There are several ways to exclude snakes ... especially from a chicken coop ... but the exclusion tends to cost a bit of money if done properly. However ... don't put down Snake-A-Way granules because the chickens will eat it. Oklahoma Wildlife Control, LLC is proud to be an active participant in the Wildlife Pro Connection, which has begun weekly pod casts to help the public with urban wildlife issues. March 09-2009 - Wildlife Pro Connection began doing Nation-wide Pod Casts as a public service. To provide support to area people with questions about the most effective, and humane methods of nuisance wildlife control. The reason for these pod casts are to inform the public that we are heading into birthing season for wildlife. Often times, major issues can be headed off before the young are born in your attic, or on your property. Wildlife control professionals will be on the line to answer any questions you may have. Topics will vary with the questions, but we hope to address issues including raccoon invasions, skunk, rodent, snake, and bird issues. We would also like to address coyote and honey bee issues, or any other issues that people may have with nuisance or predatory wildlife of all species. Podcast Date - Every Monday evening 5:00 PM EST (4:00 PM CST), and will continue for up to 2 hours. Anyone may call in by dialing 1-724-444-7444 and dial the show ID Number 41596# ... or join us on line @ Talkshoe.com and look for the "Wildlife Pro Connection". Here is a link that might be useful: Oklahoma Wildlife Control, LLC

Well, not everyone who lives out in the country carries a gun and shoot poisonous snakes, but I have chickens and grandchildren and myself to protect. Some country residents just have a home and yard and most yards do not have lush cottage gardens. It is like an oasis to the wildlife, and for the most part, I love that about it, but it's different when you have livestock and pets. They attract predators and predators are not cute and friendly if you are the one they are after. I am not afraid of snakes, just wary of them. If you leave them alone, they won't bite you. Only when they are protecting themselves or their nest do they become aggressive. Even rattlers and copperheads will run away if they can. But I have to admit, the "silent but deadly" thing makes me a bit uneasy, and I'm not talking about passing sneaky gas! So living in the country does not mean you would have the problem I do. It is just a way of life for ranchers & farmers and small homesteaders like me. Comes with the territory. Even deer can be deadly. Their hooves are razor sharp. And wild turkeys are fierce birds. Nothing you want to fool with unless you know what you are doing. As for the raccoon, I have never shot at one before. I don't want to kill anything, but after seeing what they do to chickens, I had gradually gotten to the point that I couldn't just live and let live. They are NOT the cute and friendly little bandits you see on Walt Disney films or other movies. They can be very aggressive and certainly murderers of farm fowl. They enjoy killing for the sport. And THAT ticks me off! I've lived here 14 years and seen what they do to other animals and it isn't pretty. This is the first time I ever shot at one though. Just fed up! Actually, I AM very feminine, but I was taught to be self-sufficient. I grew up around wildlife and was taught how to deal with them. We had orphaned wild animals for pets many times and we were taught how to take care of them. Living next door to my grandparents like we did was so interesting. It was really like living in the Old West, being around Grampa & Grannie. He had an old Model-T truck and drove very slowly. Grampa would say to people as they sped by us on the highway, "Durned fools - going so fast they can't see anything!" or he'd say, "Slow down! You're gonna cause a wreck!" Grampa was ALWAYS looking at the scenery everywhere we went. Grannie would tell Grampa, "Look where you're going and stop going where you're looking! People will think you're drunk or something!" You can imagine the looks and honking they got when he drove on those busy California Freeways and in the cities in that old truck. (hehehe) One time when he and Grannie took us grandkids to Calico Ghost Town, we were walking around the town like other tourist, looking at things and taking pictures. After awhile, Grampa got tired, so we sat down to rest on one of the benches outside the general store. Grampa had on his favorite Stetson hat, a pair of old, comfortable boots, striped bib-overalls, a pair of tobacco-stained, long handled underwear with a plaid flannel over-shirt. Grannie had on blue jeans, a blouse with a man's plaid flannel over shirt, a big straw hat and sturdy walking shoes. As we sat there looking around, Grampa took out his wheat papers and his pouch filled with Prince Albert pipe tobacco and began rolling himself a Taylor Made cigarette. They were hideous looking things. All misshapen and slobbery from licking it when he sealed it, but he wasn't making it for looks. When he finished, he took out a match, struck it on the seam of his overalls, held it in the air for an instant and then carefully lit his Tailor Made, taking long drags with deep satisfaction. The aroma was very pleasant. We always watched this magical process with the deepest interest and admiration. And then we looked up and saw that some tourists who were walking by about that time, were also looking on with great interest and they began taking pictures of my grandparents. Pretty soon other people stopped to take pictures, too - they thought my grandparents were part of the ghost town attractions! We all got the biggest kick out of that. "Durned fools!" Grannie said under her breath. "You'd think they never saw a man smoke before." Shy little Grannie was a bit embarrassed being the focus of their interest, but she had a good sense of humor, and afterward, she thought it was funny too. We kids always loved going places with them, but this was especially cool! I had an very unusual childhood, to say the least. Feminine but able, ~Annie

This guy got a bit tooo close and the poor thing was stalked for lunch. The entrapped frog was letting out a high pierced cry that was actually very mournfully sad to hear, I felt like intervening as he sorrowfully pleaded for his life. I didn't think the snake could down such a big frog, though he then turned the frog on his side and the poor froggie started going in surprisingly fast :(

RE: Snakes. I live in TX, not near NM, but I have lived in areas where I was likely to find a snake in or near the house. The most important thing to do to avoid finding a snake in your house is to keep the grass/groundcover low, low, low. We live in the middle of Austin and we have tons of baby copperheads and rat snakes in our yard if we don't mow often. When the grass is short, we never find them. When it's long, we see tons. So the "no grass" advice is probably very good advice! Also, some pest services will offer a "snake repellent" service where they spray or spread something (I don't know what) around your foundation every 3 months or so to keep snakes from coming inside. I've never used the service, so I don't know how well it works or how eco-friendly it is, but my friend swears by it. She moved to Austin from St. Petersburg (Russia) and was COMPLETELY freaked to find scorpions, tarantulas, snakes, centipedes, milipedes, roaches, deer, racoons, coyotes and even an armadillo in and around the house she rented (inside city limits but near a greenbelt), so she quickly became familiar with all the wildlife services in the phonebook! (She liked most of the critters, but I think she is permanently scarred by the scorpion experiences, even though she was never stung...) Good luck with your move! And no matter what you see in Alb, at least it's not Texas!