Snakes!!!!

[ManteoChik]

Ok, My lawn guy just showed up to pick up his check and when he got to our front door he noticed a water moccosin (sp?) laying in the grass next to the walkway.

We don't live near the water but this is Florida so I'm sure they probably come out of ditches and ponds and things like that. I'm from the coast of NC and I'm used to water moccosin's but we never had a problem with them being up in your yard.

This is like the 5th one we've seen in 3 months!!!!! I'm starting to get worried because our dog uses a dog door to go in and out whenever she wants to. She likes to spend a lot of time out laying in the grass...I'm worried that she might bet bit by a snake.

Is there anything I can do like spray to solve this problem. We have to have our yard sprayed for bugs and things like that...does anyone know if this is the same case with snakes?? I can't handle the fear of going outside in the yard. Normally I wouldn't be worried but I do know that this particular snake is poisionus.

[carolc]

I apologize if this is obnoxious, but are you sure it's a water moccasin? It's very easy to misidentify snakes, and some people tend to think that all dark, big snakes are water moccasins (also called cottonmouths). Here is a page with some good info on how to ID a cottonmouth.

http://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?id=1207

Here is some information regarding things you can do to make your yard less attractive to snakes. There is no such thing as a spray for snakes. Anything that would kill an animal of that size would also be very dangerous to people.

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2277.htm

[ManteoChik]

I know for sure that it was a water moccasin. I've grown up at the water my whole life and have seen very many. Also my lawn guy was here and he sees them on a regular basis, he comfirmed what I thought.

Thanks for the info on prevention. I think when the people come to spray the lawn for bugs and such I might have them take a look around to see if I have any potential "hiding spots" for snakes.

[oshannon]

We had snakes at our old house, and someone suggested that we put moth balls around the property and around the house, as apparently they hate them. It seemed to work for a while.

[ktdelsur]

Ugh. My husband just told me last week that our neighbor found one high up between our yards last week when she was mowing (and we live in upstate SC!). Granted we live down the street from a very large lake, but still - the thought of a water moccasin in my yard freaked me out. (I hate snakes of any sort. Augh!) Plus we're about to have a baby so I'm going to be extra careful about letting him toddle around in the yard later on...I've heard the mothball idea but I'll ask my DH what he thinks.