Snake - How to get rid of one in the Crawl Space
 

While working in the garden this afternoon I came across a 3-4ft black
snake. I do not know if it was just a garden snake or is poisonous.
Anyway, I tried to get it away from the vent which is about 6 inches above
ground leading to the crawl space. The snake went into through the vent
into the crawl space. Does anyone know hot to get it out and prevent
further intrusions. Is there a chance it was poisonous? Who can we call
for help?

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 01:41:43 GMT in Raajah wrote:

While working in the garden this afternoon I came across a 3-4ft black
snake. I do not know if it was just a garden snake or is poisonous.
Anyway, I tried to get it away from the vent which is about 6 inches above
ground leading to the crawl space. The snake went into through the vent
into the crawl space. Does anyone know hot to get it out and prevent
further intrusions. Is there a chance it was poisonous? Who can we call
for help?

If it is indeed a black snake, it's non-poisonous and will tend to
leave you alone if you leave it alone.

However, as black snakes eat vermin like mice and rats, you should be
wondering what he's been chowing on to make it to 3+ feet.


--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

I have heard that some black snakes have bred w/water moccisons and are
now poisionous? You can contact Scott Cooper w/Cooper Pest Control, he
sells a live snake trap that uses mice urine to attract them. His # is
872-5520

If they hadn't done so over the several thousand years they were here
before us, it is doubtful that they would have done so now. Snake bites
are a danger in any case.

I've had black rat snakes come and go. They lack the distinctive
triangular shape in the head that the cotton mouths have, and the
coloration along the body seems much more monotone. My solution to
having them as house guests was to knock out the crumbling vents with a
hammer and cold chisel and use pop-in replacements from Home Depot.

They are pretty active hunters so they aren't likely to be staying
inside unless you've got a rat problem too. A quick check around the
space with a high-power beam flashlight a couple of times helps ensure
it isn't trapped inside.

They are excellent climbers, and despite the name they seem to like to
raid bird nests as well.

wrote:
I have heard that some black snakes have bred w/water moccisons and are
now poisionous? You can contact Scott Cooper w/Cooper Pest Control, he
sells a live snake trap that uses mice urine to attract them. His # is
872-5520

The black snake - moccasin hybrid is just a variation of the same
myth about black snakes and copperheads.

If the snake was near the foundation vent in the first place, quite
likely it's been living in the crawlspace and was coming out to
sun itself or find dinner. You'll usually find them sitting up on the
sill plate or they'll crawl up between the subfloor and the insulation.

The trap works, but two important points: a) be patient; the snake
may not make a guest appearance outdoors everyday, and b) the
key phrase in the post was "live snake trap". Check the trap everyday.
Much as many people despise snakes, it is cruel (at least to some of
us) to leave the snake baking to death inside the trap in the hot sun.
You can actually remove the snake (bizarre as that may sound to some
people). Grab it behind the head with a gloved hand and then pour
vegetable oil on the parts stuck to the glue. Then, escort the snake
somewhere else and he/she will return the favor by downing a few
rodents that you don't want under your house either. On that topic,
if a snake can fit through an opening in your vent, so can mice!
If the vent doesn't have screening (usually on the inside), then cover
the inside with rust-resistant metal screening.


wrote:
I have heard that some black snakes have bred w/water moccisons and are
now poisionous? You can contact Scott Cooper w/Cooper Pest Control, he
sells a live snake trap that uses mice urine to attract them. His # is
872-5520



--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Waldvogel, PhD
Extension Specialist, Structural & Industrial Pests
North Carolina State University
Dept. of Entomology, Campus Box 7613, 4318 Gardner Hall
Raleigh, NC USA 27695-7613
Ph: 919.515.8881 Fax: 919.515.7746 Cell: 919.801.4108
Email:
http://entomology.ncsu.edu/waldvogel
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even when you're an expert there's a chance of misidentification, but
take a look for yourself at a black rat snake pictu

http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/images/bratabv.jpg

As I posted before, repair the defective vent with new screen or put in
a new replacement vent. If you give it some time it should leave on its
own looking for food, provided it has a way out.

Raajah wrote:

While working in the garden this afternoon I came across a 3-4ft black
snake. I do not know if it was just a garden snake or is poisonous.
Anyway, I tried to get it away from the vent which is about 6 inches above
ground leading to the crawl space. The snake went into through the vent
into the crawl space. Does anyone know hot to get it out and prevent
further intrusions. Is there a chance it was poisonous? Who can we call
for help?

Michael Waldvogel wrote:
The black snake - moccasin hybrid is just a variation of the same
myth about black snakes and copperheads. ...

Not only that, but moccasins or cottonmouths are very rare in the
Triangle area. People *think* they are common because there are a
number of water snakes that look similar. The watersnakes can be
aggressive and their bite will hurt, but isn't venomous.

- Susan

On 2005-06-20, Raajah wrote:

While working in the garden this afternoon I came across a 3-4ft black
snake. I do not know if it was just a garden snake or is poisonous.
Anyway, I tried to get it away from the vent which is about 6 inches above
ground leading to the crawl space. The snake went into through the vent
into the crawl space. Does anyone know hot to get it out and prevent
further intrusions. Is there a chance it was poisonous? Who can we call
for help?

Your vent needs screen wire in it to prevent snakes and insects from
getting in.

