At the expense of sounding harsh, your best bet is to get used to them. Any time you remove any wildife from an area, the ecosystem will suffer. In your case, if you're thinking of removing several racers, you're likely to find yourself with a rodent and/or insect problem. If your property has several racers on it, that means there's food enough to sustain them. If you remove them, the food source will explode in numbers unless you're lucky enough that another predator shows up to do the job. This is not likely.

The only effective way I know ridding an area of snakes is killing or removing (physically) ALL of the specemins continually. And it will be a continual issue as long as the food supply lasts to support them.

Racers are harmless, really. Their bites feel like someone pinching you with the prickly side of velcro. And their mouths are really very clean. I've never heard of any sickness being passed from snake to human. As I tell some of my wary friends and family mambers, "I'm 10 times more terrified of being bitten by a cat when compared to a non-venomous snake."

ChrisMO is right; if there are that many Blue Racers(a species I wish WE had-ours are all-black)on your property, that means that there is a food source for them on the property, and this usually translates "MICE". Mice carry many diseases that infect humans, many of them very serious and even lethal, even to healthy humans. They are also very destructive of property and food, unlike snakes.
While many members of the Racer and Coachwhip family will make bluff "charges", none will actually bite unless captured or attacked. It's 100% bluff. Knowing that the snakes are not going to hurt you-indeed, CANNOT hurt you-should help towards accepting them, since they are no doubt performing a very useful favor.
It would be fruitless to try to kill or remove all the snakes as long as there is something there to attract them, since the ones removed would soon be replaced by others. There is no effective chemical "snake repellent", contrary to what some people will tell you, that is not also harmful to pets, wildlife, children and the environment. Snakes will avoid mothball, but small children and many animals will eat mothballs, with deadly results. Is it worth risking the life of a pet or a child to get rid of harmless snakes? A Kingsnake will deter other snakes from staying on a property, but again, it's still a snake, and if Racers bother you, a Kingsnake probably would, too, since they are far less likely to flee from a human than a Racer is, and almost seem to seek out human company at times.

And, yeah, take it from me-a cat bite is MUCH worse than even some VENOMOUS snake bites. I've had both, and I will take a Copperhead bite over another cat bite any day! Both are, in many doctor's opinions, medical emergencies. In fact, I've had a MOUSE bite that was every bit as bad as the Copperhead bite, and sent me to the ER even quicker!

pitbulllady

I would reccommend setting up log and brush piles on an area of your property you wouldn't mind the snakes being. These piles will inevitably attract any nesting rodents and the snakes will follow. That isn't going to keep you from seeing them, but it may get them out of your way a bit.

Just always be prepared to see a snake whenever you go outside and they shouldn't surprise you.

Dave

Designer62 lives in Michigan. Are there any in our group from Michigan who might contact Design62 and help him with his problem?
It may seem like an easy aversion to overcome, but being fearful of snakes is no less powerful than other phobias, and I don't mean that in a condescending way. Put me in a cave where I can't turn over and you'll have a basket case on your hand, I don't care how much someone tells me its irrational. Nothing makes me shutter and get out the club than a big wood roach even though I know they are harmless.
So lets not take Designer62 to task too much.
I've read some of the research on snake repellants and they do seem to work with some species, and that's based on some reasonably good science. But you'd have to use a ton outdoors and replace it after every rain.
Somebody in Michigan, help this guy out.

I do have brush piles on my property, and I also have neighbors cats that act as preditors to any mice population. I find that the blue racers prefer the tall grass that is abundant on my property. Before anyone says "cut the grass", I already cut 4 1/2 acres once every week. And the rest "was" intended for the local wildlife to have habitat. I really hate to sacrifice my wildlife habitat, which I know would curb the snakes nearly 100%.

