A senior snake farmer who has been raising snakes for 10 years told me: As long as you keep a few geese in the yard, the snakes will not dare to come close. The reason is unexpected.
Every year from May to November, it is the season when snakes are active. They move around looking for food, especially in rural areas. Some snakes will come to the villagers' yards or even their homes, posing a threat to the villagers, and snakes can hurt people. Most incidents occur during this time.
On April 22, 2022, in Yongfu County, Guilin, Guangxi, a king cobra about 3.5 meters long broke into a villager's yard and was discovered by a teenage girl. There was also an 80-year-old grandmother at home. The big snake's head was also stuck in the nylon net where the poultry was placed. Otherwise, due to the aggressiveness and venom of the King Cobra, serious consequences may have occurred.
Regarding the question of how to prevent snakes from entering the house, a master with 10 years of experience in raising snakes told me: In fact, as long as you raise a few big geese in the yard, the snakes will not dare to come in. It can even be said that there are geese. All the snakes will run away.
So why are snakes afraid of geese? What is the scientific basis for this? Let’s talk about this topic below.
1. Why do snakes enter the house?
Most people are afraid of snakes. In fact, snakes are also afraid of humans. They generally live in the wild and do not like to be close to inhabited environments. However, every summer and autumn, when snakes are active, many incidents of "snake entering the home" occur.
For example, on May 22, 2022, a man in Changsha found a bungara in his bed. This is the most venomous snake on land in my country. If he is bitten by it, if he does not receive timely and effective treatment, the injured person will likely die.
And on May 4, three cauliflower snakes were hidden in the ceiling of a resident's home in Renshou, Meishan, Sichuan. After firefighters tore down the ceiling, one of them even opened its mouth and twisted its body. Want to bite.
There are many incidents like this, so why do snakes that should live in the wild get close to inhabited environments and even enter residents' homes?
There are three main reasons:
1. There is an environment suitable for snakes to live near the residence.
Snakes generally like to live in shaded grass, piles of rocks, streams, caves in cemeteries and other environments. Some houses are overgrown with weeds or have a lot of debris piled up near them, providing an environment for snakes to live in, and they will come here to move around.
Especially in recent years, my country's ecological environment has been greatly improved. Whether in rural areas or urban areas, the green coverage rate is getting higher and higher. There are vegetation or green belts everywhere in villages or communities, which provides good conditions for snakes. living space.
2. Mice in the home attract snakes to prey on them.
The food of most snakes includes rats, , frogs and even small animals such as birds. Some snakes, such as cauliflower snakes, especially like to prey on mice.
There are many rats in rural areas, and some residents' homes are even infested with rats. Then snakes follow the smell of rats and come near residents' homes. They come to prey on rats.
3. Snakes enter the house to keep out the cold or heat.
Snakes are cold-blooded animals, and their body temperatures will change with changes in the surrounding temperature. Too low or too high a temperature is not conducive to the survival of snakes, so they need to To keep out the cold, you need to take shelter from the heat when the temperature is high.
In rural areas, residents’ homes are an environment that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Snakes actually enter the home to keep out the cold or escape the heat. For example, the bungara snake mentioned above entered the residents' beds because the temperature was low at night, and it hid in the bed to keep out the cold.
In short, snakes usually don't like to be close to inhabited environments, but if there are grass or piles of debris in the residents' yards that are suitable for them to hide, and there are mice in the house that they like to prey on, then the snakes may break into the residents' homes.
2. Why are snakes afraid of geese?
In rural areas, villagers have summarized many experiences in preventing snakes. One of them is to raise geese in the yard. Snakes will flee as soon as they smell the smell of goose droppings. Why are snakes afraid of geese?
1. Geese have a strong sense of territory and are very ferocious.
As one of the four rural bullies (roosters, geese, goats and Chinese pastoral dogs), geese have a very strong sense of territory. As long as something strange intrudes into them, Within their territory, geese will stretch their necks to attack even animals much larger than them.
For snakes (except members of Boa family and Anacondae ), geese are large animals, especially when they open their wings and pounce, the snakes will feel a strong fright. This will scare away wary snakes.
The beak of a goose has a strong attack power. Friends who were screwed by geese as children know this very well. Moreover, the thick feathers on the goose can effectively prevent being bitten by snakes. The difference in combat power makes snakes afraid of gooses.
