I came home from work tonight and saw a snake hanging out of one my Bluebird boxes that had hatchlings. I know he was just doing what snakes do, but I just can't tolerate songbirds being preyed on when I put the box up. He killed two hatchling Bluebirds so I whacked him. Outside a 100' radius from my house a snake can be snake, but I won't let them eat the birds inside my zone. What would you have done?

 

I suppose my first instinct would have been to kill the snake, but nowadays I practice "catch and release" to an area that's safer for both the birds and the snake. What gets me is how such a loud scream can come from such a small woman when my wife sees a snake or a spider.......

 

If when trying to remove them they show fangs and go to strike, I kill them. Otherwise, if it is safe to remove them without getting killed myself, I put them in a bucket and drop them off in the back 40 away from the back yard.

 

I would have reacted by killing the snake as well....most of us would...I don't really believe in this catch and release thing especially when it comes to snakes....I had the same thing happen right on my front poarch....never saw it happen, but the baby birds disappeared....later in the summer, my wife saw the snake....if she gets the hoe on him, you can forget about catch and release, for sure.....!

 

Snake is great on the barbeque...

Kind of a cross between chicken and fish. Just don't slice too close to the venom sacks.

 

I'd kill the snake too. I love all animals, but when it comes to the snake I automatically kill them. It doesn't matter where they are in my yard. I scream like a 5 year old girl when I see them. I guess it stems from when I was a kid I was chased by a Blue Racer and ever since then when I see them I kill them.

 

most times I leave snakes alone unless it's a rattler or other poisenous snake then I kill first and ask questions later. I had a 6ft bull snake that used to hang around my back door and generally around the house in the yard, I tried to leave him alone because as long as he was around I didn't have mice and rats in the house, but when I ran him over with the lawnmower on accident within 2 weeks we had mice in the house, and even caught 2 rats. BTW I was feeding both cattle and sheep within 200ft of the house in a feed lot and had 4-12 ton of ground feed on hand at a time so mice and rats were a problem, which is also probably why that snake was over 6ft long.

 

How did the snake get up in the birdhouse to begin with?

 

Snakes are excellent climbers. Trees as well as grass are natural habitats for them.

Porch uprights are easy for them to get up.

 

a simple rule with out exception! if it don't have legs it gets tire tracks or lead no questions asked.

 

Ok there was an exception last Tuesday while on Alamo Lake fishing there was a rattler swimming across the lake so no way to kill it with the boat and the gun was back in camp.
ps. diamondbacks can swim very fast
I will see if i can up load a pic of it

 

is this just screaming for lead or what? that is about 3 foot of death.

 

sorry guys i am on the other side. i often have to sleep during the day and all i can say is...birds = loud..snakes = quite. them cold blooded SOB,s can eat all the the frickin tweety birds they can catch

 

in my opinion,the only good snake is a dead snake!! maybe I feel this way because when I was about 4 years old I walked with in five 5 feet of a rattle snake that was colied and ready to strike,rattles going like mad,and had to stand stock still while my dad tried to distract it because I was too close for him to shoot it. To this day,I am scared of snakes,even though the only poisonous ones around where I live now are water moccasins.

 

I actually introduced some black snakes onto my property to help with the mice in the woodpile and basement problem.
I don't see them around often, but between the snakes and the cat, the mouse population is dramatically reduced.
My father is a snake killer-even little garter snakes. I tried to explain their role in nature, but he doesn't care.
I love having them around. My wife is neutral on the issue, but I am sure if one got in the house it would be a different story!

edit/clarification: the mice come in the house when it is cold and live in the basement and go outside for food. I don't actually put the snake in the basement. The snakes and cats take care of the mice outdoors.