Grancey

Red and I are moving to the “country.” There are a lot of issues regarding moving that we still have to deal with, but that’s another post. We will be living in the middle of farm land and forests. From my own experience in this area there will be a lot of wildlife, such as deer, turkeys, hawks, buzzards, armadillos, bobcats, and my only real fear….snakes. This part of Alabama is home to five pit vipers and the coral snake. My brother told me that I should have a pig, because pigs kill snakes. Does anyone have experience with pigs? Is this true? If it is, what do I need to know about having a pig?

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maleficent

http://experts.about.com/q/Pot-Belli...belly-pigs.htm

#1. I have heard that pigs keep snakes away...I don't know if this is true of potbelly pigs and was wondering if it is???

Wild pigs will kill and eat snakes. Under certain circumstances, farm hogs may do the same. Pot-bellied pigs rarely harm any living thing larger than a bug or worm. They may disturb a snake, but they will not attack one and their presence does not keep snakes away. I have 6 pot-bellied pigs myself, and occasionally in autumn when the weather cools a snake will find it's way inside the warm barn.

#2. I have heard that pigs are immune to poisonous snakes (rattlers) and would even kill them if they came in contact. I was wondering if it was true of potbelly pigs???

Pigs are remarkable creatures. Technically, they are not immune to snake poison, but the sheer size of a farm hog or wild boar means the venom from the bite is spread over a larger body. A rattle snake bite can kill a 150 lb human or a 150 lb (or smaller) pig. The same amount of venom may not be fatal to a 1500 lb pig, because the venom is spread over a larger body mass, but the pig will probably be quite ill.

Non-venomous snakes also pose dangers to pot-bellied pigs, a snake (or any other bite) is prone to infection.

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Gatorade Frost

A lot of my family lives in the country and a shotgun seems to take care of their snake problems.

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Ustwo

I think I'd rather have a mongoose, they are cute too.

Pigs can do do kill snakes, but unless you are getting a 800 lb boar as a pet don't bet on it. A cute little popbelly pig isn't saving you from anything.

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The_Jazz

Mal hit the high points about pigs so I'll focus on snakes. The only poisonous snakes in AL are the copperhead and rattlesnake (both vipers), neither of which are particularly fond of humans. If you're in an area that's been consistently lived in for several years (i.e. not in a new development carved out of the woods), the snakes will have most likely vacated the premises. Coral snakes are even more shy than these two, and in all my years of stopping across the Southeast as an active kid and boy scout, I never saw one outside a zoo. Copperheads, rattlesnakes and water mocasins are all over the place, but I never saw a coral snake.

/seriousness

Your best chance to completely avoid snakes, however, is to lobby the University of Alabama to get rid of the football program altogether. Go Vols!

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NotAnAngel

Its true Wild hogs do actually seek out and eat snakes, something of a delicacy for them I think. How many wild hogs are you willing to have round your property? they can stink a bit and be not sooooo friendly. Farm hogs will also eat a snake if it happens across his path. Again do you reallllly want Eau de Piggy all around your house? EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!

Get a few cats, they dont actually KILL snakes often if ever but.. they DO kill what the snakes are coming by for. ie rodents. Make sure your property is rodent free and it will seriously reduce snake visits. Turkeys also indulge in a bit of Snake hunting when opportunity arises.. However you have to weigh up the " Fors and against". .. Snakes are veryyyyyy interested in eggs.

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Grancey

http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/mongoose.htm

Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" was a mongoose, and the best known species is definitely the Indian mongoose. They are rather small, agile, weasel-like carnivores native to Africa, southern Europe, and Asia.
The mongoose lives near streams, in thickets, hedges, and fields feeding on rats, mice, snakes, lizards, eggs, and insects. The Indian mongoose is renowned for killing cobras, which it is capable of doing due to its very quick movements, thick protective hide, and long, thick hair. One of the largest species was considered a sacred animal in ancient Egypt. It checked the increase of crocodiles in the Nile River by eating their eggs and gained the popular name “Pharaoh’s Mouse.”
Some species of mongoose are kept as pets for vermin protection but are not allowed into Canada or the United States because of their destructiveness.


The mongoose was a great idea. Unfortunately, I can't legally own one.

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Quiet, mild-mannered souls might just turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool.

flat5

Gosh, I thought Dom Martin invented the phrase "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi".
Well I learned something important today.

Crack

Ya know what also kills snakes? A rake. or I shovel I guess would work too. What you do is: Kill the first snake with the rake/shovel, then you take that's snakes dead body and put aside for later. Next, go out to a lightly wooded area and find a stick about 3-4 feet high. Sharpen both ends to a point. Place the stick in the ground around your house where you don't want the snakes to be.

Then, go to fabric store and buy a little bit of lace, and maybe some sequins.. ya know, something very girly and flamboyant.

Next Take the snake we saved from earlier and measure him. Get all the dimensions. Take the fabric you bought and fashion him a little dress and a bonnet... go nuts, the more demeaning the better! (even some lipstick and eyeliner might be nice here)

Once your snake is all pretty take him outside and jam him on the other sharpened end of your stick in the ground.

If done correctly all the other snakes will stay away.

Example snake conversation:

Snake 1: Dude, did you hear about Dave?
Snake 2: Yeah man, I saw.
Snake 1: Everyone is laughing, I feel sorry for him, even though he was a douche bag, no one deserves that.
Snake 2: No shit. I am staying away from that place, those people are freaks!
Snake 1: Yeah, no joke man, no joke.
Snake 2: Hey, you down for going out and doing some snake stuff tonight?
Snake 1: Yeah, that's cool, let's get crunk and give the other snakes a bad name!
Snake 2: woot.

Disclaimer: I am just assuming snakes say "woot" they may in fact not.

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Sage

Crack!

Yeah, the only poisonous snakes are the copperhead and rattlesnake. They both can be pretty shy about things, so you don't have much to worry about. Actually, you shouldn't be worrying about anything- it's just a snake. They're as afraid of you as you are of them.

I worked as a camp counselor in the summer for three years, out in the middle of nowhere near Lenoir NC. We would see about one copperhead a week over the entire 200 acre camp, and they were NEVER aggressive at all. Call up the camp ranger to shoot them and then we didn't have to worry about it anymore. I've never seen a rattlesnake my entire 23 years of being in NC, but then again I don't know if we get rattlesnakes up here.

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warrrreagl

Nope, there are four kinds of poisonous snakes in North America - rattlesnake, copperhead, cotton-mouth (also known as water moccasin), and coral snake. And the only single place in North America where you can find all four of them is Alabama.

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ngdawg

Been dipping into the Shel Silverstein stash again?

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caver

Thanks warrrreagl, I was wondering if anyone actually believed there were no cottonmouths in Alabama.

SteelyLoins

Likewise. Cottonmouths are not always afraid of you, and they have nasty dispositions.

I haven't personally seen a coral snake in Georgia, but I've seen the other three. However...

http://www.urbanwildlifecontrol.com/animals/snake.htm

Bill O'Rights

So then...can we safely assume that the Alabama Tourism Bureau will not be calling on you to update their brochure?

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warrrreagl

Damn straight. Those bastards will hunt you down and attack you. If you're unlucky enough to see one coming at you in the water, you better hope you can fly.

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Living is easy with eyes closed.