Black snakes are not poisonous, but one that large would give you
lacerations. If there is not food under there he is probably gone by
now. If you are running your AC it is probably colder under there than
he likes. Some black snakes are agressive, but most will choose to
escape from a fight. At any rate, take a stick and make plenty of noise
when going under the house. You really need to screen those vents.

--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

is a garbage address.

I want to thank everyone for the advice and suggestions. Just reading
all the replies gave us the confidence to be not scared of the snake.
We got the vents repaired and will deal with the source of the problem,
aka the mice. There was evidence of the presence of mice since they
had dragged in the sunflower seeds meant for the birds that we love into
the crawl space. This was a great lesson in how the food chain works in
nature.
wrote:

While working in the garden this afternoon I came across a 3-4ft black
snake. I do not know if it was just a garden snake or is poisonous.
Anyway, I tried to get it away from the vent which is about 6 inches above
ground leading to the crawl space. The snake went into through the vent
into the crawl space. Does anyone know hot to get it out and prevent
further intrusions. Is there a chance it was poisonous? Who can we call
for help?



--

Not to be discouraging, but you very likely have two snakes.
Black snakes will sometimes crawl under houses in the summer to breed. A
couple of years ago I discovered a large one crawling between the insulation
and the sub-floor of our house. I captured it in a 5 gallon bucket and
planned to release it when my wife got home. As I was showing her where the
first snake was found, we discovered its mate. We relocated both unharmed
and let them go about their business. If you find one, be sure to look for
another.
Jack
"Raajah" wrote in message
. ..

I want to thank everyone for the advice and suggestions. Just reading
all the replies gave us the confidence to be not scared of the snake.
We got the vents repaired and will deal with the source of the problem,
aka the mice. There was evidence of the presence of mice since they
had dragged in the sunflower seeds meant for the birds that we love into
the crawl space. This was a great lesson in how the food chain works in
nature.
wrote:

While working in the garden this afternoon I came across a 3-4ft black
snake. I do not know if it was just a garden snake or is poisonous.
Anyway, I tried to get it away from the vent which is about 6 inches above
ground leading to the crawl space. The snake went into through the vent
into the crawl space. Does anyone know hot to get it out and prevent
further intrusions. Is there a chance it was poisonous? Who can we call
for help?



--

All watersnakes are moccasins, but only cottonmouths are poisonous. This
seems to confuse people.
Jack

"Susan Hogarth" wrote in message
oups.com...
Michael Waldvogel wrote:
The black snake - moccasin hybrid is just a variation of the same
myth about black snakes and copperheads. ...

Not only that, but moccasins or cottonmouths are very rare in the
Triangle area. People *think* they are common because there are a
number of water snakes that look similar. The watersnakes can be
aggressive and their bite will hurt, but isn't venomous.

- Susan

Jack Anderson wrote:
All watersnakes are moccasins, but only cottonmouths are poisonous. This
seems to confuse people.

I believe you have it backwards. My reading makes it look as if
'moccasin' is the common term for the genus _Agkistrodon_, a class of
venomous snakes including both cottonmouths (water moccasin) and
copperheads (and some other species not relevant to NC). "Water
moccasin" is basically an english-language rendering of the species
name _Agkistrodon piscivorus_ (although 'fish-eating viper' would be
more correct and sounds waaay cooler:) - which of course is the
cottonmouth. It is confusing! :)

Therefore, it would be more correct to say that all moccasins are
venomous, but not all watersnakes are moccasins, and not all moccasins
are watersnakes.

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/bynam...-moccasins.htm

and

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/...s/MM/tdm1.html

The latter reference does say "The term water moccasin has been broadly
used to refer to all water snakes, but only the cottonmouth is
poisonous," and that mis-understanding is really the issue we are
dealing with here.

Thanks! I didn't realise that water moccs (cottonmouths) and
copperheads were in the same genus (although I'm sure my husband has
told me that many times:)

- Susan

"Susan Hogarth" wrote in message
oups.com...
Jack Anderson wrote:
All watersnakes are moccasins, but only cottonmouths are poisonous. This
seems to confuse people.

I believe you have it backwards. My reading makes it look as if
'moccasin' is the common term for the genus _Agkistrodon_, a class of
venomous snakes including both cottonmouths (water moccasin) and
copperheads (and some other species not relevant to NC). "Water
moccasin" is basically an english-language rendering of the species
name _Agkistrodon piscivorus_ (although 'fish-eating viper' would be
more correct and sounds waaay cooler:) - which of course is the
cottonmouth. It is confusing! :)

Thanks for the clarification


Therefore, it would be more correct to say that all moccasins are
venomous, but not all watersnakes are moccasins, and not all moccasins
are watersnakes.

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/bynam...-moccasins.htm

and

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/...s/MM/tdm1.html

The latter reference does say "The term water moccasin has been broadly
used to refer to all water snakes, but only the cottonmouth is
poisonous," and that mis-understanding is really the issue we are
dealing with here.

That's what I was referring to. While your previous definition is
technically correct, the common usage (or misusage)of the term water
moccasin to describe all water snakes is so prevalent that one might as well
go with it rather than create more confusion. What most people refer to as a
water moccasin isn't poisonous.

Thanks! I didn't realise that water moccs (cottonmouths) and
copperheads were in the same genus (although I'm sure my husband has
told me that many times:)

- Susan