Ye Olde Rocket Forum - View Single Post - Nothing Lasts Forever, But...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Sams

The thing about snakes is that they are beneficial pests. While I certainly don't want any encounters with rattlers or other poisonous snakes, they do help control the rodents. So killing them can have a reverse effect - there may a sudden increase in rats, for example.

On a smaller scale, when I clean the garage, if I take out all the spider webs in the corners, then I'll start seeing a big increase in rollie pollies and other bugs until the spiders re-establish themselves.

So, as long as I'm not finding them in my bed, I'm inclined to prefer snakes over rats and other vermin

Doug

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I never kill snakes, and only kill brown recluses and black widows in the house/shop because I don't want the wife or kids to get bitten. All other spiders are golden for myself and my daughter, but the wife kills all she sees. If spiders are there, then annoying bugs are there in droves, even if we don't see them. Spiders won't stay where there isn't a a food source. Same for snakes.

I've got water snakes living in the creek in front of the house right now. I wish they'd get out on land and kill moles. Other snakes don't hang around long enough to keep the population down. In the past our dogs tore up way too much lawn for too limited productivity.