Where do grass snakes live in the country? How to get rid of snakes in your summer cottage
Snakes on summer cottage: what to do?
Everyone knows that snakes do not attack first. But this fact can hardly console you when you find an uninvited guest at your dacha in the strawberry or raspberry bushes, or hear a frightening rustle in the grass near the house. Snakes mean not only the possibility of bites, but also a spoiled harvest. Strawberries especially suffer from them. It is not so easy to catch them, since during the day they sleep, and at night they wake up and begin to travel around your dacha. So how can you get rid of these pests once and for all?
Deprive the snake of shelter.
The very first step in the snake removal operation is cleaning. Snakes can hide in tall grass, old barrels, piles of branches and even slate. They love damp, shady places. Moreover, they can build nests in the “new home” and it will be even more difficult to drive them out. They protect their offspring to the last. So, it's better not to give them a chance. It is necessary to mow the grass regularly (besides, snakes are afraid of the noise of a lawn mower), there should be no garbage in the dacha, it is better to hide all equipment and tools in a special cubby. Mountains of dry branches, if any, also need to be removed.
If there are abandoned dachas near your site, don’t be lazy, mow the grass there too, to reduce the likelihood of snakes appearing in your area too.
It is very important to remember that in the spring and the last month of summer, snakes have a breeding season; they are especially dangerous!
Scare the snake.
These days there are a lot of different anti-snake devices. They, emitting unpleasant waves and vibrations, scare away reptiles. But very often the result becomes less and less noticeable.
Get rid of snakes once and for all.
We all know that rodents are a tasty morsel for snakes. If you destroy the former, there is a high probability that the latter will disappear.
You can also get a snake hunter - a hedgehog. A bowl of milk will attract him to your area. It will deal with snakes, but in addition it will deal with chickens if you have them on your property. And, of course, for his work the hedgehog will feast on berries from your garden beds. If you don’t mind the harvest, and you are at the dacha often enough to feed the hedgehog, he will become your number one assistant.
If you don’t want to change one berry destroyer for another, your hunter can be a cat. It will save you from both snakes and rodents.
Chicken is also a great helper in this matter. Chickens can even catch vipers, so they can easily deal with snakes. And in addition to peace of mind at the dacha, they will bring you eggs and droppings, which can be used as fertilizer.
Safety comes first.
There are a number of methods that will prevent you from meeting a snake:
1. Under the house, under the porch, under the warehouse or barn, it is necessary to spill saltpeter;
2. All cracks in the house must be sealed;
3. Before entering the toilet or outdoor shower, you need to make some noise;
4. Do not walk barefoot on tall grass; wear rubber boots or any closed shoes in the forest;
5. If there are children at the dacha, explain to them that snakes are dangerous and should not be handled.
6. There should always be a first aid kit at the dacha.
What to do if bitten by a snake?
First of all, it is worth noting that snakes are not poisonous and their bites are not life-threatening. These snakes are cowardly by nature, so you can be sure that they are more afraid of you than you are of them. Seeing a person, he immediately strives to run away. But sometimes they can hiss and even bite. If you do get bitten, there is no need to panic or fuss. Drink water and disinfect the wound. There is no need to cauterize or wrap the wound.
Being around snakes in your dacha is not only unpleasant, but also dangerous. Even a non-venomous one can bite painfully - he has teeth. What can we say about the much less harmless copperhead and extremely dangerous viper? Therefore, if you notice the presence of snakes in your area, you need to get rid of them as soon as possible. However, under no circumstances should you kill them. They are an integral part of the biosphere of the region in which your dacha is located, and in fact, it was you who came to their territory, and not they to yours. Therefore, we must try to ensure a peaceful outcome for them and, most importantly, discourage them from visiting the site once and for all.
Snakes in the garden: an invisible danger
A snake attacks a person only in two cases - if it is frightened or provoked. However, this does not make things any calmer. Not all adults, having heard a suspicious rustling in the bushes next to their bare feet, are able to quickly cope with the rush of adrenaline, allowing the snake to crawl on its way. If we are talking about children, then their meeting with any of the representatives of this species is extremely undesirable. After all, a child can get serious mental trauma from fright, not to mention mortal danger snake bite for the child's body.
