On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:35:52 CST, Chris Barnes
wrote:

Ok, I have to know this: was this groups' habit of naming snakes "Bob"
going on before I joined the group? Or is it something I started (my
wife and kids have been naming all snakes "Bob" for about 3 years now,
the first being a 6' eastern coachwhip).

I named my snake "Bob" because I asked the group what I should name
it. I got several suggestions, but "Bob" was short, easy to spell,
and happens to be a word I can say. So Bob it was, but like I've
said, I haven't seen the snake around for a long time. When Bob was
around the whole pond was quiet, but wound up tight like a coiled
spring. Now frogs are sitting around on lily pads, tadpoles are
swimming, bugs are buzzing, the whole place seems much happier and
more relaxed. The whole place seems less tense.

Anyway, if and when Bob returns he might find an entirely different
"welcome" from what he experienced before. I haven't decided exactly
what I'll do, I'm just kind of hoping that I won't have to deal with
such a situation. I live out in the boonies in northern Florida, a
good ten minutes drive from the nearest "town," which, although it is
the county seat, isn't exactly big. I live where most folks would
relocate their snakes *to*. In any event, there would be another
"Bob" to replace the one I relocated, if I were to do so. Netting is
out of the question, the pond is much to large for that. Any
suggestions?
--
Galen Hekhuis
We'll cross that bridge when it rears its ugly head

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:20:40 CST, Galen Hekhuis
wrote:

When Bob was around the whole pond was quiet, but wound up tight like a coiled
spring. Now frogs are sitting around on lily pads, tadpoles are
swimming, bugs are buzzing, the whole place seems much happier and
more relaxed. The whole place seems less tense.

I have a similar story. When we started up the new filter on the lily pond,
many of the tadpoles slipped thru the bottom drain into the pre-filter. I
figured this was good, they were safe there. They could climb out when the
time came, can't get sucked into pump, and most of all, away from the fish
I was putting in the pond.

Several days after I put in 3 fantails and 4 wakins, my son informs me that
one of the fantails is in the pre-filter. I net him out and find only 1 or
2 tadpoles. :-( Next day, a few more tadpoles show up so I figure the fish
didn't get them all. Later that same day, fantail is again in the
prefilter, no tadpoles to be seen. So back to the stock tank, no more
chasing tadpoles. The next morning I check the pre-filter to make sure no
one else has taken the ride, and tons of tadpoles and little froglets,
swimming and hanging out. So I think they must have hidden in the muck at
the bottom while that fantail was in there... tense!

I can't find a single taddie in the pond, unless I disturb some of the
thicker SA I was hoping to remove. Guess I'll wait on that. So far the fish
are happy, and no one had turned up missing by flight. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
Anyway, if and when Bob returns he might find an entirely different
"welcome" from what he experienced before. I haven't decided exactly
what I'll do, I'm just kind of hoping that I won't have to deal with
such a situation. I live out in the boonies in northern Florida, a
good ten minutes drive from the nearest "town," which, although it is
the county seat, isn't exactly big. I live where most folks would
relocate their snakes *to*. In any event, there would be another
"Bob" to replace the one I relocated, if I were to do so. Netting is
out of the question, the pond is much to large for that. Any
suggestions?


Generally speaking, I like having Bobs around. They are certainly
preferable to the other things that would be around if they weren't
(mice, rats, vols, even rabbits & skunks in my garden). But seeing as
how it was a water snake (which tend to eat more fish than rodents), I
can see why you would want it relocated.

If your pond is too large for a net, your only real alternative option
is a BB/pellet gun (an option I personally wouldn't like, but then
again, I like snakes).

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:32:05 CST, Chris Barnes wrote:

water snakes
If your pond is too large for a net, your only real alternative option
is a BB/pellet gun (an option I personally wouldn't like, but then
again, I like snakes).

Let's add, and be a really skilled shot, else your liner could suffer more
damage than any snake. ;-) ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:17:11 CST, ~ jan wrote:

Let's add, and be a really skilled shot, else your liner could suffer more
damage than any snake. ;-) ~ jan

I feel compelled to add that shooting at a pond (or any body of water)
is generally a poor idea. The projectile (BB, pellet, bullet, etc.)
can ricochet off the water and go some unintended directions. In my
case, it doesn't really matter. I can't see my neighbors, I can't
hear my neighbors, I don't really have any neighbors, at least not in
the usual sense. I live alone and there is never, ever anyone besides
me when I go "weeding." Sometimes you can hear the pellet go crashing
through the trees behind the pond after skipping off the water when I
miss a weed. I don't think guns and water mix too well.

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:17:11 CST, ~ jan wrote:

Let's add, and be a really skilled shot, else your liner could suffer more
damage than any snake. ;-) ~ jan

I feel compelled to add that shooting at a pond (or any body of water)
is generally a poor idea. The projectile (BB, pellet, bullet, etc.)
can ricochet off the water and go some unintended directions. In my
case, it doesn't really matter. I can't see my neighbors, I can't
hear my neighbors, I don't really have any neighbors, at least not in
the usual sense. I live alone and there is never, ever anyone besides
me when I go "weeding." Sometimes you can hear the pellet go crashing
through the trees behind the pond after skipping off the water when I
miss a weed. I don't think guns and water mix too well.


