Snake Scare

[wayned]

I woke up about 22000 because the dogs locked on the carport were having a barking fit but the dogs inside were quiet so no one had come to the house.  I got up and looked out the back door and they were barking at my air compressor.  Ah, a critter had been cornered.  Got the flash light and went outside and sitting on the shelf next to the compressor was a coiled cobra with its neck spread ready to strike.  I got my snake snare out of the store room and went back and it was still there because of the dogs  I herded the dogs into another locked area and went back, no snake.  There are so many things that the stupid thing could hide under or in so I poked around a little bit with the snare but could find nothing and thought that here I was trying to find a cobra in my bare feet and underwear so I left the dogs penned and went back to bed but could sleep.  I got up and went back out properly dressed and looked with a flashlight everywhere but no snake so I let the dogs back in to find him.  After looking, they were happy that the critter had booked and so was I.  Actually cobras that are ready to strike are easy to catch with a snare as there heads are raised and usually don't strike at the snare.  I assume that's because they don't sense any body heat.  This is the first snake so far this year but I usually get 4 or five rat snakes, pythons or golden tree snakes but only rarely a cobra.

[neeray]

Maybe take a hard look down the hole before using the golden throne.

[wayned]

5 minutes ago, neeray said:

Maybe take a hard look down the hole before using the golden throne.

I once had a big orange spotted gecko get in the house and could not catch him and he eventually disappeared.  I got up in the middle of the night to take a crap and when I went in the bathroom I, for some reason, turned the light on, I usually don't.  And there sitting in the bowl of the toilet was the orange spotted thing with it mouth wide open.  I caught him with a hand towel and threw him and the towel over the back fence since he would let go.  I would have been in a world of hurt if I hadn't turned the light on and sat down with all hanging out.  True story!

[neeray]

Your balls would have been burning and bleeding. Good thing there wasn't a power outage that night.

[steven100]

A photo can tell a thousand words ...

[wayned]

21 minutes ago, steven100 said:

A photo can tell a thousand words ...

right, in the middle of the night in my bare feet and underwear  when a cobra is ready to strike one of my dogs or a Gecko is waiting to chomp on my balls I'm going to run and get  my Kodak Brownie camera to take a picture .. Kinda like going to get a camera to take a picture of the fire in the kitchen before looking for the fire extinguisher.

[steven100]

16 minutes ago, wayned said:

right, in the middle of the night in my bare feet and underwear  when a cobra is ready to strike one of my dogs or a Gecko is waiting to chomp on my balls I'm going to run and get  my Kodak Brownie camera to take a picture .. Kinda like going to get a camera to take a picture of the fire in the kitchen before looking for the fire extinguisher.

I know ..... I just wanted to see the snake also ... lol

[dick dasterdly]

I've no idea why you'd go 'poking about' looking for a cobra in the middle of the night ????!

 

My personal strategy is the cowards' approach - lock dogs and myself in house for a while, giving the cobra lots of time to move elsewhere ????.

[dick dasterdly]

Somewhat off-topic - but I still wonder how snakes etc. get in toilets?

 

I know precisely zero about plumbing, but surely the toilet has a pipe that is directly connected to the septic tank?

[wayned]

45 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Somewhat off-topic - but I still wonder how snakes etc. get in toilets?

 

I know precisely zero about plumbing, but surely the toilet has a pipe that is directly connected to the septic tank?

And the se[tank has an overflow so the snake gets in the overflow pipe, enters the tank and then into the pipe that goes to the toilet.

[wayned]

55 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

I've no idea why you'd go 'poking about' looking for a cobra in the middle of the night ????!

 

My personal strategy is the cowards' approach - lock dogs and myself in house for a while, giving the cobra lots of time to move elsewhere ????.

I wanted to catch the creature before he managed to get into the house which is a rel problem.  I've had many inside over the years, rat snakes and golden tree snakes but never a cobra or a python.  They  usually were on the porch or carport.

[cranki]

Was that a hand made snake snare or did you buy it from somewhere ?

[Old Croc]

On ‎6‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 4:18 AM, wayned said:

On ‎6‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 3:49 AM, steven100 said:

A photo can tell a thousand words ...

right, in the middle of the night in my bare feet and underwear  when a cobra is ready to strike one of my dogs or a Gecko is waiting to chomp on my balls I'm going to run and get  my Kodak Brownie camera to take a picture .. Kinda like going to get a camera to take a picture of the fire in the kitchen before looking for the fire extinguisher.

 

My lady has a system, pin it down then run for the camera.

 

 

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

 

My lady has a system, pin it down then run for the camera.

 

 

wow  !   that's a good snake ... yikes  !!

[dick dasterdly]

44 minutes ago, wayned said:

And the se[tank has an overflow so the snake gets in the overflow pipe, enters the tank and then into the pipe that goes to the toilet.

OK, now I'm worried ????!

 

Edit - but the overflow pipe is underground?  At least appears to be so in my case as I can't see an open pipe above ground?

 

[dick dasterdly]

34 minutes ago, wayned said:

I wanted to catch the creature before he managed to get into the house which is a rel problem.  I've had many inside over the years, rat snakes and golden tree snakes but never a cobra or a python.  They  usually were on the porch or carport.