Reptiles lead predominantly night look life, which complicates their detection and identification. However, the presence of snakes in the area is always noticeable to an experienced eye. Their main food is rodents, which are found all over the place. Therefore, if no one eats the garden crops you planted, there are no hedgehogs in the vicinity of your dacha, and you yourself do not have a cat or dog, most likely there are snakes on your site. They live in burrows, which they prefer to dig in swampy, shaded vegetation and therefore always cool and slightly moist soil. In addition, snakes periodically shed their skin. Its remains, which are called “creeps,” can be found in their habitats and migration areas - in thick grass, bushes, near reservoirs and rivers, in areas with high soil moisture, etc.
The most dangerous time in terms of encounters with the snake brethren is early to mid-summer. It is then that the breeding season begins for most species that are found in our country, and they themselves become very irritable.
Snake habits
If there are grass snakes in your summer cottage, there is no need to be especially afraid of them. Their bites are not poisonous, and they themselves are much more afraid of humans, so when they see you, they will most likely try to retreat as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, it is quite common for them to show their snake nature - when there is danger of contact, they can hiss threateningly, take a “stance” and even rush to the legs or other parts of the body with the aim of biting.
The main food of the snake is lizards, frogs and rodents, and natural enemies are birds of prey, storks and some representatives of the order of mammals. Mating season The snake falls in April May.
The copperhead, easily recognizable by its characteristic color, loves open, well-warmed areas by the sun. It is found in regions covered with deciduous, coniferous or mixed forests and even knows how to swim, although he does not hunt in water, much less hide from enemies. The copperhead feeds on lizards and other small reptiles, as well as rodents and sometimes insects.
When meeting a person, snakes of this breed curl up into a ball and freeze, hiding their heads, although they may well behave aggressively. The copperhead awakens no earlier than April, and mates at the end of April - at the beginning of May.
The viper lives in swampy forest zones and transition zones between rivers or forests and meadows, but for some reason it gravitates toward human-cultivated areas. It is almost impossible to confuse it with another species - the characteristic color with a zigzag stripe along the back will tell you exactly which one you are dealing with.
Fortunately, the viper has a fairly calm character and never attacks for no apparent reason. However, its bite is very poisonous and in the absence of the necessary medical care may well lead to very unpleasant consequences.
How to get rid of snakes in the country: humane methods
You should not kill snakes, and not only because in nature they perform very useful functions. Before death, reptiles emit a special aroma, similar to that, with which they attract their relatives for reproduction. As a result, others will soon appear in the area where you killed the snake. Therefore, if this has already happened, the snake corpse must be urgently taken away from the summer cottage without touching it with your hands. The same applies to “crawls” discovered by you and your loved ones.
The first thing you need to do in order to get rid of snakes in your dacha is cleaning the area. By the way, it’s worth doing it regularly, removing branches and other debris. Large boulders should also be removed from the area and old stumps, logs and bushes should be eliminated - the latter form a dense shadow, where, as well as in the coolness under stones and in old wood, snakes like to rest and hunt.
The main points of cleaning a summer cottage in the photo
If your neighbors have been visiting their dachas for a long time, you should remove the thickets and debris behind them - this is the only way you can guarantee the exodus of reptiles away from your area.
Another effective and peaceful way to expel snakes is repelling with vibration generators or ultrasound, which is equally unpleasant for them.
However, technology is not capable of giving a 100% result, so it is better to use folk remedies. Thus, snakes do not like natural wool, therefore, by laying it around the perimeter of the site, at the threshold of the dacha and other buildings, and in any other places where a snake can crawl, you are quite likely to force them to go away.
Reptiles cannot stand the smell of garlic, so they will rush to quickly leave the area if you plant this plant in sufficient quantities not only in your garden, but also in areas where they are most likely to appear - along the perimeter of the fence, around bushes, etc.
Radical ways to expel snakes
You can drive away the snake community from your summer cottage if you exterminate rodents, lizards, frogs and insects. A strong young cat can handle this, and will happily catch everything that rustles and crawls in the bushes and tall grass, including snakes. You can also get a Jagd Terrier dog. This dog is very difficult to raise and care for, but he is a real threat to amphibians.
