Snakes! (Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie: houses, subdivisions, living in) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Bailey9983 · 02-03-2007, 07:52 AM

My sister and I both have small dogs, are there a lot of problems with snakes getting in peoples yards? We are both getting houses with fences or getting them installed. If snakes are a problem does anyone have any ways of prevention? I am not even sure how populous snakes are in the Ft. Worth area I just know they are prevelent in Texas. If anyone has any info. it is appreciated.

Bailey

Synopsis · 02-03-2007, 08:05 AM

We have a small dog (live in a suburb of FW) and never have a problem with snakes. If you keep your grass mowed well, then you shouldn't have a problem. Outside our privacy fence in the backyard, where the grass sometimes gets high (and I have to weedeat), I'll run across some small snakes. Most of them are grass snakes, but there could be a few poisonous ones in there. Snakes like places to hide, so if you'll keep your yard tended to you shouldn't have any problems. We've been here in this house for 8 years with two small dogs and they have NEVER been harrassed by snakes. I've never even seen one inside our backyard. The neighbor did have one in his front yard last summer, but it was just a king snake (non-poisonous), about 3 feet long. He called animal control and they came out and the animal control lady captured it to be released somewhere in the wild.

piscesgirl · 02-06-2007, 08:10 AM

I've liven in several cities around the Dallas Fort Worth area... I have seen snakes sure, grass snakes, nothing any larger than 12 in. The whole area is very much populated with people, not too many undeveloped areas left, which is where I would think snakes would live. I don't think you would have any sort of problem with them trying to eat your babies...

NOTAM · 02-08-2007, 01:59 PM

good luck. i spent so much money on my own generic version of snake-away..using lime powder, sulfur, diatomaceous earth etc.
my dogs still got snake bites which cost alot of money at the vet. but then again, when i lived in north Texas i lived in a very rural area (Wise County and Jack County) and i could only mow so much..i had too much land to mow, so only mowed about an acre and the rest i got brush hogged as much as i could afford to.

loves2read · 02-14-2007, 11:11 AM

most people in this area do not have a problem with snakes if subdivisions instead of rural property--but you cannot say that you will never see a snake--either venemous or not...we live with a small creek behind our house and while I have seen snakes in the water --don't know what kind--we have not really seen in on our lot for as long as I can remember.
Just use caution when you are out in the yard working or walking in areas like parks---be careful where you put your hands by not reaching where you can't really see--like under vines or bushes...

Something to be concerned about for yourself would be brown recluse spiders--much more likely to be inside your house or garage/yard area than snakes and their bite is very venemous and causes big tissue damage--hard to treat---and they are very common and sneaky---love the dark....

Richard Boswell · 02-14-2007, 05:21 PM

I agree with loves2read, I would worry more about the Brown Recluse spiders more than the snakes. My wife got bit by a brown recluse spider 4 years ago at our old house in Grand Prairie. Took several dr visits to get that healed. I live in far northwest Tarrant county now (Haslet area) and have only caught 1 bull snake in my flowerbed. It was a large one (5 ft long) but they are not dangerous, they will catch a lot of rodents so they are good to have around. I took that one to the far back corner of my property and released it. That was over a year ago and haven't seen another one since.

CTorsch · 02-16-2007, 09:58 AM

Baily,

Your probably not going to have problems with snakes unless you live in the country....Snakes are not very typical in town and in subdivisions. BUT if you live in the country or are thinking about living in the country I would save your money on all of the snake away gimmicks and simply adopt some outdoor cats.....Cats will keep snakes away.

Thanks, CAT

colt357_2000 · 03-03-2007, 11:54 AM

This post is kinda old but it caught my attention. Is it me or are brown recluse spiders getting less....reclusive? I never met anyone that was bitten by one until about three years ago. Now I know five or six.
Back to snakes. When we lived in Springtown I cut the the two acres every week. We had alot of copperheads and grass snakes. I imagin the creek a few hundred yards away had plenty O snakes around it.
Cats. I'm not a big cat person, don't dislike them, just not into them. However my mom in law is. Cats kill rodents, that the snakes feed on, less rodents, less snakes. Seems to have worked. Now back in NRH my problem is Racoons! We are still on two acres, just in the big middle of town, and this property is borderd by, guess what? Right, a creek. They get in the trash, under the house,in the barn etc. And they are not afraid of the cats. Matter of fact, we don't leave catfood out at night anymore...duh....cuz they love catfood!
Ya think their cute? Try and run em off and watch em rear up on their hine legs and hiss at ya. See how cute that is!
Give me the snakes back.

loves2read · 03-03-2007, 05:41 PM

colt--I think you are right about the spider thing---think the pest control people (not that they spray my house--we quit that a long time ago) don't spray into places where the brown recluse would be and they are inside as easy as outside the home...I think I kill about one or two a year around ours---our son was opening the garage door with the outside keypad and there was on hiding in the cover that he saw and killed---that would have been a nasty bite on a finger--probably would have lost it----

regarding raccoons--we don't have them even though we have a small creek behind our house as well-(possums we have had, however and they are really scary and mean)--Raccoons can be rabid and I think raccoons and skunks are the most likely carriers in wild animal land---they are smart, tribal, and strong--never argue with a raccoon no matter how small it seems...
regarding keeping them off your property or out of the cat food--you might try mothballs--or vinegar--raccoons have very keen sense of smell so anything that offends that might be to your advantage... don't know for sure but think I read or heard that mothballs might work...

colt357_2000 · 03-03-2007, 09:31 PM

I heard the mothball thing before. That and lights and music, like leave a light on and a boom box on the patio. Havn't tried any of those. These guys were comming up on the porch to eat cat food with the light on......so that theory may work with rural racoons, but city racoons are used to light it seems.
Taking the cat food away helped. They still come after the trash, we use bags and put the bags in cans. The cans have lids. But they still get in.
Oh well.