Have any of you tried Snake-A-Way snake repellant????

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Have any of you tried Snake-A-Way snake repellant sold by Jerry Baker's company?

It says "Simply sprinkle this dry mixture on the snake infested area, wait 48 hours for snakes to evacuate, then sprinkle a six inch band around the perimiter of the area to prevent them from returning. Keeps homes, cabins, trailers, garages, tents, pools, etc. snake-free for up to 3 months. A must for anyone who's afraid of or doesn't like snakes. NOT FOR USE ON FOOD CROPS." Its $13.95 for 4 lbs.

In my job as a newspaper reporter I routinely see dead mutilated bodies, work horrific wreck scenes, and all kinds of gross stuff. I've been held at knife point and at gun point. BUT THE THING THAT REALLY SCARES ME IS SNAKES! I've always been that way. I stay cool under pressure and in all kinds of tense situations but get me around a snake and I loose it.

(NO I DO NOT WANT THAT SITUATION CORRECTED! I had a "psychologist" tell me she could cure me of my snake fear by having me pet snakes every week...I told her NO THANKS!!!)

Anyway, I would like to keep snakes out of my rabbit and chicken barns and I was wondering if this stuff works???? I keep it mown clean around there and all that by they are next to our woods. I don't want to reach into a chicken's nest and bump my hand on a chicken snake! (And yes I know they eat rodents and all that, but MAJOR animal lover that I am ANY SNAKE AROUND ME IS A DEAD ONE! My apologies to all you snake lovers but NOT ON MY 13 ACRES!!!

Anyway, have any of you ever tried this stuff, and if so, does it work. If not, do you have any other snake deterrants I might try????

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), March 29, 2001

Answers

I have not personally used it, but our local feed store does. Husband was recently doing some plumbing for them, and he said under the buildings there was no evidence of snakes. He asked them about it and they said they used to have a rea;l problem. They first got rid of the mice and rats figuring that would take care of it, but it didn't. So tried the snake-away and were real pleased at how well it worked.

'course, they do sell the stuff now so that might figure into it. Though on the other hand there are some great snake stories around here of the snakes untimely visits to the feed store too. Not for the snake wary!

Sarah (sw MO)

-- Sarah (heartsongacres@juno.com), March 29, 2001.


I have a true and paralyzine phobia of snakes. Why did I move to Kentucky? I looked into buying the product you mentioned, found it in a store, opened it up, it smelled like moth balls. I asked the guy at the hardware store and he laughed. It is very similar to ground up moth balls. I buy boxes of moth balls, at less than $2 a bos and throw them every where, not next to plants we will be ingesting of course. My husband hates the smell, but hates my screaming worse. He just put his foot down when I mentioned tieing them around my ankles. It really does work! Jean

-- Jean in Ky. (dandrea@duo-county.com), March 29, 2001.

Suzy,I've seen the stuff but have never used it.It should work ok because it will irritate the hell out of a snakes skin.I think you would have to use it almost every other day for it to be very effective.The active ingredient in it is ground up moth balls.Make your own and save money.The only snakes I kill are rattle snakes and copper heads.And thats only if they are near the house and barn and I'm in the mood for a meal.A solution for your poisonous snake problem may be to establish a colony of big black rat snakes.They eat just about everything including other snakes.I have found them to be real gentlemen in general.(hardly ever see them)

-- greg (gsmith@tricountyi.net), March 29, 2001.

I LOVE Baker!! But, have to be honest... If he doesn't give a recipe for it, I don't use it. I don't recall any recipes for this one....

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 29, 2001.

Suzy, While it is not specifically labeled for use against snakes, I believe ROPEL brand animal and bird repellent will work against them. If you ever get any near your tongue, you would believe it. Yuck !!

-- Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), March 29, 2001.


Suzy, I'm with you. I try real hard to coexist with my fellow creatures most of the time, but snakes put me 'way out of my comfort zone. I try to put up with black snakes because of their habit of killling copperheads, but even that is a stretch for me. I have heard several oldtimers praise both moth balls and garden sulfer. Heard on man talk about the fact that a copperhead liked to coil up on top of his trashcan of sweet feed. He filled a sock with sulfer, tied a knot in it and laid it on the trashcan. Never saw the snake again. Also, guineas are supposed to be death on them. Personally, I prefer a .22 loaded with rat shot.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), March 29, 2001.

After nearly a year here in "snake country, Alabama", I have steeled myself to look the other way with rat snakes and black snakes..I would much rather see those guys then teir cousins with fangs and venom...we have a rat snake that is over 6 feet long,,saw him several times last summer....yech....also have several three-footer black snakes..only saw one dead rattlesnake (I think we ran him over with the truck), no copperheads and no water moccasins....now that we have chickens, I fully expect to go into the coop one day and see one of the snakes there visiting. I told Neil to plan on hearing me scream "SNAKE" at the top of my lungs..we also want to see how high I can jump at my age with MS and crutches, LOL!!!! The folks around here swear by mothball flakes, but say you have to reapply after each rain. Since it rains here quite a bit, I would imagine that would be expensive! God bless.

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), March 29, 2001.

I live in copperhead country.I haven't seen a copperhead on my property since I had my guinea hens,3 years now.I had 6 week old guinea keets sit by yellow jacket nest and eat them as they come out of the ground.It's appears they don't get bothered when they get stung and will eat until the nest is gone.?A neighbor 2 years ago shot 26 copperheads on his property.I think the guinea hens work well and are less toxic then mothballs that can leach into the water table, possibly in your well.

-- Steve (a12goat@cs.com), March 30, 2001.

Steve given the choice between snakes and guinea hens.I think I'd prefer the copper heads.LOL!I just can't abide anything that is noisier and more obnoxious than myself.

-- greg (gsmith@tricountyi.net), March 30, 2001.

Hey Suzy! How about build'n a "snake zapper" for those nasty serpents? If'n ya'll want me to I'll build one and give it a test drive or send it to ya'll for testing in Bama. Matt.24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), March 30, 2001.


I've used good ol' powdered lime as a snake barrier for years. I don't know what's in "Snake Away", but the "6-in strip" someone mentioned sounds real familiar. I'm betting Snake Away is nothing more than really expensive lime.

As I understand it, the lime irritates (burns) the snake if they get it on their skin. Thus, they won't cross a line of it sprinkled on the ground.

Has always worked for me...and is pretty cheap, too.

-- Deke in Snakefree, FL (gladiator0@excite.com), May 21, 2001.


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