Yes, but....

Distance. Even really good BB guns can't shoot more than a few dozen
feet with any force. And ricocheting off of objects takes quite a bit
of what little energy was in the BB out.

Now if we were talking about a .22 or even a rimfire .177, then yeah, I
agree - shooting at water is a bad idea.


Also (for jan) - Mythbusters recently did a program where they tested
how far various guns could shoot underwater (both fired in the water as
well as from above shooting from above into the water). Turns out that
even a high powered, military .50 cal sniper rifle won't put a bullet
into the water more than a dozen feet or so. So unless your pond is
REALLY shallow, a BB gun almost certainly can't hurt the liner (if you
even have a liner in a pond big enough to attack snakes).

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:06:08 CST, Chris Barnes wrote:

Also (for jan) - Mythbusters recently did a program where they tested
how far various guns could shoot underwater (both fired in the water as
well as from above shooting from above into the water). Turns out that
even a high powered, military .50 cal sniper rifle won't put a bullet
into the water more than a dozen feet or so. So unless your pond is
REALLY shallow, a BB gun almost certainly can't hurt the liner (if you
even have a liner in a pond big enough to attack snakes).

I'm so relieved. ;-) Not that I'd try it, even if I was inclined to, as I
surely would be the exception to the rule. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:32:05 CST, Chris Barnes
wrote:

Generally speaking, I like having Bobs around.

And therein lies the problem, I kinda like snakes too. In my youth, I
used to keep a few around, at least until my mother and father found
out, I was a trying child. I've fed snakes, I've handled snakes, I've
spent some time identifying them and such.

They are certainly
preferable to the other things that would be around if they weren't
(mice, rats, vols, even rabbits & skunks in my garden). But seeing as
how it was a water snake (which tend to eat more fish than rodents), I
can see why you would want it relocated.

I have all of those anyway, except the voles.

If your pond is too large for a net, your only real alternative option
is a BB/pellet gun (an option I personally wouldn't like, but then
again, I like snakes).

I've not run across a BB gun yet that has either the power nor the
accuracy to dispatch much of anything. A BB gun might just anger the
snake, which, in the case of a venomous one, is not a particularly
smart thing to do. Besides, unless you pay attention, you are most
likely to end up with copper-clad BBs, and I'm not sure I'd want to
introduce copper into the pond. With pellet guns you can easily
achieve the power and accuracy needed. I have a supply of non-lead
pellets in .177 and .22. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the snake)
I am extremely reluctant to go that route.

The hassle is that the pond is so much more "laid back" now that the
snake isn't there. I can't really put my finger on it, but it seems
like the whole pond has breathed a sigh of relief. I got sort of a
perverse pleasure out of having a snake in my pond while it was there,
but while it hung around virtually nothing moved, and those critters
that did made quick, fearful movements.

In days past I'd have just waded into the pond, grabbed the snake, and
stuck it in one of the other ponds, but that is a bit beyond my
capabilities now. I've had some experience with the Hav-A-Hart type
traps but fail to see how that might be useful with a 4 1/2 footer. Is
it possible to trap such a snake?

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
I've had some experience with the Hav-A-Hart type
traps but fail to see how that might be useful with a 4 1/2 footer. Is
it possible to trap such a snake?

A quick google search turned up http://www.snakeguard.com/.
I have no idea how effective it might be... ;-)


There is a good write up by a pest control person at
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/snake-trapping.htm. Note that one thing
he said on that page is that "snake trapping outside is usually a silly
option, and I usually only place snake traps inside a house".


Have fun whatever you do. :-)


--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:06:54 CST, Chris Barnes
wrote:

A quick google search turned up http://www.snakeguard.com/.
I have no idea how effective it might be... ;-)


There is a good write up by a pest control person at
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/snake-trapping.htm. Note that one thing
he said on that page is that "snake trapping outside is usually a silly
option, and I usually only place snake traps inside a house".


Have fun whatever you do. :-)

Thanks. I've pretty much decided against the box and glue type traps
for snakes like the Snakeguard. There are a number of reasons, among
them being that I just don't think it would work with a 4 1/2 foot
*water* snake, I couldn't even guess where I'd place it. If
the snake comes back I guess I'll have to learn to live with it. Like
my mother used to say: "All God's children have to eat." Whether I
like it or not, a snake is one of those children. Nature isn't always
relaxed. I guess I'll just have to enjoy the good days while I have
them.
--
Galen Hekhuis
Hell hath no fury like a bird in the hand

Hi..

my mother used to say: "All God's children have to eat."

That's right..!
--
cu
Marco, wondering how "Bobs" might taste - prepared in a
mediterranean way.. :-)

Galen,

I have to admit that a 4 1/2' water snake would NOT be OK in my pond.
It does have to eat, but not my goldies and koi. We have a bunch of
them in the neighborhood lakes (10 acres and 3 acres). My kids deal
with the water moccasins. The water snakes get to stay. When the
moccasins come to visit our acre pond, I will have to deal with them
(It is about 20 miles from home).

Jim