Here's this article on some folks who bought a house infested with garter snakes

[conuly]

Of course, that's their story. From the snake's perspective, their home was infested with a house and a bunch of snake-killing humans.

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I have sympathy for the family, but I was sad to read the part about him killing the snakes. It specified garter snakes. I'm fairly sure those don't harm people, so there is no need to kill them. I understand killing pests when you have to, and I'll do that with smaller pests, like ants, where it seems the only way. But with larger pests, catch and release tends to work fine, and if it's not going to work, then killing isn't all that likely to work either. I'm sure there are cases where killing is needed, but this just didn't seem like one.

[conuly]

I also was upset to read that they killed the snakes. Garter snakes are so harmless to people that it's only recently that we've found that they even have venom.

Catch and release wasn't going to work for this snake problem because apparently snakes come from all over to winter in that one spot. However, killing them all (as suggested by commenters to that article) is ALSO not the solution for that same reason. As a general rule, we LIKE garter snakes. They're helpful.

[chaogaogong.livejournal.com]

Why is this house still standing? Tear the damn thing down! They said it's a big property; I'm sure there's somewhere else on that land where they could put a house so that the people and the snakes can share.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Poor little snakeys; that is just wrong. I understand a lot of rednecks are pretty ignorant and have little empathy for the non-human creatures of the Earth, but sheesh, everybody learns in frickin' kindergarten that garter snakes are harmless, helpful and shy. There is absolutely no reason to ever hurt them.

I'm with chaogaogong: why is this house still there? Needn't necessarily tear it down; a house can be moved. A filtration system can be put on the water, too, so it won't taste like snake funk, ewww. I must admit, I wouldn't be drinking that water either.

Killing snakes has always has been considered bad luck; the spirits of the earth don't like it. Unneccessarily killing a whole lot of harmless snakes because your house was stupidly built on top of their winter den and you're a family of ignorant gits has got to be Mondo Bad Luck. There are a lot worse things than having to put a pretty little garter snake outside from time to time.