There is also a “recipe” for snakes like hedgehogs. They feed on insects and plants, but do not tolerate the presence of reptiles, mercilessly destroying them. The only thing is that hedgehogs are quite difficult to attract, and if this is successful, they need to be constantly fed.
The perimeter of the dacha, areas under the barn or house, and especially under its threshold, can be watered or laid with rags soaked in saltpeter, herbicide or other chemicals. But this can seriously harm your area and significantly reduce the comfort of your rest. Harsh chemicals have a pungent odor and, if used incorrectly, can burn out literally everything it comes into contact with, excluding the appearance of vegetation in the treatment areas for several years.
Snakes are afraid of panic high temperatures and they can smell the flames and the burning smell a kilometer away. But burning grass, rubber and other petroleum-based materials in a summer cottage is a rather dangerous decision and harmful to the ecology of the area. Much less damage will be caused by hanging bells, small windmills or rattles on the site. Only the sounds they make will irritate you more, and as soon as you take them off, the snakes will come back.
Snakes make nests in compost pits, manure piles, garden debris, or inside old rotten tree stumps. If you find one, do not try to destroy the snake’s lair yourself - let professionals who are well prepared to deal with poisonous representatives of the snake kingdom do this.
What to do if you encounter a snake or are bitten by a snake?
Regardless of what you did to drive snakes away from your summer cottage, the guarantee that they will not return by the next spring-summer season is quite weak. What to do if the likelihood of encountering amphibians in your yard, vegetable garden, garden, or areas adjacent to your dacha still remains high?
In this case, your responsibilities in the area of responsibility household must be included:
- Training children and other household members in actions that reduce to zero the risk of a chance meeting, and in such case, the possibility of direct contact.
- Mandatory sealing of cracks and holes in the floor and other building structures of the country house and outbuildings.
- Treating old snake holes with mothballs.
- Luring and catching snakes for the purpose of subsequently releasing them into the wild away from the dacha.
- Organizing a country first aid kit with a set of medical supplies and drugs to provide first aid for a snake bite.
- Arrangement of sheds, wood sheds and other outbuildings so that their design excludes the possibility of penetration and hidden dislocation of snakes.
- Purchasing high rubber shoes and thick protective clothing for working on the site, in particular in thickets and in marshy or damp areas.
- Regular prevention of the area by treating problem areas and the perimeter with agricultural or special chemicals, ash or other repellents.
If you are still bitten poisonous snake, remember that independent attempts to neutralize the poison can have much more dire consequences than the intoxication itself. Therefore, in this situation, it is urgent to immobilize the victim and call an ambulance, or take him to the first aid station yourself.
Before the doctor arrives, you need to apply a cold compress to the bite site, remove rings and other jewelry, as well as items of clothing that, in case of swelling, may impede blood circulation.
Video: Emergency actions for a snake bite
Some gardeners do not try to destroy reptiles on the site, because they help fight rodents, catch mice, and destroy slugs. Snakes are especially dangerous for small children. In our article we will figure out how to get rid of grass snakes in your summer cottage.
The simplest method is cleaning the area
When encountering crawling snakes, many are horrified, and this is especially true for small children. In this regard, it is necessary to get rid of such creatures once and for all. First you need to clean up the garden. This is due to the fact that reptiles like to hide in tall grass; they are often found in compost pits, as well as near old, half-rotten stumps.
When cleaning the area, it is necessary to remove various rubbish, including scattered firewood, incorrectly placed boxes and barrels. Such objects can serve as a refuge for snakes. Snakes like to live in cool and damp places, so they often crawl into basements or under the foundation of a house. To prevent snakes from crawling into your home, you must carefully seal all holes and large cracks in doors and windows.
Use of Natural Enemies
An ordinary hedgehog can help a gardener in breeding snakes. This prickly animal hunts at night; it will quickly find the reptile and then deal with it. One technique for dealing with snakes has long been known, it is called the “drunken hedgehog.” If you give a hedgehog beer, the prickly one will be able to catch all the pests in one night.
