on a screen, too quickly for people to consciously see. For some reason, seeing the spiders in non-threatening situations seems to shift the unconscious a little about their perceived horrible-ness. I wonder if you could find a phobia treatment center that employs that sort of therapy for snakes?
Do you happen to know what kinds of snakes you have living in your area?
Most snakes eat things like earthworms, slugs, and salamanders. Unless you have those things in your house, snakes aren't going to bother coming in your house. I know you still want to be rid of it, but hopefully this little piece of info will help you to rest more easily in the meantime.
If you have shrubs growing near the foundation of your house that is a likely place for snakes to live. So you might find it helpful to trim or remove shrubs to discourage snakes from taking up residence right near your house.
loosechickens
6-17-11, 10:34pm
bke, it isn't silly, and I know that none of us are thinking that it is. It sounds as though you really have a serious phobia regarding snakes, which is not uncommon, and no reason to feel embarassed about it. Because it is somewhat extreme, as opposed to just "not liking snakes very much", and seems to be interfering with the quality of your life because of your fears that if you saw evidence of one, no telling where you might find others. That's the reason that I mentioned, and several others as well, that therapy and some fear reducing education and exposure might be helpful in the long run.
Of course, right now, that's cold comfort, I know, because just because the fear may be exaggerated in relationship to the real dangers, doesn't mean that it isn't very real.
Cyber hugs coming your way for right now, and for long term, please try to face this fear, walk yourself through it, get counseling or whatever might be necessary to reduce the effect that snakes have on your emotional well being. Fears faced are fears conquered, hard as it seems.
I'm sorry for your terror. I am at a loss for what to suggest....a mongoose?
I see your point. Would you rather just repell them or kill them. I repell them. Either get cats or if your friends have cats ask them for the used litter and spread it along your property line. I lived on ten acres in east central Texas and we have snakes. The neighbors always saying "i killed three (whatever number) snakes this week." The only thing I did different I had cats number one and the used litter went along the fence line. I lived there 5 years the only time I saw any sign of a snake was the first year
I must admit, snakes creep me out also. I hope you find a good solution to removing your visitors...
Thanks for the posts. I almost stepped on another of the darned things the other day. GRRR! I screamed like I saw an axe murder and embarrassed myself.
Dh and ds have cleaned out the garage and yard as much as possible. They also put a boarder of rock salt around the house which is supposed to deter the snakes. As long as they stay outside I will be ok.
Hopefully the longer we live here the more they will decide to relocate. Dh insist there are less of them this year and that I simply have had the misfortune of seeing them more.
I continue to wear shoes and fluff blankets and my guys work at keeping them out of site. I don't complain and they don't criticize-lol.
poetry_writer
7-18-11, 11:30am
What kind is it? I shoot poisonous ones for obvious reasons. Do you have cats? They can discourage snakes.
The snakes aren't poisonous. My guys kill them with a shovel or whatever is handy when they see them. There haven't been any that I've seen in a couple of weeks. If the guys have seen them they are kind enough not to inform me.
HappyHiker
7-20-11, 5:37pm
Snakes are not my favorite creatures but I don't believe in killing them--poisonous or otherwise..they're part of the circle of life and fulfill an important role in the animal hierarchy. For one thing, they keep vermin in check--things like rats and mice, though I think mice are kinda cute--but not when they decide to share house with me.
I often wonder if snakes think we clumsy, upright, two-legged creatures are creepy?
HappyHiker-
I'm not big on killing animals either but I admit to making a hypocritical exception when it comes to snakes. We found some crushed moth balls at the store last night and bought them. We scattered them around the fence and by the entrances to both the restaurant and the house. Customers aren't too happy when they see snakes on the way in or out of the place either!
Hopefully the snakes will get the message and move on. I know they have their rightful place in this world-its just not in my home! I'll be more than happy to leave them alone if they will leave me alone too!