2. The special acidic smell of goose droppings stimulates the olfactory system of snakes.
Snakes have poor vision. They rely on snakes to collect fine particles in the surrounding air to identify the surrounding environment. Therefore, snakes have a particularly developed olfactory system and are extremely sensitive to pungent odors.
Goose droppings have a special acidic smell, which is difficult for snakes with a sensitive sense of smell to adapt to. Not only that, goose droppings contain a variety of parasites, including a parasite called Cryptosporidium , which can cause harm to snakes. Snakes do not dare to approach geese for fear of being infected by the parasites in goose droppings. .
3. The environment where geese live is not suitable for snakes.
In fact, many villagers in rural areas do not like raising geese. , because the place where geese live is very humid, and the goose droppings give off a pungent smell. Raising geese will make people feel uncomfortable. The yard looked dirty.
Although snakes like to hide in the grass, they don't like humid environments. Even if they accidentally enter the goose's living space, they will stay away as soon as possible because of the humidity and smell.
In addition, places with geese often mean that there are people living there. When the goose keeps calling loudly, the owner will realize that there may be strange things breaking in, so the snake is not only afraid of the goose, but also afraid of the owner behind the goose.
In short, snakes are afraid of geese mainly because geese are too powerful in combat and have a very strong sense of territory. Not only can geese themselves cause harm to snakes, but even goose droppings can injure snakes. Faced with such a powerful enemy, snakes Of course I'll stay far away.
Something needs to be explained here. Some people think that snakes are afraid of geese because goose droppings contain sulfur and ingredients. Snakes are afraid of sulfur, so they are also afraid of goose droppings. This statement actually has no scientific basis, because geese mainly eat grains, vegetables and weeds, and the main components of their feces are water, phosphorus, nitrogen and some inorganic substances. There is no sulfur (sulfur and arsenic) components. .
3. What other methods are there to prevent snakes?
Finally, let’s talk about, in addition to raising geese to prevent snakes, what other things snakes are afraid of, and what are the simple snake prevention methods in life.
Anti-snake method 1: Plant anti-snake plants
If you don’t like raising geese, you can plant some anti-snake plants in the yard, such as Aesculus , Impatiens , Gangbangui, Colorful Holy Fruit , wild cassia and so on.
These plants have something in common, that is, their plants or flowers can emit a special smell that snakes don't like. Some are because the plants are covered with small thorns that can scratch the skin of snakes that crawl over them.
Therefore, planting some snake-proof plants in the yard can not only be pleasing to the eye, but also prevent snakes from entering the home.
Snake prevention method two: Use antisnake drugs
Many common things in life can prevent snakes, such as tobacco oil, sulfur, wind oil, garlic and pesticides.Tobacco pouch oil is the black tar remaining in the pipes used by old people to smoke leaves. The composition of the tobacco pouch oil contains nicotine , which can cause harm to the snakes' bodies.
Sulfur, essential oils and garlic can emit pungent odors, stimulating the sense of smell of snakes and making them afraid to approach. Needless to say, the harm caused by pesticides to snakes is related to the decrease in the number of snakes and the excessive use of pesticides by humans. Snakes contaminated with pesticides will die quickly.
Snake prevention method three: tidy up and control rodent infestation
We have already introduced that the reason why snakes enter the house is that there are weeds in the yard and mice in the house. Snakes enter the house to prey on mice.
Then clean up the weeds and clutter in the yard promptly so that snakes have no place to hide. At the same time, thoroughly control the rat infestation in the home and eliminate the main inducements for snakes to enter the home. Without rats, the chance of snakes entering the home will be much smaller. .
In short, snakes are not that scary. There are many ways to prevent snakes in life. You can raise animals, plant flowers and plants, or use anti-snake drugs, etc., to keep snakes away.
4, Conclusion
Where there are geese, snakes will run away. This saying is a reflection of folk wisdom. Big geese are large and aggressive, and will attack snakes that intrude into their territory. Moreover, the pungent smell of goose droppings and The parasites in it can cause harm to snakes, so snakes should not dare to approach such a powerful enemy.
In addition to goose, there are many ways to prevent snakes in life. You can choose the appropriate anti-snake method according to the environment of your residence and personal preferences. Preventing snakes is not too difficult.
What do you think about this topic? Do you know any good snake prevention methods? Please share them with everyone in the comment area below.
