Conference 7.286::home_work

	Snakes are neat, though they give me the heebies when they appear
	unannounced.

	I think garter snakes eat bugs and stuff.  They're nice to have around.

	When I lived upstate (N.H.), I found snake skins in the attic and
	amongst the wiring in the basement.  It provides a moment's puzzlement
	to discover a "wire" where before there was none.  I suppose the
	snake found the cables stapled to the floor joists just right for
	scratching off the old skin.

	Snakes used to poke around the utility room, looking for mice.  They
	liked to snooze under the freezer, which tended to keep us from
	loitering with the freezer door open.

	We got into the habit of turning on lights and checking the floor
	before walking around at night.

	Garters are harmless.  I suggest getting into the habit of
	investigating before poking into crannies, like boxes and
	cupboards.

	Incidentally, one year I lugged 66 mice out of the house in
	Havaharts.  The next year, snakes showed up, and I was left 
	with only 7 mice  --  and 4 snakeskins.

	Regards, Robert.

    Thanks for the info.
    
    I agree that, all things considered, garters are harmless and might
    even make someone a nice pet.  But you don't know my wife.  She
    would have a absolute FIT if she even THOUGHT a snake was in the
    house.  Cruel as it may seem, I need a way to dispose of it.
    
    Bob

    re: getting rid of snake....
    
    Find any 10 year old boy, tell him you will give him a dollar
    if he gets rid of the snake for you...  No joke.  Most young
    boys love snakes (and dollars).
    
    
    
    Dave Vedder

    Re: .0
     
      The only sure way to tell if it's there is to find it.  I suspect
    that if it was in your basement, it had a reason...like catching
    a mouse.  If it caught (ate) a mouse, that meal will last it about
    a month. As stated by others, they really are harmless.
    
    Re:
    >>Find any 10 year old boy, tell him you will give him a dollar
    >>if he gets rid of the snake for you...  No joke.  Most young
    >>boys love snakes (and dollars).
    
      A brilliant idea and one that I'm sure will work.  If you're in
    the area and you find the snake, I'll catch it and let it go for
    you...for free!
    
    -Jim
    
    Dave Vedder

    I have 7 or 8 that run (crawl!)around my 1/2 acre yard in Methuen
    all the time and once in a while they get in the basement but so
    far they have always found their way back out also.  I have chased
    a couple out the bulkhead in the last 3 years but have never seen
    any when I wasn't expecting it. What I mean is that they always
    seem to find a way out and don't make their homes in my home. 
    Of course, having a cat that prowls the basement/house every day
    and a dog who sleeps in the basement may help the snakes to decide
    that the basement is already crowded.  I would bet the snake is
    no longer around.  He left his skin as a present for you and took
    himself elsewhere!!  You can tell your wife that but she may never
    believe it.  Mine does because of our animals down there all the
    time.  Ever see a cat start chasing a snake across the yard only
    to have the snake turn on him and chase him??  Funny to watch the
    consternation on the cats face!!  Oh well,  good luck!!
                Ken

	We have about 6 this year.  They always get into our basement, when I
	leave the bulk head open.  They like to sun on the warm cement.  Some 
	have climbed upstairs into the house.  Granddad which is about 4 ft 
	long suns on our back porch and lets my wife pick him up.  They are 
	beneficial because they eat bugs, mice and frogs.  

	Brian

	Actually, I've never seen snakes in our living quarters.  They
	loitered in unfrequented parts of the house, like the utility
	area off the kitchen, and the basement along the sill.

	One spent a few days coiled up on the floor behind the toilet 
	in the guest half-bath off the utility area.  Regrettably, the 
	hoped-for incident never came to pass...  I should have given a
	party.

	The nearest to visiting the house was when one 4-foot black-and-white
	poked itself up through an abandoned radiator-pipe hole in the
	kitchen floor.  I noticed it at night, with lights off in the kitchen,
	and I thought I'd dropped a piece of fire wood, with a twig sticking
	up.  It moved when my reach was a yard away.  We can recite
	"harmless" until the cows come home, but if I had grabbed it, I'd
	have fainted dead away.

	Incidentally, I found the same snake a week later dead out on the lawn.
	It appeared to have been almost bitten in half, as if a hawk had got
	it and dropped it.  I left it there.  Next morning it was gone.
	Probably a 'coon or fox got it.  I hope it liked my kitchen.

	Regards, Robert.

    
    I live in a rural area with a brook, woods, stone walls etc.. I
    would be glad to supply garter snakes to anyone who wants them.
    On a nice warm sunny day, I can easily find over a dozen sunning
    themselves in various holes in the stone walls. I think it's great
    that they live so close. Our dog, a german shepard,ensures we get
    no coons, rabbits etc.., but the snakes aren't bothered. In fact
    it's an absolute riot to see the dogs reaction when she finds one
    on the lawn. 
    
    I have 2 young sons (7&8) and they absolutely love them. Everytime
    they find one in the yard, it becomes the pet for the day. It gets
    a name and a nest and really entertains the boys. The rule we have
    is that they can't kill it and must let it go at night. Inevitably
    my wife gets to "meet" the new pet under some sort of unusual
    circumstance. All in good fun I think. (She would disagree)
    
    I would live and let live. The snake won't hurt you, and in fact
    cleans out rodents as previously mentioned. If your wife is really
    afraid of the little buggers, find one and let her "get familiar"
    with it to overcome her anxieties.
    
    JMB