EWWW!!! OMG, EWWW!! I'll never be the same again!!!

[vintagekitchen]

Cooked snake

When I was 5, My mom complained that every time she used her stove there was a weird burning smell, and some of the burners weren't working correctly. So dad pulled the stove ut to the porch, (tiny tiny kitchen, no space to work. when the oven door was open it took up almost all the open floor space.) He took off the back, and there was a snake coiled through the back of the knobs, very very dead. Apparently it had crawled in where the wire for the stove outlet cam through the floor, and crawled along the cord into the stove, and then got fried when mom went turned the stove on.

 

[whirlcool]

If you live in snake country and your dryer vent is pretty low to the ground always make sure that you have one of those dryer vents with the flap on it. It automatically closes when the dryer turns off and prevents snakes and mice from entering your home.

 

[danemodsandy]

And:

Also make sure the little flap is still doing its job; lint can build up on its hinge and prevent it from working correctly.

Newer dryer vents have a grille on them that prevents entry by rodents even if the flap isn't working right, but I don't think it would keep a small snake out.

 

[chuffle]

I forgot to mention...

...I've heard that placing moth balls around the foundation of the house discourages snakes. Don't know if it works or not, if it is an old wive's tale, but I thought that I would pass it on.

Joe

 

[washerboy]

lime

this post gives me the willies but for some reason I have to keep reading it...LOL!!...I hate snakes..period. I was telling one of my coworker about this and she said she and her husband lived close to creek for several years...she said they spread lime around the foundation of their home and that took care of the snake problme...she says a snake will not cross a trail of lime. Not sure if it would/will work..but that's what she says

 

[westie2]

The lime is supposed to work never tried it but have heard like you washerboy/Mark that it does.

 

[whirlcool]

They also make prepared snake repellent you can put down to keep snakes away. You can find this kind of product at most home improvement/hardware stores in snake country.

 

[franksdad]

Firm believer in moth balls!

Having previously lived at the lake and now next to the woods I've used moth balls for years and have satisfied with the results.  I have never heard of lime but I'll try it.  I had one baby copperhead in the carport this summer but I've not seen any others or snakes of any kind slithering around my house since.  I don't know if the mothballs have kept them away but I'm satisfied with the results.  You can also buy snake-away pellets at most home and garden shops.  I have never tried this product either.  

 

[akronman]

Hey Mr Vintage

you write a pretty good short story!! Send something to a publisher someday

 

[dustin92]

My mom always used moth balls around the foundation of the house, I think she used a little overkill though. She had seen a snake in the laundry room (off the back of the house, unheated, connected to the basement, more like an enclosed porch) and every year after until we moved (when I was 7 or 8) she bought 3 or 4 boxes and had me help her spread them around the house. She is absolutely horrified of snakes, they don't bother me much if they leave me alone and stay outside. She tells a story about the snake she stoned to death by the back porch, she just started throwing rocks at it until my dad finally got home and there was a pile of rocks from her flower bed piled up on top of a flattened snake.

 

[autowasherfreak]

If they aren't poisonous, they don't really bother me. I used to play with them when I was a kid. I used to go to friends house on the weekends out in the country, and occasionally we would run into a rattler but we knew well enough to leave them alone, which is exactly what we did.

 

[washerman]

I am terrifed of snakes also.....however, in Minnesota we have a natural way of dealing with them. It is called "winter!" Nearly guaranteed to kill anything that is not bundled up or in a warm place.

At any rate, my cat would so enjoy it if a snake came into our little world....."Oh look! A new toy!"

 

[perc-o-prince]

Liquid Fence ingredients:

MINT OIL
SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE
THYME OIL
PUTRESCENT EGG SOLIDS
POTASSIUM SORBATE
WATER
CITRIC ACID

Mint, shampoo, thyme, rotten eggs, vitamin C and a preservative (?) in water.

I like reading what these things have in them. There's a gopher/mole repellent that has something like 0.05% dried blood and garlic oil in it. I'm sure there are lots of old farmers out there that know just what to use... that they already had on hand!

Chuck

 

[northwesty]

I would suggest a little plastic snake in that gin and tonic.