Any tips on keeping them away, avoiding, killing, anything........not just copperhead types, even little green ones creep me out. I'm just freaked all the time now that my husband died. I always knew I could depend on him to kill or move one if it showed up. Now I'm afraid of my 7 gardens he made for me. Crap. Men are so handy in ways we take for granted. Thanks

We don't have copperheads, just a lot of Diamondbacks plus several other non-poisonous types. Here are the rules I have grown up with:

Never put your hands where you can't see them. My aunt was bitten when she reached under a bush to pull out dead leaves.

Wear long baggy pants if you think there are snakes about. IF you strikes you, they will get a mouth full of pants.

Keep your garden hose handy. A blast from the hose has chased more than one snake out of my yard.

Keep the population of whatever the snakes are after (for me, that's mice and voles) out of your yard.

I worry more about my dog. He will chase and grab anything that moves but also, dogs don't seem to see or smell snakes until they move so I worry he will walk on one. I have taught him to stay out of the garden. He has a run area but the garden is not it. That's as safe as we can be.

Thank you. I didn't know about using a hose so will keep it with me. He always complained that I wear shorts instead of long pants. Maybe it's time to mind him? LOL ..a little late. I guess I'm like your aunt so need to watch it. I appreciate your quick response.

There's a product called Snake Away that was recommended to me when I noticed I have some snakes in the garden. Also, get rid of any wood pile in your garden, they use these for shelter.

Getting rid of critters (aka. snake food) is so important. Here are a few things that I do:
-Mice traps
-Spreading some cat hair in my garden to deter critters.
-I have some catnip plant in my garden, so I have regular community cats visiting my garden, hopefully they keep the mice population in control as well.
-I use a closed compost bin for kitchen scraps, so critters won't be able to get to it

Also, if you can attract some other predators, like large birds to your garden, that will help as well.

Cat hair!! Never heard of that ........I may have to shave one of my cats....they won't be happy but they are never happy anyway. They do wander around in the flowers & sleep in the beds so maybe some catnip in the tomato garden? I've never seen a snake there but who knows. I was going to get wood chips and someone said that's a terrible idea so you confirmed it. Thanks. Maybe I could get cat hair from the vet in town. Funny story: when my mother was a little girl she completely shaved her cat bald. The cat ran away and didn't come back until its fur had grown back.

I've read about cat hair before. Also using human hair to keep squirrels from digging in your outdoor containers. Every year the squirrels target 1 or 2 of my planters and just keep digging. I fill up the holes, they dig out the same exact spot. I don't know what attracts them to one spot like that, but I just take whatever loose hair is on my hairbrush and stick in the the planter and they finally leave it alone.

Hair! I'll try that.

I have long haired cats, so for me its easy to collect cat hair. You can still try it if your cats are short haired, you just need the right brush that collects their hair when you brush through them. I wouldn't shave them though, they can get a bad sunburn and even skin cancer without their hair!

I would plant catnip near a flower bed (nearby non-toxic flowers) instead of near any veggie beds. The reason being is that I wouldn't want any cats to urinate or defecate near vegetables because some cats carry the toxoplasma ghondii parasite.

You can also try human hair what Murky mentioned! I've heard that it can work against snakes!

geumfan said: Cats do wander around in the flowers & sleep in the beds so maybe some catnip in the tomato garden? I've never seen a snake there...

If the cats are in the garden... They're killing the snakes.
Stop worrying so much.

I drag the cats inside when I see them surrounding a snake... until the snake has a chance to get away...
Unfortunately... the cats still kill them... I'm not always there to protect the snakes...

Wow. Those look like kittens. Are they eating it? Do you think those little cats killed it all by themselves? People always say cats leave "presents"...dead things.......at the door. Mine never do. They must be eating something out there because they are just huge, bigger than normal cats & I don't give them food all day. My cats won't play with anything except rocks. They pick up rocks and carry them to the deck and kind of play shuffleboard.

Another question (you people are so nice !!) I have a huge rock 4'x3'x3'..right in the middle of a main flower bed. No way to move it. LOTS of Lambs Ears coming up around it. I'm thinking it might be good to get rid of the Lambs Ears since they get so dense I can't see anything that might be under them. Opinions?

geumfan said:People always say cats leave "presents"...dead things.......at the door.

I always had cats in the past, usually 2 at a time, and they were always indoor cats. One morning half asleep I felt one of the cats drop something on my chest and then just sit next to me. We'd sometimes have field mice getting in, really old house in Wisconsin, and I was so afraid of opening my eyes and seeing a chewed up dead bloody mouse a few inches from my face. I finally squeezed one eye open slowly... and was so relieved to see it was a chewed up piece of fried chicken. My (idiot) husband left some out on the counter before going to bed instead of throwing it away. Apparently the cats helped themselves to the leftovers and one thought she'd be nice and share it with me. But I was really freaking out before opening my eyes...

Those are kittens... Mom brung dinner.
My cats also bring squash and cucumbers to the house... to eat later.
Cats that were removed from their mom too soon may not know how to get at the meat. Solution... use knife... open package.
Never too soon to start the cats eating prey...

That's the funniest thing I've heard in a month. How unnerving. And how generous of your cat. What a hoot.

Re the rock surrounded by lambs ear... That sounds real pretty... I'd enjoy how it looked.

It really is and they seem to thrive there. Those Lambs Ears are so soft and sweet & I've offered starts to people with little kids.......no one wants anything. Sort of weird....free and easy. I grow lots of Heirloom tomatoes and almost no one wants them. My postal lady will take a pint....again, free. Is that grey/white cat carrying a snake? The kitten just nibbling on the rat is so cute.

I love long haired cats - but a long haired calico.... Oh my gosh!

The cat that left me the present was a long-haired calico. I picked up a long-haired white and black stray in the neighborhood. Turned out she was pregnant, I was frantically trying to find homes for kittens. But she herself was so young, she had only 1 normal healthy kitten, a long-haired calico. So there were my 2 long-haired cats that time.

geumfan said: Another question (you people are so nice !!) I have a huge rock 4'x3'x3'..right in the middle of a main flower bed. No way to move it. LOTS of Lambs Ears coming up around it. I'm thinking it might be good to get rid of the Lambs Ears since they get so dense I can't see anything that might be under them. Opinions?

As pretty as it must be, it also sounds like a place that may hide rodents and or snakes. Use caution.

Keep as tidy as you can to get rid of shelter for the rodents that the snakes would come for. Keep ground level clear. ( this reminds me of advice to reduce rodents because they also are a reservoir for deer ticks)

Thank you. Did not know that about deer ticks & mice/rats. There are deer all over the place & every summer they're miserable w/ those ticks.