I take my 4 yo son camping quite a bit. Griz78, who also posts on AR, and his son, come with us most of the time as well. We most frequently go to some family property not too far from the house, but far enough from the hwy. This is a convenience spot and since it is used frequently, I've stocked firewood and we have limestone rocks in place for a campfire ring. I also mow trails and our campsite area ever couple of weeks or so.

My problem is that this campsite is right along a good sized drainage ditch, which has water in it nearly year round. It also holds wood ducks year round, which we like. Unfortunately, lately, we've been seeing quite a few cotton mouths (aka water moccasin), and my son has had two close calls already. Luckily, I was right there both times, but what if...?

For those of you who aren't familiar with cotton mouths, they are a very aggressive snake, and are poisonous. Unlike many other snakes, they don't tend to mosey on about their business if left alone, but tend to come to you and try to chase you away. Both of the snakes that I killed with my son came right out into the freshly mowed grass towards us after we'd been there and making noise for a while already. I kill every damn one I see, but I know I can't kill them all.

Sorry for being long winded. I'm just wondering if anyone has a good, reliable way of keeping snakes away, maybe a product we could spread around our campsite, or something along those lines? I'm pretty well turned off of camping there for now, as I can't see taking the chance of Wyatt, or anyone else, getting bit. Thanks in advance.

Daniel

Don't know if it works but anything is worth a try. Have been told that snakes will not cross over horse hair. Have known people who made a ring around their campsite and been told that no snakes entered the area.

must have had a helluva lot of horses. this old wives tale ranks up there with baby rattlers being more dangerous than adults because they haven't "learned" how to control the amount of venom they inject with each bite. i have tried spreading a strip of powdered lye around my dog kennel with no results. you would think a snake's tongue, which is constantly flicking, would cause it to back off when it hit the lye, but it didn't. i now have an electric fence around the kennel, running a half inch off the ground and powered by a solar charger. seems to help. today i killed 3 rattlers that were up against the electric fence but wouldn't cross it. i still have found snakes inside the kennel, however. nothing is foolproof. vigilance is the key.

Diesel

Fire, napalm, C4, herd of mongooses, hawks, eagles, gators, piranhas, 12 ga autoloader, more fire, some Bubbas with a few cases of Dixie and a pallet of 22 shorts, little more fire. Too bad I don't live down there anymore ... love to stop by and cook some snakes.

The other option of course is instead of trying to keep the snakes away, keep away from the snakes. Emigrate to New Zealand, we don't have snakes and the camping is great.

electric fences DON'T work on snakes. Boy, whoever thought that up, just consider how electric works and that will tell you why it is no good.

When cottonmouths are breeding, they can be very aggressive (more so than usual). I have had them charge my boat just because I was fishing nearby.
I don't have a solution other than a .410 with #9 shot. You don't have to kill them all, just the ones around your camping area. I guess one of the first pieces of business when you arrive at your campsite is to patrol the creek with your .410. (forget a pistol) The snakes are not gonna wander far from the water. That and telling the kids to be very alert when they're around the creek.

There are several commercial "snake repellents." The contents of some are not easy to identify. The most common ingredients in those that can be identified are naphthalene (moth balls) and sulfur. Home remedy treatments with mothball have been around for years.

I do not know the effectiveness of these but you might do a little research and see if there is anything indicating that they might be effective.

quote:

Originally posted by ztreh:
electric fences DON'T work on snakes. Boy, whoever thought that up, just consider how electric works and that will tell you why it is no good.

so i suppose the dead snakes, ground squirrels, toads, mice, lizards, etc. that i have found on the wire died of a heart attack? i caught a rattler with my snake tongs and placed his head on the wire with his body touching the ground- he was screwed.

quote:

Originally posted by Oday450:
There are several commercial "snake repellents." The contents of some are not easy to identify. The most common ingredients in those that can be identified are naphthalene (moth balls) and sulfur. Home remedy treatments with mothball have been around for years.