Know what you mean, as I too have had the odd snake in the house, mostly golden tree snakes and not sure about the others - presumably baby snakes to be able to get in to the house?  Unless of course, they came in via the patio doors without my dogs noticing.

[dick dasterdly]

16 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

OK, now I'm worried ????!

 

Edit - but the overflow pipe is underground?  At least appears to be so in my case as I can't see an open pipe above ground?

 

My mistake, as going outside to look, the 'new' septic tank installed has open pipes above ground ????!

 

Next job - covering the openings with mesh.  Anyone know the best type of mesh to use?

 

Edit - Who on earth thought leaving open pipes without any snake/centipede etc. protection was a good idea???

[CharlieH]

5 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

My mistake, as going outside to look, the 'new' septic tank installed has open pipes above ground ????!

 

Next job - covering the openings with mesh.  Anyone know the best type of mesh to use?

In my experience, if you get small gauge chicken wire and roll it into a ball and insert it tightly into the pipe. It not only provides a barrier but also gives depth and is almost impossible to pass through/by but no restriction to water flow.

[steven100]

21 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

OK, now I'm worried ????!

 

Edit - but the overflow pipe is underground?  At least appears to be so in my case as I can't see an open pipe above ground?

 

that's why at the end pipe overflow you fix a metal screen with holes big enough that water can drain but snakes cannot enter.

[dick dasterdly]

31 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

In my experience, if you get small gauge chicken wire and roll it into a ball and insert it tightly into the pipe. It not only provides a barrier but also gives depth and is almost impossible to pass through/by but no restriction to water flow.

I was more than a bit concerned about this (!) so found some kitchen 'wire mesh scrubbers' and have used these as a temporary solution.

 

I'm still at a loss as to why snake/centipede etc. prevention methods weren't installed in the first place!

 

Presumably 'cos Thais have grown up with these, and so aren't as frightened.

[VocalNeal]

26 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

My mistake, as going outside to look, the 'new' septic tank installed has open pipes above ground ????!

How big are the pipes?  

 

Buy a couple/few toilet brushes with screw off heads. Jam the brush into the pipe and unscrew the head. If need be to remove the "screen" simply reconnect the handle.

[dick dasterdly]

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

How big are the pipes?  

 

Buy a couple/few toilet brushes with screw off heads. Jam the brush into the pipe and unscrew the head. If need be to remove the "screen" simply reconnect the handle.

Fortunately narrow, which is why I could block them with 'kitchen, wire mesh, scrubbers' as a temporary solution.

 

Small gauge chicken wire will rust and disintegrate in the same way as my temp. solution - so small gauge plastic is probably a better long-term solution.

[dick dasterdly]

24 minutes ago, steven100 said:

that's why at the end pipe overflow you fix a metal screen with holes big enough that water can drain but snakes cannot enter.

Tell the people that installed these pipes, as otherwise you're preaching to the choir!

[Old Croc]

43 minutes ago, steven100 said:

wow  !   that's a good snake ... yikes  !!

It was quite a small one actually, but still capable of giving a lethal bite.

 

We once had a 4' cobra come into our living room where someone nearly stumbled over it before it slithered under a couch.

We have a rule, any dangerous animals/insects we find inside our walled off property is dispatched. We've killed 5 or 6 cobras over the years. We value our pets more than these critters.

The plentiful tree snakes are admired and left to their own devices.  

[lemonjelly]

I don’t think cobras have a heat sensing organ, that’s pit vipers.

[cranki]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

It was quite a small one actually, but still capable of giving a lethal bite.

 

We once had a 4' cobra come into our living room where someone nearly stumbled over it before it slithered under a couch.

We have a rule, any dangerous animals/insects we find inside our walled off property is dispatched. We've killed 5 or 6 cobras over the years. We value our pets more than these critters.

The plentiful tree snakes are admired and left to their own devices.  

I am scared of snakes as well.....but can't you get someone to relocate them rather than kill them ?

[connda]

We get a couple of cobras a year.  The dogs warn, generally at zero-dark thirty.  

Flashlight, long broom, sweep until the little bugger is outside the fence, go back to bed.  

[Thingamabob]

Love snakes. Got to get to know them though. Not to be messed with, but excellent for rodent control. Kept as household pets in parts of India.

[Jeffrey346]

20 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

OK, now I'm worried ????!

 

Edit - but the overflow pipe is underground?  At least appears to be so in my case as I can't see an open pipe above ground?

 

Toilets have an air vent. I suppose a snake could enter your toilet that way. 

A simple fix would be to over the vent with a piece of common window screening. 

 

[overherebc]

On 6/6/2019 at 11:09 AM, dick dasterdly said:

Tell the people that installed these pipes, as otherwise you're preaching to the choir!

Depends what people mean by septic tank.

Many cases here it's not really a septic tank system with an outlet but a large soak away pit made with concrete rings and an air vent pipe about half inch diameter with a T piece on the end. If no air vent then your flush system won't work as it should.

Stories of large snakes coming out the bowl are most likely where the system goes into the sewer system and the snake has 3" and 4" pipes to get to your loo.