Another natural enemy snake - black Jagdterrier dog. This hunter has excellent eyesight and scent. In addition to snakes, it can also kill other pests, such as rats or mice. In some cases, a second pet, a cat, may also enter into a fight with the reptile.
- not the most common problem, but if it does occur, these reptiles can become a real disaster. After all, basking in the grass, knowing that a poisonous and dangerous reptile may be lurking somewhere nearby is, frankly speaking, a so-so pleasure! How and by what means can you get rid of snakes and what should you do to avoid suffering from their bite?
Where do snakes come from on personal plots?
The main problem with the appearance of reptiles in human habitats is the people themselves. By developing new territories, building up wild areas of nature just yesterday, cutting down forest plantations for these purposes, we are advancing on natural environment habitats, including snakes, and we leave them no other choice but to look for a new place. They often find it under the shade of garden trees.
Sometimes, oddly enough, we personally bring snakes to our own site along with building materials.This possibility is quite exotic, but it also should not be discounted, especially since, having forcibly found themselves in new conditions, snakes can behave especially aggressively.
Important! Most favorite place reptiles in our dacha may turn out to be garbage or, because decaying organic matter releases heat and moisture. In addition, inside such heaps it is quite quiet and calm, which is especially important for creeping creatures during laying eggs and breeding offspring. But you also need to be careful in the dark and cool, where snakes can comfortably set up a nest.
A snake can also make its home in the roots of a garden tree or a sufficiently mature, loose and shady shrub. 
It is worth recognizing that the sight of a reptile on one’s own property can cause horror in most owners and especially housewives, but in fact, not in all cases one should fear for one’s health.
The most common snakes, snakes, and copperheads in our latitudes are not poisonous at all.
But there is an exception: the viper. The bite of this snake can really lead to death, and although it is believed that the snake itself does not attack a person, so as not to take risks, such neighbors should definitely be driven out decisively and mercilessly. 
How to drive snakes away from your summer cottage
In order to understand how to expel snakes from an area, you need to know what snakes don’t like or are afraid of in order to create the most uncomfortable conditions for them. Killing snakes is not the best effective method struggle with them, it is much better to help the animals make their own decision to leave you forever.
Regular cleaning
If a snake accidentally crawls onto your property, most likely it will not stay there for long unless it finds a suitable place to build a nest.
We have already mentioned what these places are, but if eliminating a compost pit is hardly a successful way for a farmer to get rid of reptiles, then it is advisable to get rid of deposits of building materials (especially wood) in a timely manner. 
Of course, anything can be useful in a dacha farm, but if a snake problem arises, all the garbage is out!
As for the compost pit, it is at least advisable to place it in a place where you and your children walk least, and also make sure that there are no tall thickets around such a pit, in which you might not notice a lurking viper.
Carefully inspect the roots of old trees and look for possible voids where reptiles can make a den.
Old trees with bare trees, as well as stumps, need to be removed in time – this will protect you not only from snakes, but also from various -
Important! The first way to drive snakes away from an area is to deprive them of shelter, the second is to deprive them of food (snakes feed on toads and small rodents).
After you have removed the garbage, do not forget to carefully level the area where it was located. If you have set up your property, don’t forget to mow the grass regularly. The reptile is unlikely to make a nest in it, but it may well get out to bask in the sun. 
It is in tall grass that you are most likely to miss such a guest and get a fatal bite.
The sound of a running lawn mower is the best repeller for snakes., these reptiles hate noise and will try to get away from its source as quickly as possible.
Animal hunters
It is logical to ask who else, besides the mongooses from Rudyard Kipling’s fairy tale “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, eats snakes and, accordingly, which of the animals can be won over to your side in the fight against these unwanted neighbors. 
First of all, you should think about ordinary hedgehogs. In a “hedgehog versus snake” fight, feel free to bet on the prickly animal. The hedgehog successfully hunts other small animals that are undesirable on the site - mice, rats, moles, mole rats, toads, lizards, etc.
Did you know? Witty Hungarians have come up with an original way to encourage hedgehogs to perform feats in the fight against an opponent of equal strength: pour a little low-alcohol aromatic drink (wine or beer) into a small saucer and place it in the path of the little predator. It is believed that a drunk hedgehog– terrible weapon.
