got a pic of the snake? I can tell you if he is dangerous or not. Best thing is to catch him, put him in a pillow case and drive him to a lake or creek and let him go.. To catch him get a stick and attach a noose to the end. Get the rope around him anywhere on his body and tighten the noose and then place the guy in a pillow case. Stick device is simaler to the dogs catchers sticks you see. This eliminates the need to pin him down and pic him up by his head for transport in to the pillow case. Happy catching..

I have the same problem however, mine is in the back yard. I dread seeing him as he has shed his skin once so I know he is growing. Mine is a redbanded water snake, so says hubby (and cause I want it all) I can't relocate him very far away as the front yard is a lake and that is where he came from. My point being, I have learned in the last two weeks that he is there, he is as scared of me as I am of him and there is nothing I am willing to try to get him out. I make noise as I go to the pond so he will hide on the other side and I can enjoy my side. I'm so new to this ponding so I just let nature do what it wants and enjoy as much as I can. Good luck getting yours to wrap himself in the netting! If it works, let me know and I may get hubby to try! Wink!

Nothing more unnerving as enjoying your little slice of heaven and having a snake show up. Suddenly, when you are near the pond, you are focused on 'where is the snake?'. I can tell you what not to do, from experience. Don't call animal control, they'll come out, but usually don't relocate snakes :-(

Pam

ccoombs1 - I would never have thought about the bird netting. Since I'm planning to cover my pond before the leaves fall this may do double duty. Glad you like my "pot-man" i do too...lol!! I'll try to post more pics soon.

kevip711 - I'm not sure we can catch him in a noose...gosh he is FAST!...but we may give it try.

naturelover_2007 & pkponder - How right you are...it's hard to enjoy your pond when you are always "looking for the snake".

Thanks guys!!

kyponder-
your pond, pups, and "pot-man" are all awesome! My brothers and I had both a hognose and a water snake when we were kids(oh, so long ago)and I would think yours was a water snake as hognose prefer dry areas. I would lower your net into the water where the snake hides out then dangle and move around a string with a few non-floating beads (ie. small fishing sinkers) over the net and when he goes for the fake fish yank the net up. He should release the bait and you can bag him and relocate him. But be careful, they're nasty-tempered critters and will bite if given the opportunity. If he doesn't release the bait, grasp him behind the head and slowly and carefully pull the string out. Patience is the key to catching a water snake. I commend you on your "live and let live attitude"...good luck!
Linda

Catching a snake is frustrating and time consuming if you are sitting out there waiting for it to come out of it's hole. You can't sit quietly enough to keep it from knowing you are there. They hunt by detecting heat and vibrations. The easiest way is to use the normal behavior of a snake to get it to go where you want. Snakes like warm dark places so you can lay out a paper bag ( a pillow case will be too bright, a burlap sack will do fine) with an opening arranged so the snake can go inside. Wire or a frame of some sort will help keep it open but the object is to create a dark cave. If there is no sun to make the bag warm put a heating pad under it. The snake eventually will go inside, curl up and go to sleep. Then you can scoop up the bag at the open end, twist it a couple of times and tie it off. Twilight is a good time as is noon. Those are times the snake finds a place to nap. Put the snake, bag and all in a garbage can with a snug lid. They can get out of anything that is shorter than a standard garbage can. The advantage to this is you don't have to chase it and it won't be injured and you won't get hurt either. Sandy

Snakes in ponds are easy to remove. They are in a confined space. I always used a stove poker and placed it under the belly of the snake and lifted the snake out. I used to have to do this when our pond was a swimming pond, not a lily pond. Then place it in a bag and move it to another similar location. If you have things snakes like to eat in your pond, snakes will come. Pond snakes are usually not poisonous and they swim away from large objects like people and dogs, but they will bite if you disturb them. When we redid our pond, one of the workers pulled his hand out of the muck with a snake hanging from it. It didn't harm either the snake or the worker. It is safer to use the poker rather than your hand.

I find that most people find snakes ugly and upsetting... but for some reason I find them interesting and something to watch wonderously. Not a popular view. Sometimes it takes the "fear of snakes" away - that some feel instinctually, to name your snake - something like "Fred." Still, the main thing is to know your snake(s). If it is a nonpoisonous snake ... then it will take care of the rodents in your garden - voles, moles, mice, rats. This is a nice trade for a bit of water. A lot of snakes will bite if cornered or grabbed - and they have anti-coagulants in their bite - so that is to be avoided. But I find that most nonpoisonous snakes, just go their own way given a chance. Threatened they may coil to appear menacing ... but really are just afraid. I like to share... but if you don't want to share your real estate with the critter ... something with a long handle ... a pond scooper-net, broom, mop, and just lift him out of the pond into a container... maybe a cooler. And do as someone before suggested - relocate to a lake. Even non-water snakes love lakes or rivers.
Your pot man is really great !!!

We had a couple of Garden snakes show up in our pond a couple of years ago. Once we found out they were not poisonous, we just let them be. They were very pretty, but i know what you mean about always wondering where the snake was. They stayed for 1 season, then left on their own. I am into metaphysics, so I looked up what snakes represent. They are all about change in your life. You know, letting go of the past, and moving ahead. Funny that they were here about the time that my daughter got married. I figured that was a nice change.

Well guys...thought I'd give an update. I haven't seen Mr. Snake for about 3 days now. I hope he has left on his own...but it would be nice to know for SURE! I vacuumed the pond yesterday & did a partial water change. I was certain I would him but I probably made to much noise. It has been SO HOT & DRY here everything outside is struggling. I can't imagine he would have left...but I'm hoping.

Thanks for all your different perspectives & ideas. It helps a lot.
Amy

hoku1- maybe meaning only comes from where we look and what we want to see--for the snake try Genesis or Freud for other meanings

I just had to share the experiences I've had with three water snakes...we saw the first one sprawled out over the top of my stream munching away on a big bullfrog. So we caught him rather easily (because he was in mid meal) with those long grabbers type things and relocated him to the river behind our house. The second one we caught way up at the top of our stream in the biofalls. We shut the stream off and pumped much of the water out of the biofalls container and caught him using those now priceless grabbers.We put him in a garbage can and took him to a nearby pond. This morning I woke up and went out to check my bead filter basket for little fish that sometimes get caught in there and wouldn't you know coiled up (dead) in the basket is another 3 ft. water snake...what an eye opener that was...ugh!!!! Still have all my fish, just no frogs left.

Chances are that if you catch this one, another will replace it (build it - they will come!). You might want to invest in a live snake trap. If it's a small one you might be able to catch it with a minnow trap. I've had a northern water snake in my pond for 4 years - I'm not happy about losing my fish to it but they are a fact of life when living close to a natural water source so I've decided not to replace my fish.

Good Luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Live snake trap

a minnow trap often is the best way to capture a snake, however they will drown is you leave it in too long. check it every morning.

UPDATE - Well guys thanks for all the info, i'm tucking it back for future reference. Just thought I'd stop in and give an update...it's been a week today since I've seen Mr. Snake. I can't imagine he would have left as hot & dry as it is here...but he must have. In the beginning we saw him several times a day...but could never seem to catch him...who knows...but i'm not complaining!!