Also, I've gotten over the thought of them being in the house and am back to living normally. I will assume the deterrents are working and relax until I have proof otherwise.
rodeosweetheart
7-28-11, 11:45am
I know you said not to write about your own visitors but something similar happened to me two days and that is why I opened your thread. So you have my deepest sympathies--I came into the house saying we had to move immediately.
Which is dumb, since everywehre we go in the country, there are snakes. I am liking that mothball idea--will throw them under the porch. I also have broad headed skinks. Luckily, no alligators yet, although I'm just waiting.
My little dog is actually kind of afraid to be outdoors. We are a lot more tropical than her home farm in Amish country, upstate New York. She finds the whole beach scene bizarre.
Maybe if you do what my husband does--keep telling yourself, "This is the sign of a healthy, diverse ecosystem, this is the sign of a healthy, diverse ecoystem, this is the sign of a healthy, diverse ecosystem."
Phobia wise, the more exposure you have, the less fear you will have, but be careful with doing that yourself. Phobias are real, and my heart goes out to you.
On the plus side, we have mating painted buntings!
Oh hey, forgot to say, our west highland terrier was the greatest snake catcher ever--she caught 3 in 45 minutes once.
Agreed, phobias are real and interfere with one's life. There are also many good hypnotists who can help you reduce or eliminate your fear of snakes in a session or two. I wish I knew what to do to deter snakes...I have seen several out here in my new state of Florida, and they certainly startle the heck out of me! I like how you're choosing to assume that the deterrents you've put in place are already working...that will help you from spinning your wheels in fright unnecessarily.
I symathize with your phobia regarding snakes ... even tho I kinda like snakes ... because I'm horribly afraid of BUGS. All those legs!!! And they run fast!!! And they hide!!! So I do understand. I grew up in Central CA where there were a lot of gross bugs, and Daddy used to tease me with crickets, so I think that may be where some of my fear came from. I do like bees however, since we (DH and I) used to have two hives and I got used to them while we were extracting honey. But I kill every other bug I can, with no apologies. Reptilian creatures are cool tho! I had a lizard climb up inside my pants leg once, stopped at my knee, and I had to go inside to take my pants off to get him out. He was a cute little lizard! And my high school mascot was a horned toad (also called horned frog in the south/east?). And I do know a couple of people (women) who are as deathly afraid of mice as I am of bugs, but I think mice and rats are cool. So there ya go ...
goldensmom
7-30-11, 2:25pm
I hate snakes. They are so slithery. My husband tells me that there is something wrong with me because snakes serve an important purpose in nature. I tell him that I am just being Biblical because the bible says there will be enmity between woman and the snake or it might come from my older brother chasing me with snakes when I was a small child. He says there is still something wrong with me.
HappyHiker
10-19-11, 10:04pm
There is nothing wrong with you. The aversion to snakes goes way back and is deeply embedded in our collective psyches. But, even so, please do not kill them. They play a vital role in our circle of life and are great to have around as vermin eaters. They want to avoid you just as much as you want to avoid them. Except, on occasion the odd aggressive water mocassin. Some of those snakes are nuts!
There were a lot of snakes out here when we first bought our property. My feeling was that if you take away their food source, they'll leave.
We cleaned up the area, keep everything mowed. With just the general activity around here, I haven't seen a snake in probably three years.
Some people put sharp, crushed white rock around their house and buildings.
Since DH isn't afraid, he could order a snake catcher thing (long pole with hook on end), pick up the snake with it and drop it into a bucket, put the lid on the bucket (those 5 gal plastic ones) work well. The snake doesn't mind being picked up or put in the bucket, and can't jump further than 1 1/2 times its body length. Then DH puts the bucket in the car and drives the snake a few miles away to a place where it can get water, and the snake will not come back. That's what people around here do.
HappyHiker-...and by the entrances to both the restaurant and the house. Customers aren't too happy when they see snakes on the way in or out of the place either!...
Restaurant?
Restaurant?
Put them on the menu?
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