Seriously speaking, giving hedgehogs alcohol is inhumane, because such a stimulant is very harmful to their body. It is much better to attract hedgehogs with milk or meat scraps.
In addition to hedgehogs, cats and dogs can offer resistance to reptiles, but unlike field predators that kill reptiles for their own food, here it all depends on the desire and mood of your pet. 
There are specially bred dog breeds (for example, the Australian terrier) that professionally hunt reptiles.
Pets can serve you well as natural repellers: by smelling fur, timid snakes may voluntarily move away from potential danger.
To help them make the right decision, you can place things that have collected cat or dog hair in places that are dangerous from the point of view of a possible nest.
Important! As a rule, snakes do not behave aggressively, but there is an exception: protecting their offspring. Therefore, special care must be taken in the spring and then in late summer, when snakes moult and lay eggs.
Repellent devices
Reptiles, like moles, cannot tolerate noise and vibrations. Based on this property, scientists have created special devices. 
Several times per minute they produce sound vibrations in the range that snakes react to and cause them to go in search of a quieter refuge.
Modern devices provide for the use of solar energy for recharging, therefore, once you successfully install the device, you can forget about the problem. You need to find the right place to install the repeller: it should be as close as possible to a potentially dangerous area (for example, a compost pit) and not contain any interference around it that will reflect or absorb sound waves.
Important! The viper is relatively resistant to ultrasonic stimuli and noise, but perceives vibration very poorly. Therefore, in our latitudes, preference should be given to vibration rather than ultrasonic repellers.
Repellers can be ultrasonic, vibration or sound. The latter are less preferable, since they will irritate not only snakes, but also two-legged visitors to the site.
On the other hand, a natural obstacle to a snake’s nest is noisy work carried out in the country. In addition to what was mentioned, this could be the work of a circular saw, other devices, or just a friendly, cheerful company. You can create noise with your own prepared rattles, turntables and other devices, however, as was said, vipers can tolerate such irritants quite comfortably.
Sometimes they suggest lining the area with pieces of cloth soaked in diesel fuel. Perhaps the reptiles will not like the stench emanating from the dacha, but whether you yourself will want to breathe it is a big question.
Poisons and chemicals
There are several answers to the question why you can't kill snakes. This method is ineffective: if something attracted the reptiles to your dacha (for example, there is a wonderful place for a nest), this means that they will come again. 
In addition, it is inhumane to destroy animals that, unlike insect pests, do not cause any damage, but attack only as a defense. It is also believed that, when dying, a snake emits a special smell, which its relatives crawl towards.
Did you know? In many nations of the world, killing a snake is strictly prohibited. These animals are considered a symbol of goodness and happiness in the home,even a kind of “guardian”, by killing whom you kill the person he protects;They believe that the souls of deceased ancestors inhabit them.
You can also try using poisons. But be prepared for the low effectiveness of this method: snakes are hunters, they will not eat poisoned bait, and if the poison emitted into the atmosphere scares off a predator, it can be dangerous for you, your children and pets. As already mentioned, diesel fuel is used as a poison against snakes. Also used are saltpeter, naphthalene,. There are also poisons on sale that are developed against cold-blooded animals; you can use them.
Traditional methods
It is much more humane to use against snakes. It is believed that these reptiles cannot tolerate strong odors, including natural ones that are completely harmless to humans.
You can plant garlic or scatter dry mustard around the perimeter of the site (this may protect you from a visit by the reptile, but it is unlikely to drive it away from the site after it settles on it). 
Reptiles also react poorly to fire and the smell of burning. Some people recommend setting fire to a tire in the area, but this method can disperse not only snakes, but also all neighbors, so it is better to simply make a fire from dry grass and leaves, observing all fire safety measures.
As already mentioned, vipers do not like the smell of natural wool. If you don't have cats or dogs, you can lay out bundles of thread around the perimeter using yarn or old woolen items.
