Snakes and garden ponds
 

This is somewhat OT for orchids, but I am hoping that somebody has a solution that I can try.
My little (24 gal.) garden pond *was* inhabited by several large fantails and comets, very long-lived fish. I had noticed a few ribbon snakes hanging around basking, and didn't think much of it until I realized that all of my fish had vanished! The biggest ribbon snake is also the biggest one I've ever seen, about 3' long and as thick as my wrist. He will be getting even larger after those nice fish dinners (one of the comets was as long as my hand!).
So, we pelted them with BBs, squirted with the hose, and haven't seen them for a few weeks, so the other night bought a dozen little comets and restocked.
All was well yesterday morning, but when I got home from work, it was to a deserted pond. Grrrr!
I've put out some "Snake-Away" (essentially mothballs) with no result.
Please, any suggestions?
Thanks - Nancy

Maybe get an alligator?

I'm having trouble with the size of this snake. I can see them getting 3' but not the size of your wrist. I suspect what you are actually seeing is an eastern garter snake which is stockier. They prefer toads and frogs but will take fish. I suspect when all the food is gone they will move on but I really don't know of any way to keep them away. Have you actually seen them eat the fish?

Have you seen any herons around your pond? They eat fish, and a friend had problems with them and they ate pretty much every fish in her pond. Like you, she restocked, and they came back to feast some more. I think in the end she gave up on the fish for a year or so after the herons.

how about something they would not want to slither on ? are you sure it is not raccoons or a cat ? or one of the fishing type birds ?

Nope, not cats, raccoons, herons, cranes, egrets, owls, bears, gators or possums. Ribbon snake, and nothing else.
We live along a coulee, so are in a snake-rich environment. And yes, I've seen the smaller ones (ribbons) gulping up some of the 'ditch-fish' (minnows netted from the coulee) when they surface. Type of snake doesn't really matter, though it is 100% ribbon. And greedy!
I thought someone might have had results with inflatable owls (crows perch on them in the garden), bells, CDs, garlic, cayenne, etc., etc.
Perhaps I should try to locate a mongoose.
I did have this happen once several years back, and the perp (kingsnake) even ate several hatchling red-eared sliders - I could see their outline in its body! When the pond was cleaned out, however, it moved along. Didn't happen (at least yet) in this case.
Grrrr - in their way, as bad as squirrels (which at least are delicious). Cheers - Nancy

You could try and find a fence or some type of fine mesh to surround the pond you. Will have to make sure there are no holes large enough for the snake to get in through. It would help if you can burry the bottom few inches of it. I don’t think ribbon snakes are arboreal so overhanging branches shouldn't be a potential entry point.

Ah, this must be the Western Ribbon Snake since it get's much bigger. I have ponds myself and no fish can survive due to the frogs, herons, raccoons and feral cats:((. So, I enjoy the wildlife I have.

I like snakes better than fish anyway.

how about ...Don't just pelted? pump that little thing up 10 times then shoot em heheh:rofl:

Bad advice!

I'm not a fan of snakes...sorry

I'm not a fan of football players but I don't want to kill them. Sorry

Remember putting a minnow trap in the water and leaving it overnight - (the kind that has a funnel shaped opening so that the minnows go in and cant find their way out because they swim toward the light)- when I took it out of the water it was full of snakes all dead drowned. Just a thought and you might try it especially if you already have a minnow trap.

Only need 6 pumps :rofl:

LoL..that is your opinion
k thanks.... lets stick to the subject of the thread..

I will try that next time..

Have you tried moth balls around the pond area. Hubby says that they repel snakes. Its supposed to work, good luck.

Hello Nancy. Last year I had the same problem with Eastern Garter snakes. I cam out one morning to find two of them stretched out "tanning" themselves on a carpet of water hyacynths. I sprinkled genuine mothballs around the perimeter of the pond making sure that the mothballs were in a positions that any runoff would not enter the pond. Voila! That was the last I have of them around the pond and I do have a few of them in and around my gardens. Good Luck.

Hi Nancy,

I study snakes as a PhD student (so to me I'd rather the snakes than the fish!). But with a free food supply, it's going to be hard to get rid of these guys. I am certainly against killing them, but even if you killed the ones you saw, there are probably more around and they will hunt at night as well, so youwon;t be able to keep watch 24/7. It wouldn't take long for just 1 or 2 to polish off all your fish in a few nights, they can eat a ton.

I would suggest a few things (snake away and things of that nature typically don't have much effect, but can't hurt to try and it could possibly work). 1. Can you stock your pond with just a few very large comets/fish? I know big ones are more expensive, but you can try getting fish that are just wayyyyy too big for the snakes to eat.

2. You can keep the area around the pond inhospitable for the snakes. Anything easy for them to hide in/under will encourage them to hang out. Any loose rocks should be removed and keep your grass around the pond mowed very short. That might help a bit. Snakes don't like being without cover and places to hide.

I don't know whether a fake owl or something might help, but raptors certainly eat snakes, so again, it couldn't hurt.

I would not suggest doing something as inhumane as drowning the snakes in minnow traps, that's an awful way for any animal to die (ugh, that type of thing disgusts me). You could however, set out minnow traps, leaving part above water to allow any caught snakes to breath and then transport them elsewhere.

Feel free to send me a private message or just post here if you have any other ideas/questions I might be able to help with. Good luck!

Sara

By the way - I was trying to catch minnows - not snakes. Keeping part of the trap above water does sound more humane - my life leads me not to be very humane with snakes. The old family home I lived in in Arkansas was alive with snakes. (Copper heads to be exact). There probably was a pit or cave where they over wintered. Vigilance was necessary to keep from being bitten especially in the spring. We had a small border collie mix who literally hated copperheads and had snake bite wounds all over its head. The hatred grew worse with each bite. My own disgust with the things was almost as bad as the dogs. Several family members were bitten. We killed the copperheads but revered and cherished the King snakes and racers. The snake we called the chicken snake was wasnt very much loved either - we often heard the chickens and knew the snake was about usually too full of eggs to get back thru the hole where it entered the hen house.
It was summarily chopped in too the eggs squeezed out and eaten for breakfast . Some of the eggs were far enough down the digestive tract to be soft - some digested enough so that there was no shell. Little green snakes were loved and watched with joy. Some have disgust for anyone who would kill a snake but for us it was often a necessary part of farm life. Oh and we often had snakes bailed up in the hay - half out half in and mad thats another story.

I think Orkie's suggestion is the best so far. From the bit of reading I've done, there is no sure fire way to rid yourself of snakes. So called repellents aren't affective and you would just be wasting your money. Orkie's suggestion of making the area uncomfortable for the snakes, such as keeping the grass trimmed low and removing any rocks they can hide under, is the best solution. If I were you, I would make sure that my entire yard were free from any kind of brush, high grasses and areas that snakes would like to hide. One suggestion I read was to have guineas or geese. These birds are natural predators of snakes.

Killing snakes is just not cool. Get rid of the food supply, and they will leave. Maybe try leaving the pond empty for a while until they go away. A fine mesh perimeter also sounds like a good idea, you can even curve it outward and make it decorative.