This is an honest question: what can I do to keep a cottonmouth out of my pond? It's a 25 foot, circular pond with fish and turtles. I try my best to keep tall grass or weeds growing around the edges of it by trimming weekly.



The reason I killed it was because it almost bit my son, who was completely minding his own business. We were walking around the edge of the pond and the snake was (apparently) half in and half out of the water. I didn't notice it because, at the time, I was pointing out a turtle in the middle of the pond. The darned thing went after us because we walked past it (it was a younger cottonmouth, but I wouldn't necessarily say juvenile). My son likes to play around the pond's edge and I worried that it would strike him just for playing nearby. There's nothing good that can happen when you mix a toddler boy (even one who knows not to go into water) and a venomous snake. I'm all for natural consequences to actions, but that's going a bit far afield.



To be honest, I've never really thought of calling a snake handler for removal... but I don't really want to spend $80 to remove a cottonmouth from my pond -- I've come to the realization that anytime anyone comes out to my house, there will be an $80 service fee attached (AC, well, septic, pool, electrician, plumber, etc). If they'll come out for free or, heck, even $30 I'd happily pay them... but I'm not going to spend $80 to remove something I can take care of myself.



Anyway, your reply has me intrigued, how can I keep the silly things out?



Thanks,



Jen

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