Snakes And Cats

[johnfb]

I have three European bred cats and live in a rural location ( walled garden - a must due to the cats - we do live in a 'wet ' area with a small klong + a small lake nearby ) in Pathumthani. I arrived a year ago and have had no problems with snakes until recently. Suddenly we have have seen several black snakes in the garden - vary from 30 cm to over a metre in length - the largest was around 3-4 cm in width . The cats have actually killed one.

Are these snakes likely to be venomous and harmful to us and the cats ?

Why have we suddenly been inundated with snakes in our place ?

Is there anyway to discourage them ?

What type of snake are they likely to be ?

[sbk]

Do you have any other description besides black?

Length, body size related to length (ie are they long and skinny, short and fat), markings of any kind?

[johnfb]

Do you have any other description besides black?

Length, body size related to length (ie are they long and skinny, short and fat), markings of any kind?

H...we have four recent sitings

1) Green on top, white/cream underneath , abt 30 cm long and 2cm wide at middle..

2) Black on top getting lighter black as you reach underneath...similar length to above but thinner

3) Black all over(dark) , 1 metre in length and around 3-4 cm wide at widest point

4) same as 3 but smaller dimensions

No obvious markings, we kept our distance. Any idea why they are around now ?

[KhunMarco]

I have three European bred cats and live in a rural location ( walled garden - a must due to the cats - we do live in a 'wet ' area with a small klong + a small lake nearby ) in Pathumthani. I arrived a year ago and have had no problems with snakes until recently. Suddenly we have have seen several black snakes in the garden - vary from 30 cm to over a metre in length - the largest was around 3-4 cm in width . The cats have actually killed one.

Are these snakes likely to be venomous and harmful to us and the cats ?

Why have we suddenly been inundated with snakes in our place ?

Is there anyway to discourage them ?

What type of snake are they likely to be ?

Usually snakes are attracted by food.

Do you feed birds in your garden? This usually attracts rats, which attracts snakes.(rats control is the key here)

Don't feed your cats in the garden.(basically don't leave food in your garden included your garbage bin)

Do you have areas with water? Frogs and little fishes = snakes.

If you have a problem with frogs in your garden, you can try to spray the area where they live with salted water, it's not good for the garden but it works and you don't have to kill the useful creatures.

Cats are naturally suited to catch snakes, it's good you have 3.

In my experience repellents (like Snake-Away) won't work.

The best thing is prevention:

Eliminate debris such as wood or rock piles on the property.

Cut down heavy brush or trim back hedges.

Seal small gaps under doors or decks, etc.

Use funnel type traps or glue board type traps along edges.

An extreme remedy would be a perimeter wide fence sloping outward at a 30 degree angle.

Not to scare the hel_l out of you but be aware that cobras are not rare in Thailand, be careful and take a picture if you want to know.

[Sheryl]

Yes, it is possible that some of the black snakes were cobras, it is hard to tell unless they raise their hood and you really don't want to have them mad enough to do that!!

For some reason snakes dislike citrus. Plant lemon trees, lemon grass and Makrut (Kaffir lime), it really helps. In the interim you could sprinkle the area with lemon grass and lemons and makrut leaves.

Do it now, because maters will worsen as the rains get underway.

I too have a cat who stalks snakes and it worries me greatly. Consequently I have a lot of lemon trees!