Did you know? In order to attack, the viper needs only 0.7 seconds: during this time, the snake lunges, bites and returns to its original position. But for a successful throw, the reptile needs support, so the statement that while in the water you do not risk being attacked is not without foundation.
And two more final tips. Snakes are very attracted to low-lying areas. Therefore, if you are lucky enough to have a dacha on the very shore of the bay, be especially careful. 
And if you find a shed snake skin on the ground, immediately take it out as far as possible, because it carries the scent of its owner and is a bait for its fellows. Moreover, some argue that the snake specifically sheds its skin in a place it likes, where it certainly plans to return.
Precautionary measures
If you find a reptile on your property, do not try to identify it. Despite the fact that only every tenth snake in the world is statistically venomous, a mistake can be very costly. 
Even after killing a snake, do not touch it with your hands, so that, having absorbed the smell of the reptile, you will not inevitably become a living bait for its “relatives”.
The same applies to the snake skin you find - handle it with gloves and, before taking it out, pack it in an odor-proof bag.
Until the snakes leave your area, walk on it in high shoes (preferably rubber boots) and carefully look at your feet. The likelihood that a snake will attack you itself is almost zero.It’s a different matter if you disturbed its nest or at least approached it during a “dangerous” period, or stepped on a reptile calmly dozing in the sun.
Important! Snakes see poorly, but hear well and perceive fast movements. Therefore, if you notice a reptile in close proximity, freeze and watch it. If the reptile does not notice you and does not crawl away, very carefully, slowly and as silently as possible, try to move to a safe distance. It is unlikely that you will be persecuted.
If you find a reptile on your property, do not poke it with a stick, but use a sound effect. If there is no nest nearby, the snake will quickly crawl away, and if there is, the stick will only provoke it to attack. 
First aid for a snakebite victim
The bite of a viper is dangerous for humans, and the severity of poisoning and the likelihood of fatal outcome(and in the absence of the necessary help it is quite possible).
Did you know? The mouth of creeping reptiles is very small, but when a snake attacks, it can easily open its mouth so that its upper and lower jaws form a straight line in relation to each other.
So, when bitten by a snake:
- Remove the source of danger: chase the snake away or move away yourself (if you have the opportunity to photograph it, be sure to do so – This will make it easier for the doctor to provide you with the right help).
- Calm down(or try to calm the bitten person).
- Bend the bitten arm or leg and do not move it (it is important that the bitten area is fixed below the heart).
- Press your fingers on the edges of the wound and suck out the poison along with the blood, first taking a little water into the mouth to reduce the concentration of the toxin in the mouth (snake venom is not dangerous if swallowed, but can cause harm if there are wounds in the mouth). Don't forget to spit! Repeat the procedure for at least a quarter of an hour: it is believed that this method allows you to remove up to 50% of the poison from the wound, without allowing it further into the blood.
Important! Do not pull the wound above the bite site! The best way to prevent the poison from spreading - do not move the stung limb.
- Quickly disinfect the wound(but not with alcohol), bandage it with a loose sterile bandage - and immediately go to the hospital! It is advisable that the patient be in horizontal position, the head and the bitten area are below the body.
- If the journey is long, or there is no opportunity to see a doctor at all, drink as much fluid as possible so that the remaining poison leaves the body naturally as soon as possible. Coffee, alcohol and other stimulating drinks are contraindicated.
- In case of loss of consciousness or cardiac arrest, artificial respiration and chest compressions are used.
- Also on the way to the doctor it would be useful take an antihistamine – for example, suprastin, diphenhydramine or tavegil to neutralize a possible allergic reaction to the bite. Give two tablets at once, even if the victim is a child. If necessary, you can also give an antipyretic.
That's why in all cases your main task is to get to a medical facility as quickly as possible.
If it is not possible to get to the hospital in the next few hours after the bite, you should also not despair - strictly follow all the above recommendations, move less, drink more, and in this case, a strong body will successfully overcome the poison without administering serum. A viper bite is dangerous, but not fatal if you behave correctly. 
If you are bitten by a non-venomous snake, the wound will still need to be disinfected, and since you are unlikely to be sure that you suffered from the attack harmless snake, the above-mentioned first aid in for preventive purposes the victim is still worth providing.
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