How to get rid of snakes in a summer cottage

Any gardener always has many problems with different types of pests - moles, ants, etc. But the snakes on the site are not just a nuisance, but a serious danger to the life and health of the owners. But do not immediately give up and close the cottage. There are many successful methods of dealing with poisonous reptiles.

Where do snakes come from?

The main habitat of snakes in our latitudes is forests. Therefore, in cities they are almost impossible to meet. But the development of the modern woodworking industry led to the fact that snakes began to look for new places for housing. Often, snakes are imported along with building materials from other regions.

They are often equipped in summer cottages, as it is there that there are many ideal places for the snake and enough food. First of all, these are garbage or garbage pits, since dampness and heat are the best conditions for the existence of creeping reptiles. They very quickly take root in the rhizomes of trees and easily find shelter in summer cottages.

Should know
Snakes are mainly nocturnal, so in the daytime it is difficult to encounter them. But to notice the presence on the site is easy. Firstly, they feed only on rodents, therefore, if there are not many of them in the territory, then someone destroys them. Secondly, from time to time, the remains of snake skin are discovered, which they lose. In the summer, especially in the beginning and in the middle, snakes become very dangerous. At this time, they begin the mating season. Therefore, their irritability often turns into aggression towards a person.

Species of snakes

Most often on the site you can find copperfish, snakes and snakes. These types of snakes are not poisonous, but still give people a lot of worries. Copper is easy to recognize by color. Most often, you can meet her in the open, as she loves the heat of the sun. Often hiding, curled up in a ball.

Snakes are black or yellow. They are cowardly enough, but in case of danger they can take a “stand”, hiss and throw themselves under their feet. As for the snakes, their most common form, which can be found, is the yellow-bellied snake. They do not like wet places, preferring to live in dry hay or in burrows. The runners are quite aggressive and can jump a meter in length.

Another thing is a viper whose bite is deadly. They must be disposed of first. They are easy to notice, since these snakes have a specific zigzag color. They live mainly in marshy areas, but they know how to adapt very well. If the viper does not feel threatened, it is unlikely to attack. Nevertheless, one should be careful when meeting with her.

Precautionary measures

In order to fight snakes successfully, it is important to know their nature and behavior. It is known that they rarely attack first, unless they feel threatened. But this does not really help, because you can stumble upon a snake by accident, for example, in a garden. One touch - and several bites are provided. And lucky if it is a non-poisonous snake. But such a bite carries a danger, since it is easy to bring an infection into the wound from a bite.

In the case when the snakes are still located on the site, you should walk in rubber boots. And in order to protect yourself from meeting with an uninvited guest, it is better to look at places that are well warmed up by the sun. Snakes love to hide there. But what if the snake was found? In no case do you need to scare her with a stick, it will only anger the snake. It is best to drive it away with a noise by tapping on the iron, etc.

How to get rid of snakes

In order to clean your cottage area from creeping reptiles, you must try to apply as many different methods as possible. Then the probability of complete destruction of snakes will increase several times. To do this, do the following:

1. Catch the snake. To do this, you can use strawberries, as they are partial to berries. Warm milk is also suitable. The bait should be exposed on the street, preferably in the evening, when the activity of snakes is high. It remains only to wait until she crawls and kill her. Of course, this is not a completely humane way, but quite effective. The main thing is to put on rubber boots and not take the snake in your hands.
2. Poisoning chemical compounds can also be used as bait. But it’s rather difficult to make the snake try poison, as the bait should be very attractive to her.
3. Hedgehogs do great with snakes. Therefore, it is worth breeding a couple of individuals in the infield. Alternatively, the hedgehog can be lured with the same berries or milk.
4. Snakes are afraid of noise, so it can be used as a way to deal with them. For example, you can hang a rustling film around the perimeter of the site. The main thing is that the film hangs near the ground itself, otherwise the snakes simply will not hear the sound. Turntables made from plastic bottles repel snakes well. Usually they are used to drive away moles, and in the case of snakes, they also work. You can hang on the site of the Chinese bells.
5. It is important to exclude the possibility of arranging snakes nests on the site. To do this, it would be nice to clean the area. First of all, you should mow the grass and remove all last year's leaves. If there is firewood on the site, it is necessary to sort them out and put them in such a way that the snakes could not start in them.
6. It is necessary to deprive snakes of food, that is, to destroy all rodents. These are mice, frogs and moles.
7. Snakes do not like the smell of burnt rubber, so for prevention you can burn something unnecessary. But often this is not worth doing, since the smoke from such a fire is harmful to health.
8. Around the perimeter you can pull a rope of sheep’s wool. It is believed that this is quite an effective tool for fighting snakes. The rope must be in close proximity to the ground. The disadvantage of this method is that snakes that are already crawling around the site will not be able to get out.
9. In spring, the perimeter area must be treated with herbicides or nitrate. In the case when there is an abandoned site nearby, you can throw rags soaked in such a composition on it. In addition, naphthalene balls can be laid out around the perimeter. They are slightly dug into the ground.
10. You also need to treat the area near the shower and toilet with a herbicide. The smell will last only a few days, but snakes will feel it much longer.
11. You can get a dog breed Yagd Terrier. They are accustomed to catching and strangling snakes.

