I have my siding replaced today. The crew found two, repeat
_two_ snakes hiding behind the siding panel. I went
limp... Sorry, nothing against the snakes. But they have
to go.
Any suggestion on what to do to discourage them taking
refuge in any part of my house?

Thansk, I would really appreciated it.
pac

"PacKat" wrote in message
...

I have my siding replaced today. The crew found two, repeat
_two_ snakes hiding behind the siding panel. I went
limp... Sorry, nothing against the snakes. But they have
to go.
Any suggestion on what to do to discourage them taking
refuge in any part of my house?

Thansk, I would really appreciated it.
pac

You didn't say where you were located, but, has it been chilly at all, as in
the Northeast? If so, the snakes are probably just warming up in your
siding. In the woods, they'd be sunning themselves on a warm rock. They're
cold-blooded, remember?

Your best bet is to ask the installers to try and make less of a gap than
the previous crew did, between the bottom row of siding and the house
itself. Or, take a nice, clear picture of the snakes and find out what they
are. Odds are they're harmless to you, and they may be helping to control
mice around your house. Who do you like better? Mice, or snakes? :-)

Thanks for the gentle advice :-)
I live in Maryland, DC suburb. Yes it has been quite
chilly the last several days. You are right, very likely,
they are harmless. From where I can see, they are dark
brown or black, about 1 foot long. Can't take picture now
that they are flat to the ground. The installer is just
afraid of snake as much as I do, perhaps more. I saw him
jumped straight uup several feet when he yelled
"EeeeiiiiyaH!!! SNAKE!"

I will just keep my distance and let them be when I saw one
next time.
pac

Doug Kanter wrote:
"PacKat" wrote in message
...

I have my siding replaced today. The crew found two,
repeat
two snakes hiding behind the siding panel. I went
limp... Sorry, nothing against the snakes. But they
have
to go.
Any suggestion on what to do to discourage them taking
refuge in any part of my house?

Thansk, I would really appreciated it.
pac

You didn't say where you were located, but, has it been
chilly at
all, as in the Northeast? If so, the snakes are probably
just warming
up in your siding. In the woods, they'd be sunning
themselves on a
warm rock. They're cold-blooded, remember?

Your best bet is to ask the installers to try and make
less of a gap
than the previous crew did, between the bottom row of
siding and the
house itself. Or, take a nice, clear picture of the snakes
and find
out what they are. Odds are they're harmless to you, and
they may be
helping to control mice around your house. Who do you like
better?
Mice, or snakes? :-)

A thought: If you take a picture, call your local animal control office and
ask if someone there is good at identifying local snakes. If so, it'll
certainly put your mind at ease. And, it's free, unless you choose to buy
this person some donuts.

We had a snake (whose name I don't remember) in our yard that used to hang
out by my ex's goldfish pond. It liked the warm stones around the water.
That snake was picked up and handled by at least a dozen people a week, with
adult supervision, and it never bit anyone, except for one teenager who
handled it roughly. (This particular kid's a jerk, so I was glad when he got
bitten).

For a few bucks, you could pick up a couple of nice-shaped cement or terra
cotta tiles at a garden center, and put them in the flower bed near where
you've found the snake in the siding. Maybe the snake would hang out on that
stone for warmth, instead of in your siding, and perhaps you'd be more
comfortable with it being more visible, instead of surprising you.

Things could always be worse. Much worse. You could have dogs instead of
snakes.
-Doug

"PacKat" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the gentle advice :-)
I live in Maryland, DC suburb. Yes it has been quite
chilly the last several days. You are right, very likely,
they are harmless. From where I can see, they are dark
brown or black, about 1 foot long. Can't take picture now
that they are flat to the ground. The installer is just
afraid of snake as much as I do, perhaps more. I saw him
jumped straight uup several feet when he yelled
"EeeeiiiiyaH!!! SNAKE!"

I will just keep my distance and let them be when I saw one
next time.
pac

Doug Kanter wrote:
"PacKat" wrote in message
...

I have my siding replaced today. The crew found two,
repeat
two snakes hiding behind the siding panel. I went
limp... Sorry, nothing against the snakes. But they
have
to go.
Any suggestion on what to do to discourage them taking
refuge in any part of my house?

Thansk, I would really appreciated it.
pac

You didn't say where you were located, but, has it been
chilly at
all, as in the Northeast? If so, the snakes are probably
just warming
up in your siding. In the woods, they'd be sunning
themselves on a
warm rock. They're cold-blooded, remember?

Your best bet is to ask the installers to try and make
less of a gap
than the previous crew did, between the bottom row of
siding and the
house itself. Or, take a nice, clear picture of the snakes
and find
out what they are. Odds are they're harmless to you, and
they may be
helping to control mice around your house. Who do you like
better?
Mice, or snakes? :-)

"PacKat" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the gentle advice :-)
I live in Maryland, DC suburb. Yes it has been quite
chilly the last several days. You are right, very likely,
they are harmless. From where I can see, they are dark
brown or black, about 1 foot long. Can't take picture now
that they are flat to the ground. The installer is just
afraid of snake as much as I do, perhaps more. I saw him
jumped straight uup several feet when he yelled
"EeeeiiiiyaH!!! SNAKE!"

I will just keep my distance and let them be when I saw one
next time.
pac

You can go to http://www.enature.com/ and put in your zip code to get field
guides of wildlife (including reptiles) in your area. They do ask for your
email address, but you can just put in a fake one and it will take you to
the field guides.

In article ,
says...

I have my siding replaced today. The crew found two, repeat
_two_ snakes hiding behind the siding panel. I went
limp... Sorry, nothing against the snakes. But they have
to go.
Any suggestion on what to do to discourage them taking
refuge in any part of my house?

Thansk, I would really appreciated it.
pac



I'm with you about snakes. I know they are suppose to be good to have
around. I just don't want them around me! I've been told you can put a
barrier of lime around where you like to keep them out. I'm told they
won't cross over the line.

Fsplink wrote:

In article ,
says...

I have my siding replaced today. The crew found two, repeat
_two_ snakes hiding behind the siding panel. I went
limp... Sorry, nothing against the snakes. But they have
to go.
Any suggestion on what to do to discourage them taking
refuge in any part of my house?

Thansk, I would really appreciated it.
pac



I'm with you about snakes. I know they are suppose to be good to have
around. I just don't want them around me! I've been told you can put a
barrier of lime around where you like to keep them out. I'm told they
won't cross over the line.

If they were garter snakes, I wonder where the den was, and how many
were waking up from hibernation.

On Thu, 29 May 2003 14:16:01 GMT, "Vox Humana"
wrote:

You can go to http://www.enature.com/ and put in your zip code to get field
guides of wildlife (including reptiles) in your area. They do ask for your
email address, but you can just put in a fake one and it will take you to
the field guides.

What a cool site! I'm entranced! Thanks for the URL.

Cats are a good deterrent. We lived in SC and had lots of snakes, but none
near the house. Black snake probably a rat snake
"Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." wrote in message
...
Fsplink wrote:

In article ,
says...

I have my siding replaced today. The crew found two, repeat
_two_ snakes hiding behind the siding panel. I went
limp... Sorry, nothing against the snakes. But they have
to go.
Any suggestion on what to do to discourage them taking
refuge in any part of my house?

Thansk, I would really appreciated it.
pac



I'm with you about snakes. I know they are suppose to be good to have
around. I just don't want them around me! I've been told you can put a
barrier of lime around where you like to keep them out. I'm told they
won't cross over the line.

If they were garter snakes, I wonder where the den was, and how many
were waking up from hibernation.