Friday 30 November 2012

Snakes alive

WARNING WARNING WARNING:
 Ugly dead snakes following!


This little dog has taken to snake hunting.
Not a good thing to be doing.
Especially when you are deliberately pregnant with little Cairn Terrier puppies!


A couple of weeks ago we came home to this Giant brown snake in pieces in one side of the dog yard. Our oldest one, and also the pregnant one's side.
Off I raced to the vet's with the 2 dogs. Anthistamine and steroid injections are the first line of defence.
Then a wait and see.
All was ok. I couldn't believe our luck.



I was pretty sure that the other bitch in the yard would have just cowered inside the kennel. and not joined in on taking on a big brown snake.


And this Young German shepherd chases lizards and birds non stop all day long. 
 
 
 Then 5 days later when I came home and let the doggies out, within 5 minutes, the little cairn dove under a rose bush right next to me and pulled out one flapping it all about.
She killed it. I was sure that she had been bitten and again rushed to the vet's to get her checked over.


I loaded her up into the car and put the dead snake into a chook bucket for identification by the vet.
Well it wasn't quite dead but wasn't a danger to anyone. Another lot of shots and another night of watch and see. I couldn't believe our luck again. It must have been my screaming that made her slink away, not a bite.
Needless to say she is no longer allowed to just roam around of her own accord, but has to be on a lead at all times when she is not locked on the verandah, in her yard or in the pool house or veggie garden with me. She only has a few weeks to go until the pups are on the ground!



We thought it was a whip snake, but no it was a deadly Eastern brown.


This bird netting has always served me well, catching many snakes.

But this time I was over it and knew of snake repellers that are on the market. I rang my friend who has them and she swears by them. So I rang and organised an order to come my way.
These machines look just like solar lights and send out a vibration through the ground every couple of minutes.
I have 2 layers of defence, one right up next to the house and the other out at the edge of the garden. 20 machines in total. And some just randomly placed.


Every couple of minutes they vibrate for a few seconds. a red Led light glows and blinks while this vibrating is going on. They look like evil little red eyes blinking.


Touch wood- I haven't seen a slithering nasty since these went in the ground.
It's going to be extremely hot here in the next few days and I hope that none try to take their luck in my cool damp garden!!

Here is where you can read about the device and order them.
So far so good.
birthday brownie stack.

These are the only snakes I am interested in around here!
How about you? Do you like or loathe snakes?
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6 comments:

  1. EEEK! I am scared of snakes...snakes and spiders.
    Thank goodness your little dog survived her two contacts with the snakes.
    I hope that contraption does what it's supposed to!

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    Replies
    1. So very lucky!!! I am spending a heap of time walking her and keeping her locked up! Maybe she is more protective being in pup! Or my friend says, she has had a good kill and enjoyed it and wants to find more!

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  2. we had an australian terrier when I was a kid, he was deadly on snakes and never once got bitten. Bosley was his name...sadly he got very old and senile doggy dementia set in, he kept peeing on people. We eventually had to put him down.

    don't forget that terriers are bred to hunt vermin so its just a natural thing to her!

    Jodie you make me laugh, you never do anything in a small way! I have only TWO of the snake sentinel things (although reckon I could use two or three more more) and I found them cheaper online direct from the manufacturer.

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  3. Can you tell me about the netting you have used to catch snakes? We've got snake issues here too!
    Bettina

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bettina, thanks for stopping by. The netting is bird netting. It was devised to just be thrown over veggies and fruit trees to keep birds off them. The snakes get caught in it, it seems to get under their scales and they get all tangled up trying to free themselves. It is the fine netting, not the knitted sort. I have used Cyclone before and this was 3 metres folded in a pack- just from a hardware store. I cut it up into 1m lengths and then lay it about in secure fenced areas where the dogs (and kids when they were younger) can't get.. I can then easily get rid of them when they are dead, I just scoop the whole lot up with a shovel and burn it. Fantastic stuff I tell you!

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    2. Thanks very much! Will look into the snake repellent too- you are the 3rd person who's recommended them to me. Fingers crossed they keep working well for you! Bettina.

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Go on....speak up!

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