Every year at the beginning of spring, a number of preventive measures are necessary:

1. To tell the household how to avoid snakes and what to do if someone still comes across a snake.
2. Be sure to check the cottage and the nearest buildings for holes and crevices. If necessary, close them.
3. Treat all burrows on the site with mothballs.
4. Try to lure or catch non-poisonous snakes, then release them in a safe area.
5. Make sure that the home medicine cabinet always has the preparations necessary for first aid for a bite.
6. Arrange all outbuildings in such a way that snakes could not penetrate into them.
7. Buy rubber shoes with thick soles and high tops for everyone.
8. Regularly treat the area with special chemistry and other means that can scare off reptiles.

How to catch and release a snake

Not everyone can kill a living creature, even a snake. Therefore, there is an option to catch it and release it or give it to the terrarium.But with vipers this method is better not to use, nevertheless it is dangerous. There are two types of traps that can easily be used in the fight against snakes. These are sticky mousetraps and mesh traps. Both are available at the store.

These devices are installed in places where snakes can live. It is best to place them near the cellar, barn, cesspool, etc. Inside, you need to put a bait, for example, eggs. The minus of the mesh trap is that the bait must be placed in it yourself, while the adhesive traps are already with the bait. It’s better to check the devices every day, otherwise the snake will die. In a grid trap, a snake caught is immediately visible. But the cardboard trap will have to open. Or lift and determine the presence of a snake in it by weight.

In no case can you get a snake caught, even non-poisonous. Also, do not leave a trap with a reptile in the immediate vicinity of children and pets. You need to hide it indoors, and even better, take it away from the site as quickly as possible. It is necessary to let out snakes rather far, otherwise it can return. The optimal distance for this is 1.5 km from the house. Naturally, you can not let out a snake near residential areas.

To prevent the snake from biting during release, you must first stock up on gloves. It is enough to slightly open the mesh trap and put it on the ground. Until the snake crawls out, it is better to move to a safe distance. If the snake has been caught in a reusable cardboard trap, you can release it by opening the lid. Then you need to carefully pour the snake with vegetable oil so that it peels off the trap. Oil must necessarily get between the glue and the skin of the snake. While this will happen, you need to stand aside and wait until the snake crawls away.

First aid for a bite

If snakes appeared on the site, you need to be prepared for the fact that they can bite. The problem is that not many people know how to behave in this situation. The victim needs urgent first aid, especially if the bite is poisonous. People cannot always make out which particular snake has bitten them. Because of this, precious time is wasted. Therefore, if poison does get into the wound, the symptoms will be as follows:

• redness and swelling at the site of the bite;
• strong pain;
• drowsiness and fainting state;
• nausea and vomiting;
• increased heart rate;
• blood in the urine;
• lowering body temperature.

If such signs appear, you should immediately call an ambulance and begin to provide first aid. Death occurs in most cases from 12 hours to 1 week after a bite. It is rare that the human body is able to independently cope with the poison of a viper. But even if this happens, poisoning can become chronic, and serious complications will begin. In this case, symptoms will appear from time to time. Sometimes the venom of this snake can cause complete blindness.

So, when you bite a snake, you must:

1. Drink a lot of liquid, preferably pure water, to speed up the elimination of poison from the body.
2. Do not panic or move without special need, as this can increase tachycardia. It is better to lie down so that the head is slightly lower than the body. Then the blood will enter the brain much more efficiently.
3. In no case do not drink coffee or tea, because these drinks greatly accelerate blood circulation. Alcohol is strictly prohibited for the same reason. Even more than this, the bite site cannot be treated with alcohol-containing compounds, as they dilute the blood. So, the poison will spread throughout the body much faster.
4. Do not pull the wound with a tourniquet. Otherwise, all harmful substances that enter the bloodstream will begin to stagnate and poison the tissue.
5. Do not cauterize or cut the wound to avoid additional infection. Apply a cold compress to the bite site. It will help relieve swelling.
6. Carefully suck out the poison from the wound. This can only be done if there are no wounds or inflammation in the mouth. Otherwise, the poison quickly enters the body.But you can swallow it, since the esophagus and stomach are protected from toxic substances.
7. Treat the wound. But only after the poison is removed. For this, it is best to use iodine or zelenka. But potassium permanganate and other alkaline compounds can not be used.

If snakes appeared on the site, it means that from time to time they will have to fight with them. It is also advisable to bring neighbors to this, then the probability of the return of snakes will be reduced to zero. If there are abandoned gardens, you still need to destroy them there. The more methods are used, the faster the result.