I do not know the effectiveness of these but you might do a little research and see if there is anything indicating that they might be effective.

i have tried the various commercial snake repellants. they are so expensive when trying to cover 500-600 linear feet that i gave up. don't know how well they work.

It seems to me that any electric fence placed low enough to kill or repel a snake would ground out on the grass or ground.

And if your fence is hot enough to kill all that stuff, brace yourself for when the tort lawyers show up after a kid gets in it.

i live 25 miles out in the country and the nearest neighbor is a mile away- and he is an old batchelor. the fence wire is strung banjo string tight,wrapped around 1/2 inch rebar spaced 6 feet apart and driven a foot into the ground and insulated with flexible plastic irrigation pipe. ground underneath the wire is kept free of grass and fence is a consistent 1/2 inch above the ground. i have still found 2 small rattlers in the kennels that somehow made it inside but but most critters end up dead on the wire.

I can't speak for Calif but in TN we have burmuda grass that can grow 1/2 inch in a night.

hell, we had our last rain 3 weeks ago and we won't have anymore until Sept-Oct. nothing grows out here from April to Sept unless you water it. bought a bigger fence charger today at Tractor Supply- it's rated for 50 miles of fencing(carries over 10,000 volts). can't wait to see what happens to a rattler when he hits it. after having 3 dogs plus myself get bitten in the last 4 years- THIS MEANS WAR!!!!!!!!!!

Any shotgun.....

I would suggest investing in trained dogs for detection & protection from all sorts of dangers, especially snakes. Kids & dogs go together well, why not take advantage of it? Back when I was a kid, I've been saved from several situations because I reacted to my dog's reaction. I have no idea what breed would be best for snakes, maybe someone else would tell us.

make it a Father & Son project to patrol the area with your favorite .410 H&R. Your son will think it's fun if he gets to do the shooting.

Rich
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by ztreh:
electric fences DON'T work on snakes. Boy, whoever thought that up, just consider how electric works and that will tell you why it is no good.

then why have i found 3 dead ones on my fence in the last month? heart attacks???? 2 rattlers and 1 gopher snake- all pretty well fried. i must admit, however that i changed my fence charger from a solar powered unit to 120v AC unit designed to charge 50 miles of fence and it is only charging 500 feet. all the snakes were sparking from their body to the ground. have to be sure the weeds are kept back from the wire to prevent fires. also have found numerous dead toads, lizards, ground squirrels. etc. IT DOES WORK LIKE A CHARM!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
make it a Father & Son project to patrol the area with your favorite .410 H&R. Your son will think it's fun if he gets to do the shooting.

Rich
DRSS

We essentially do that, but he carries his BB gun, and I carry my 20 gauge. Problem is that these damn cottonmouths aren't like other snakes. BOTH of our close calls were snakes that came right up to us in freshly mowed grass, after we'd been there a while and made plenty of noise. One of them was while we were picking blackberries, and HE spotted it just a few feet away, as my back was turned. I'm going to try the moth balls and will let ya'll know how they work.

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
I'm going to try the moth balls and will let ya'll know how they work.

You've Got to be Kidding!

You might as well invest in a snake bite kit!

buy some hogs and turn them loose. they will take care of the snakes. Then you can get chased by the hogs !!

i have a 300 lb wild pig that my wife caught when it was a 5 lb baby in the yard and turned into a (big) pet. it is dog tame and absolutely TERRIFIED OF SNAKES!! a rattler got in it's pen last summer and it almost destroyed the fence trying to get out. i had heard that old wife's tale before and believe me, it isn't always true!! moth balls will work but only in an enclosed space. waste of time and money in the open.

quote:

Originally posted by bentframe:
buy some hogs and turn them loose. they will take care of the snakes. Then you can get chased by the hogs !!

I have seen hogs kept for that reason,,and they worked great!the mothball thing works too,,,,,,the moths will resist the prceedure!!!