One of our fellow gate guards told us that a while back an exterminator was called out to get rid of some bugs in one of the oil rig office trailers. As he was going out they asked him if he knew of something to deter the rattlesnakes. He told them to make a circle around their RV with mothballs. The exterminator said mice, bugs or snakes will not cross over the line of mothballs because of the smell.
Today the temperature is inching up to the 80s so the snakes are going to start coming out of their holes/dens. So I bought two boxes of mothballs and today I spread them all around the RV.
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The smell is a little overwhelming when we sit outside under the awning working the gate, but I do not want to see or be surprised by a snake. It’s my biggest fear and almost kept us from taking this gate guarding job.
Any other snake deterrents you know about? I’ll try them all.
Interestingly enough we use mothballs wrapped in netting as a deodorizer in the pit toilets at our national forest campgrounds in Colorado. In small amounts folks say it makes the restrooms smell fresh. And the little packets in the rafters of the restroom last a good 3-4 weeks.
Time to spell Jim outside and let him come get cool as we have the air conditioning on inside the RV.
Remember, you are loved.
I don't know any snake repellants... when we lived in the desert in Utah I'd just go outside on our mat and listen... the rattlesnakes there'd pretty much give you a warning that they were around. Then I'd find the maintenance guy and we'd get a 5 gallon bucket and he'd "noose" the snake, put it in the bucket and we'd haul it off a few miles away ;-)
ReplyDeleteNot only do the moth balls stink, in our experience, they don't keep the mice away, either. Hope they work with snakes.
ReplyDeleteKeep an eye out for those creepy crawlers of all types,spiders,scorpions and the snakes.
ReplyDeleteA good idea to read this I think; doesn't sound like a safe thing to spread mothballs around:
ReplyDeletehttp://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/mothball/health.html
A 410 shotgun or a shovel with a long handle works well as a deterent/final solution. Seriously if you don't have anything to attract mice/food,(mothballs?), you should be fine except for the snake looking for a place to hide from the sun.
ReplyDeleteHope the mothballs work. I've never heard that one before. I wish I knew of some more ideas for you to try. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteA shotgun will work....
ReplyDeleteHere is another formula that you might use, you could mix it up and set it further out making a perimeter boundry away from the trailer. Here is the link. http://www.ehow.com/how_7779095_homemade-rattlesnake-repellent.html
ReplyDeleteThe next time you use the moth balls maybe use three boxes and enlarge the circle around the rear of the trailer so you don't get a surprise when you go to dump your tanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time.
http://ricknkathyrousseau.blogspot.com/
John says don't leave any water outside. The snakes are drawn to water. Also a gun with snake rounds!
ReplyDeleteYou share my fear.
stay safe Jean
Bobbie and Jim,
ReplyDeleteI follow your blog and thought this link might be helpful information. Keep on living the dream. Kathy H.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4894820_make-homemade-snake-repellent.html
Hi Bobbie!
ReplyDeleteWe do the mothballs. We've seen snakes but never at our site! I don't know if the moth balls did the trick or there just weren't any in the neighborhood. It's a little cool still for the snake round up. I don't think you have to worry. ;)
Debbie
Well...don't get the snake granules advertised! We had a snake problem when Jim and I temporarily lived on our family farm. I spread it around the farmhouse and the derned critters crawled right over top of the granules. In fact a blue racer raced across the yard, across the granules, over my feet and into his hiding place while I was mowing lawn.
ReplyDelete