Is there any other way to get rid of water moccasins besides shooting them? The pond is about 1 acre, and every time I make it out there I end up killing at least 5 water moccasins with a .12 gauge. Anybody have any ideas for a homemade trap that I can place on the waters edge or in the water that will help eradicate them?

you can try putting sulfur around the pond that might drive them away

If you trap them yo have to go release them somewhere else where they will just cause problems. Just shoot the f'ers
There numbers are not in jepeardy.
Are they cottonmouths are just water moccassins?

Just water moccasins. I enjoy shooting them, but the problem is that I only make it out to the ranch about once a month or so, so I was looking for some other anti-snake measures to take while I'm not there.

Are you sure they are water moccasins or are they diamondback water snakes or blotched water snakes? I've seen tons more of the latter two than I've ever seen of the former, especially in farm ponds.

[This message has been edited by Log (edited 8/27/2009 2:31p).]

Trying to keep water snakes from hanging out around water, hummmmmmm. Good luck on that one.

I'm no herpetologist but doesn't...water mocassin=Agkistrodon piscivorus=cotton mouth
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/Agkistrodonpiscivorus.htm

spelling edit

[This message has been edited by normaleagle05 (edited 8/27/2009 2:34p).]

Log - there are both water moccasins and diamondback water snakes.

Kjodie - I know it's impossible to totally get rid of them; I'm just looking to control the population. Right now this pond is infested and it's a nuissance when fishing/hunting.

Learn to tell the harmless snakes from the poisonous ones, and don't bother with the harmless ones. If you've got the only local water and food source, they'll keep finding it.

I generally leave all snakes alone outside of a residential area, but that's just me. You kill one, there is more snake food to attract another one into that area.

normal-

water mocassin is the same thing as cotton mouth.

As for the OP- there is really no species specific way to get rid of snakes except 1)remove their habitat or 2 remove their food.

quote:

---

I'm no herpetologist but doesn't...water mocassin=Agkistrodon piscivorus=cotton mouth
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/Agkistrodonpiscivorus.htm

---

Plus one!

Don't call Sean O'Brien.

When it's just a little black head sticking up and you're shooting a .22, how the heck do you tell them apart? I say kill them all! Water snakes are just plain nasty. Turtles are a close 2nd.

With the way you shoot, those poor snakes and turtles would be in helluva bind if they were in your crosshairs Randy!

From my understanding, water moccasins swim with their body on the water's surface. Diamondback watersnakes (not poisonous) swim with only their heads above water while their bodies are under the water's surface.

This is what I know, and is a rule of thumb only. I'm sure there are exceptions to the above claim, like snakes reacting to incoming .22 rounds.

Most of these snakes swim with their whole bodies on top of the water. I just shoot them all and try to identify them later. They're usually very aggressive towards my top water lures and they especially love the weedless frogs I drag over the vegetation.

Yeah, an accurized 10/22 will give 'em hell. I think I've killed more moccasins with my pellet rifle (Crossman 760) than with a .22 so far.

It really isn't that hard to tell the difference in the water. Watch the shape of the body, the body in the water (is it "on the surface" or under the water), and where is the head held (up out of the water or pretty much on the surface). If the body is on the surface and the held is held out of the water, it's typically a water moccasin. If the body seem to be under the water surface, and head is barely out of the water, it's a harmless water snake.

If you have the habitat, you will have the snakes.

I did get a pretty good chuckle out of the cottonmouth or water moccasin comment.

Honestly, almost 90% of the water moccasin calls I get end up being diamondback water snakes or blotched water snakes as Log mentioned.

FWIW, moccasins may float up high on the water because they're widebodies with large lungs, but they SURE AS HELL can dive under, too.

Shoot 'em all and let God sort 'em out...

I left my dad's cast net on the shores of Lake Corpus Christi one evening. The next morning it had 6 snakes hung in it. You might try that.

Mouth, that's true, but I was addressing "When it's just a little black head sticking up"--if that is the case, it ain't diving.

Not that I am an expert, these pics were as much for my education as anything else:

Diamondback Water Snake :



Blotched Water Snake :




This was an interesting page: http://biology.uta.edu/herpetology/watersnakes.htm

I typically leave snakes alone in the wild.

Except cotton mouths. I would go out of my way to kill one of those. I abhor their very existence.

quote:

---

When it's just a little black head sticking up and you're shooting a .22, how the heck do you tell them apart? I say kill them all! Water snakes are just plain nasty. Turtles are a close 2nd.

---

+1



just keep on shootin....thats about as fun as seeing a dead snake

SWCBonfire, that picture you posted of a blotched water snake is the exact one that I use in an Continuing Ed class I teach. I have 4 snakes on the same slide, close to 75% of the time, the students choose that as the water moccasin over the actual picture of a water moccasin on the slide.

[This message has been edited by ursusguy (edited 8/27/2009 4:36p).]

If it's a black or brown-ish snake on the side of the water, it will generally scare the pi$$ out of you regardless. I shoot first and ID later. Killing one or 2 here and there is certainly not going to put even a fly's spec of a dent in the population. They're some of the most common animals around a body of water, and I prefer bullfrogs to thrive instead of snakes anyway.

I hate those darn things (cottonmouths) and will kill one at every opportunity I get. Just reading about it pisses me off and personally, I don't think there is a better way to get rid of them other than blowing their heads off.

With all the shoot first and ID later on here, I was wondering when so many of you TexAgs guys grew manginas when it comes to mostly harmless snakes?!

I like snakes... I strike at their heads... they strike at my heals... Easy pickins'.

This thread is awesome.

In this world I think I have never found a topic so many people agree on as their mutual hate of cotton mouths. Palestinians and Isrealis can hold hands and dance in agreement on the fact that cotton mouths need to die. When I was a child my dad told me that God did not make any "mean" animals. Except badgers and cotton mouths.

Hell, I love killin snakes. I've killed two in the last two days. The only time I let'm walk is when they are out in the wild and I can't easily kill them.

I popped a diamondback water snake in the head with my Benjamin pump in the outdoor hallway of my apartment complex last night.

You can put my vote in the "kill em all" category.

You can snag them with a pop r pretty easy just make sure you reel them in toward your buddys end of the boat. If anyone remembers terry venetoulias (kicker) he has a good story about that. I think he s*** his pants.

Do you have picture of said pond? and what county or habitat it is located in. Is it a natural pond, stock pond? How much vegitation at the waters edge? You might easily be able to make the pond less hospitable to cottonmouth's. Not so easy for water snakes, but cottonmouths have some pretty significant habitat prefrences that you might be ble to control.