On May 31, 3:42 pm, "JB" wrote:
I spotted a good size water moccasin (4+ feet long) in my pond last night.

Well, it wasn't exactly in my pond but curled up under the liner on the ed
ge
of the pond. My pond is not typical in that it's built into a slope. It's
a
tear drop shaped 3,000 gallon pond with a filter/falls at one end. The "do
wn
side" is built up a little more than 3 feet above ground with inter-lockin
g
blocks and the other side is only about 6 inches above ground.

The mint in the filter/falls has really taken off and was diverting water
off to one side and out of the pond. I pulled out a bunch of mint and then

was topping off the pond when I noticed that liner had sunk in a little
on
the down side. I removed the rock on top of the liner and pulled back the
liner and there was the moccasin, curled up underneath. I got a hoe and
poked at it. It came out of the liner, dropped out on the ground and came
towards me for about 10 feet with me hauling it the other way. It then
darted underneath some ivy that cascades down the block wall onto the
ground. I poked it again and it high tailed it the other way and disappear
ed
into a crevice behind the filter/falls where there's a small opening in th
e
block. No telling what kind of tunnel network exists underneath and betwee
n
the block and the liner. (I'm not sure I'm describing it so you can "see"
what I'm talking about.)

Anyway, I'm a little concerned about having a water moccasin in my pond. I

got to thinking that it's probably a perfect place for one to live. Lots o
f
food in the pond - small goldfish, etc. I'm not concerned about it getting

my Koi because they're 2 feet + and approach 10 pounds or so. I get into t
he
pond frequently to prune plants and clean out a pre-filter I have attached

to a 1600 gph pump with a foamer attachment. I've seen king snakes in the
pond before but these never bothered me in that they always run the other
way and don't go looking for trouble because they're not aggressive like a

water moccasin.

Any advice on what to do? We live on a lake and I'd like for it to go back

from where it came!

TIA

JB

Around here we execute poisonous snakes, esp moccasins, as they are
aggressive...as you saw. If you do kill it, be careful of the head.
Their nervous system lasts a long time, even if the spine is severed.
Smash the head is the rule here.

Jim