In addition to the usual pests (insects, moles, worms), some of the dacha owners may be trapped by special neighbors in the cottage, extremely unpleasant and dangerous - these are snakes. How to get rid of vipers at their summer cottage - this is further in the article.
Pest description
The Viper is a venomous snake, often found in our latitudes. Small in size (usually not more than half a meter), with a large flat head, the frontal shield of which is almost rectangular. These snakes have a variegated color ranging from gray to reddish, and there are also black vipers.
A distinctive feature is a zigzag ornament on the back, clearly visible against the background of the main color. The tip of the tail is yellow, orange or red.
Dwells in woodlands, well adapts to any terrain. The basis of food are small rodents, reptiles.
In the suburban areas settling in quiet warm places - garbage, cesspools, compost heaps, roots of trees and bushes. 
Important! In spring and autumn, reptiles increase activity. This is due to the beginning of the mating season in spring and reproduction in the autumn.
What is the danger
Viper venom is considered potentially dangerous to humans. Despite this, bite mortality is quite low. It happens that the bitten does not even feel the symptoms of poisoning with poison. But it concerns an adult. A bite for a child is likely to be fatal.
Some prefer not to get rid of the vipers and tolerate such a neighborhood. In this area there will be no mice, frogs. Young individuals hunt insects, slugs.
So there are some advantages from such neighbors. For those who are not ready to put up with these creatures, below we will give advice on getting rid of unwanted elements in your backyard. 
How to get rid of vipers
Get rid of the vipers on the site in a humane and radical way. Below about both methods in more detail.
Learn about how to deal with moles and mole rats on your site.
Radical methods
The first thing a person thinks when he sees a dark tangle in the grass is how to kill a snake safely.
First way getting rid of reptiles is the elimination of nesting sites. Get organized in your area, take out the trash - any pile of trash, the board can be a refuge for reptiles. Regularly mow adjacent areas - tall grass masks snakes well.
An additional effect from mowing is the noise of mowers or lawn mowers. The reptile sensitively reacts to the irritant and is removed away from the source of the noise. 
Second method - deprivation of food sources. Destroy rodents and frogs, other animals that can provide food. In search of food reptiles leave your territory. 
Third method - physical destruction. Those who are afraid of snakes - hedgehogs and jagdterriers will do us a good service.
Did you know? Hedgehogs are immune to snake venom. They hunt vipers, trample them and gnaw through the spine.
The so-called "Hungarian method" of exterminating parasites (toads, mice, snakes) is a drunken hedgehog. Drunk in the literal sense - it is believed that under the influence of alcohol the hedgehog becomes fearless and boldly throws itself at the enemies. 
Hedgehogs love beer. Place on the site a bowl with this drink (milk, kefir, sour cream will also do), and at night prickly hunters will gather for a feast. The disadvantage of this method is that we can say that hedgehogs like strawberries. So if you want to protect your berries from snakes, choose another way.
Jagdterrier - the best snake and rat hunter. Small burrowing dogs, deft and courageous, pounce on enemies and gnaw through the ridge. The downside is the aggressiveness of the animals. They must be kept in muzzles. 
Scare
Scaring will help to get the reptiles on the site. But very often they return after the disappearance of the threat.
So, how to scare away snakes from the dacha?
You can play on the perceptions of vipers to smells. It helps well scattered mustard powder (about 100 grams per one hundred) or beds of garlic in different parts of the garden. Get rid of the snake skin. Reptiles are returning to the place where they molted. 
Important! Do not take the skin with unprotected hands. - do not leave your smell.Burning grass will make the site unattractive for reptiles.
Vipers react sensitively to chemicals. Scattered mothballs, fertilizers (saltpeter, amofoska, any garden herbicide), rags soaked in diesel fuel, will scare away the reptiles. 
Use sound effects. The music of the wind, bells, rattles, weathercocks - all this will create a noise that the reptiles really dislike.
Good effect gives the use of repellers for moles. These devices generate ultrasonic waves and vibrations to which reptiles react. Such devices can be bought in stores goods for fishing and tourism. 
You will be useful to learn how to deal with rodents who settled on your site.
Popular myths
Snakes have long lived next to humans. Sometimes this neighborhood is good for both, sometimes not.
Reptiles often scare people. Their abilities are overgrown with many myths.
For example, one of the myths associated with vipers. We meet the common viper and are worried whether it is poisonous or not. Yes, the viper is poisonous. But in 90% of cases, its bite is not fatal - all deaths are not associated with poison, but with the wrong treatment.
It is possible to die from the poison of a viper in case of an allergy or a bite in the face (throat). Most often, the reaction manifests itself in the form of swelling of the bitten places.
Did you know? Vipers do not attack first. It will hiss, crawl away, but will not bite. It is possible to provoke it on the attack by stepping on the viper.
Aggressive snake becomes when protecting its nest. In other cases, the reptile will prefer to escape.The next myth is that snake venom is stronger in spring. Not really. The power of poison is completely independent of the season. This myth appeared because of the spring mating season in snakes, when their activity and aggressiveness increases.
It is believed that young serpent young poison is more powerful or they have no poison at all - this is also not true. The snake is born already poisonous, but its poison is the same as that of the older snake.
Snake can be a useful neighbor on your site. But if you are afraid of these reptiles and do not want to live near them - adopt one of the described methods and get rid of the unwanted neighborhood.
