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Can Keeping Geese Repel Snakes? Practical Methods for Using Geese to Keep Snakes Away
After days of continuous rain, a "monster" flashed out inside a house, gliding away rapidly at the slightest touch. In the early hours of the 4th, a banded krait was found in a rented room in Jun'an, Shunde, and last week a resident in Daliang also reported a grass flower snake suddenly appearing at the elevator entrance. Snakes appearing frequently in residential areas have aroused concern. Animal experts say that because of the heavy rain ⟦4 <p>After days of continuous rain, a “monster” flashed out inside a house, gliding rapidly away at the slightest touch. In the early hours of the 4th, a banded krait was found in a rented room in Jun'an, Shunde, and last week a resident in Daliang also reported a grass flower snake suddenly appearing at the elevator entrance. Snakes appearing frequently in residential areas have aroused concern. Animal experts say that because of the heavy rain, snakes may have been forced out, and that geese can be kept to guard against snakes entering the house. </p><p></p><p><strong>Keeping Geese to Repel Snakes</strong></p><p>Yesterday, eyewitness Mr. Li said that in the early hours of the 4th, a snake less than one meter long was found at a rented house at the Kangle Road intersection in Jun'an Town, Shunde, throwing the rental house into panic. </p><p>The house is divided into several rooms for rent. A woman renting one of the rooms recalled that she was about to enter her room to rest when, in the dim light, she found a pile of something at the door, “black, like a snake.” So she picked up a broom beside her and tapped it. Suddenly, startled, the black thing quickly “swam” into the room. “It should be a snake, it scared me to death!” The woman immediately shouted for help from a fellow townsman nearby, but he did not dare enter the room to hit the snake, so they took a small table and blocked the doorway, and the two called the police for help. After police officers from the police station and the Jun'an fire brigade arrived, through questioning and inspection, they determined the snake was a highly venomous banded krait, commonly known as “guojixia.” </p><p></p><p>Mr. Li said that after the firefighters entered the room, they pinned down the snake's head with a bamboo pole, and then someone grabbed the snake's head with his hand. The action took only a few seconds, and the banded krait was captured. He relayed that, according to the firefighter who caught the snake, the banded krait is highly venomous, even more venomous than the cobra, with a pair of relatively long grooved fangs (front grooved fangs) at the front of the upper jaw. After being bitten, a person often dies from respiratory paralysis. Fortunately it was discovered in time, otherwise it would have been trouble if they had fallen asleep. </p><p>Coincidentally, a resident of Fengnan Garden in Daliang also once witnessed a snake breaking into a house. Ms. Luo, who lives on the first floor, said that just last week, while her mother was resting at home, she found a snake moving at the entrance, “the snake's body and head were clearly visible, yellow-green, yellow-green.” Ms. Luo said that not long before, after heavy rain, a snake was found at the elevator entrance of the residential compound, and someone bold killed it on the spot. “It scared the residents into screaming, and they did not dare enter the elevator.” The property management of Fengnan Garden said they had indeed received reports from residents, but property management personnel did not find anything when inspecting the lawn. The property management said the compound regularly sprays pesticide against the “four pests,” and is also closely monitoring the appearance of snakes. </p><p></p><p><strong>Expert Opinion: Heavy Rain May Have Forced Snakes Out </strong></p><p>Teacher Zhang Liang, a staff member of the South China Institute of Endangered Animals and a member of the Guangdong Zoological Society, has long studied reptiles. He analyzed that the main reason snakes enter houses is the changeable weather, often stuffy and hot, and sometimes with sudden heavy rainstorms. It is possible that snakes were flooded out of their hiding places by the rain and ran into residents' homes. It is also possible that rats are hiding in the homes, and snakes like to eat rats and come following the scent. </p><p>He said that because some snakes are venomous, the consequences of them entering a house and biting someone are unimaginable. To prevent snakes from breaking into homes, sulfur powder can be sprinkled, or some chemical preparations with irritating odors. “Snakes are relatively afraid of the smell of smoke, insecticides and pesticides,” he said. In addition, people can also try keeping geese, because geese like to confront snakes, and keeping geese can become the first line of defense against snakes entering the house.</p><p></p><p><strong>Building the Goose House </strong></p><p>1. Brooding house. The house is required to have good insulation, air circulation, and to be dry without drafts. The ratio of window lighting area to floor area is 1:10-15. The brooding house is suitable for raising 5-15 goslings under 20 days of age per sq m. </p><p>2. Fattening house. The house is equipped with shelving, divided into single-row and double-row types, and divided into small pens, each about 10-12 sq m, which can accommodate 60-80 medium-sized growing geese.</p><p></p><p><strong>Choosing the Site for the Goose House </strong></p><p>1. There is an adequate water source. </p><p>2. There is a feed production base for growing green feed. High-quality forage grass can provide 60%-80% of the daily dietary nutrition for geese. </p><p>3. The environment is quiet, the air is fresh, and there is shade from trees. </p><p>4. It is far from villages and towns, which is good for sanitation and epidemic prevention. </p><p>5. The goose house should be built on high, dry, flat or gently sloping land, facing south or southeast, and the soil should preferably be sandy soil with good water permeability, so that sunlight is good and drainage is facilitated, while also helping to prevent heat, moisture and cold. A simple shed can be built, with bamboo fences or coarse netting around it for raising the geese, or a shed can be built beside ditches and rivers using flowing water sources such as ditches and rivers for enclosed raising. For goose houses using a wooden structure, special attention should be paid to ventilation and heat dissipation in summer. The front and rear walls need two rows of windows, upper and lower, and the lower edge of the lower row of windows should preferably be 30 cm from the ground.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps many people do not know that keeping geese can also help repel snakes, but regardless of whether it has this effect, the essential purpose of keeping geese is still to make money, so in the breeding process, the choice and construction of the site are very important.</p>
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