How to Encourage a Snake to Move Along

There are ways for humans and venomous snakes to live in harmony. We are, after all, moving into their habitat and not the other way around. Rapid development and habitat loss forces snakes closer to human dwellings. Should you find a snake (venomous or non) near your home and, for whatever reason, you’d like it to move along, spray the snake gently with a garden hose. A steady stream of water usually gets the snake to move away and seek cover (think about being a child and playing with water guns). It’s also likely this will discourage the snake from coming back if it feels scared of being sprayed again. Of course, as with anything, this technique may not always work and some snakes may stubbornly stay put.

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) © John White - Virginia Herpetological Society
© John White – Virginia Herpetological Society

One of our Facebook group members, Marc Leonetti, found himself in this exact situation. There was a beautiful Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) on his property. He calmly went for his hose, sprayed the snake, and the snake quickly took the hint! Check out his YouTube video below. Snake and human both escape unharmed.

Learn more about these magnificent creatures at https://www.facebook.com/groups/snakeED/

Related:  Coralsnake Envenomations

About

Wild Snakes : Education and Discussion My “regular” job is a web developer and I.T. nerd. I utilize these skills to maintain the WSED.org website, and build more of a social media presence for our mission. How did I get into snakes? A few years ago, I stumbled upon the Snake Identification group and really became obsessed with learning about and how to ID snakes. I joined the staff in October of 2017, and consider it a real honor. I learn so much every day from my team and our members. Our only goal is to help people learn and become as fascinated as we are with these extraordinary creatures. I’m also raising my daughter to love snakes as much as I do!

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