The other day I heard a rabbit crying. If any of you have heard this before, you know how that sound can bother a person. I went out to the south field and found a baby bunny hiding in the grass. I also saw one of the racers sliding off in high gear.
I looked closely and found it to be injured. I picked it up (yes I already know about not normally picking up baby rabbits). It had a hole the size of a dime in it's head between it's left eye and ear. It's eye was half closed and I could see brain tissue. It was not bleeding...the blood was dried. It cuddled into my arm. It completely broke my heart. I did not know if I should end it's suffering or try to seek help. Stupid country we live in....the vets do not wish to examine wild creatures (not so in europe). So I held the bunny for about an hour...he/she seemed very calm. But very much alive. I had not the heart to take a life where life still was abundantly strong. I decided to fix the bunny myself (please no jokes). I pushed some hydrocortizone cream into the opening and I closed the wound using a construction adhesive. A bandage would have done no good and I had to use what I had. The contruction adhesive was moisture resistant for a long period of time and offered some protection. I figured that eventually it will wear off or fall off if the bunny shed it's fur over a course of time. Really, it is all I could think of to do. I let the little fella go at the edge of the tall grass (a different spot of course) and he hopped about 4 times and nestled in.
I later went to check on him and found that he was gone.
I happened to be working in the garden again and saw him/her the next day eating some grass near where I let it go. Eating (to me) is a good sign.... a sign that it has the means to survive. I have not seen it since....but look for the bunny often.

Good grief! Later that next day, I found a blue racer all tangled up in my deer netting around the garden. it was cutting into the snake in two places. Even though I do not like the idea of handling snakes, I took a small pair of scissors and cut it loose. (Geeeez it was about 5ft. long...my wife said it was longer.) It finally dropped to the ground and took off. It ended up going under my back deck and I have not seen it since. I thought this was an ironic twist of fate for me and the snake. Hope the snake appreciated it.... leave my bunnies alone to :)

It sounds like a lucky rabbit to have had you find it.
Two things:
I've owned cats and although they will get your mice they love to eat bunnies, too. I had one cat that brought a young rabbit to the front door and no sooner did we take it away she returned with another...and then another.
There is nothing on a racer, not teeth, scale or tail, that could punch a hole in even a small rabbit's skull.

Perhaps your encounter with the tangled snake made you and the snake come to some sort of understanding. Something like, "Hey your house is on top of my house, so lets just learn to deal with each other."

Where in MI are you? And for the love of God don't refer to a hand.

Dave

The short answer to "Can I rid my property of snakes?" is probably "no" but there are ways you can lessen the number of snakes around an immediate living space. Most of these are probably things you already know and not always desirable if you want to attract other wildlife. Basically trimming vegetation, eliminating rocks and cover for snakes and the like.

I love the bunny story and am glad you were able to give it the care and attention it needed.

Given the nature of the rabbit's injury, I would agree with wduzak that the snake could not have been the culprit but just happened to be in the area.

Good luck. Thank you for not killing the racers even though they do startle you frequently.

There's no way ANY North American Snake could have bitten a hole like that in a rabbit! Your neighbor's cats are more likely to blame, since that's typical of a cat attack. Cats actually do far more harm than good, since they not only prey on harmful rodents, but are more than willing to add rabbit to their diet, along with virtually every native bird, amphibian, reptile, and insect small enough to tackle. Very often they don't even eat the animals they kill, but kill purely for the pleasure of killing. I love cats as much as the next person, but I also love wildlife, and that's why MY cats live 100% indoor lives. Around here, if cats aren't the predators, they are likely to be the PREY, since stray dogs, coyotes, Great Horned Owls, Redtailed Hawks, bobcats and a host of invertebrate parasites would love to dine on cat!

Sharon McKenzie

Sharon is correct--Great Horned Owls will prey on cats. The contents of owls stomachs in a Missouri study included feral or domestic cat.

Years ago, I taught a summer Gifted and Talented Science class for my school district, and one of our projects was dissecting owl pellets(ordered, pre-disinfected, from Carolina Biological Supply)and identifying and re-assembling the animal skeletons inside. Mostly these were rodent remains, but on more than one occasion, we'd find little rhinestones,bells, bits of plastic straps, and buckles from collars-all once having been worn by someone's small dog or cat that ended up as an owl's dinner. There was this one HUGE pellet, that when opened, contained an entire upper portion of a cat skull, and judging by the developement of the teeth, it was not a young kitten, either.

Sharon McKenzie