What are the snake-catching methods by species? A detailed guide to snake-catching techniques

Snakes should be caught by searching for them according to their habitat environment, their activity patterns and their molting timing, and the best snake-catching method should be chosen, which not only makes snakes easier to find but also easier to catch. There are many methods of catching snakes, and when catching snakes you must be careful and cautious to prevent snakebite. Several commonly used capture methods are introduced here.

1. Finding snake burrows

Snake catchers can use snakes' excrement and shed skins to lead the way, that is, their habitat can be found near snake droppings or shed skins. After late autumn each year, the activity of various snakes gradually decreases, and in winter when the weather is cold the snakes enter caves to coil up and hibernate, which is a good time to catch snakes. Snake burrows are generally in high field ridges, beside ponds or in holes in earth mounds, and sometimes snakes hibernate in old rat holes on slopes or beside water. The way to judge a snake burrow is that the entrance is smooth and faces south or east, rarely west. Based on the amount, color and shape of snake droppings outside the burrow, the number and species of snakes inside can be determined; for example, cobra droppings are yellow-green, in strips or segments; banded krait droppings are grayish mud-colored, with scales, in a rotting heap; many-banded krait droppings are black and rather scattered, sometimes with scales found in them; dhaman (rat snake) droppings are greenish-white, loose and stringy; Oriental rat snake droppings are mud-white and granular, resembling rat droppings; and the droppings of the three-striped keelback are in strips in a "zigzag" shape. After confirming that there are snakes in the burrow, the method of luring the snake out of the burrow can be used to capture it. Luring snakes out of burrows usually uses the following methods.

(1) Luring snakes out of the burrow. Mash 500 grams of frogs into frog paste, then put the frog paste into the burrow; when the snake smells the fishy odor of frog meat and comes out to forage, it is captured. Alternatively, 50 grams of coffee, 25 grams of pepper, 3 egg whites and 50 grams of flour can be mixed into a ball. Make several such medicinal balls, choose a place where snakes often move about, and dig a pit 1 m deep and 2 m wide. Lay smooth plastic sheeting around the inside of the pit, skewer the prepared medicinal balls onto a thin stick 1.5 m long, and insert the other end of the stick in the center of the pit. Snakes within a 30 m radius smell the odor and come, falling into the pit. Snakes that fall into the pit are caught with a small net or by spraying snake-numbing medicine on their bodies.

(2) Forcing snakes out of the burrow. Spray irritating gas into the snake burrow, or fumigate the burrow with smoke, or pour in gasoline, or pour in water, etc., to force the snake out of the burrow.

2. Catching with tools

In early spring and late autumn, snakes are relatively concentrated and easier to catch. To prevent snakebite, snake-catching tools should be used when catching snakes. The methods of catching snakes with tools include the following.

(1) Neck-pressing method. Grasp the snake's tail with the left hand, and with the right hand quickly use a wooden fork, thin bamboo pole or wooden stick to press down on the snake's neck from behind it; if the neck is not pressed accurately, first press any part of the snake's body, then shift to its neck. Only after pressing the neck accurately can you catch it. Then use the thumb and index finger of the right hand to pinch the snake's head and neck. Do not pinch too tightly; it is best to hold it so that it cannot loosen but also cannot move position. If you grasp the snake too tightly, it will often struggle desperately and become difficult to handle.

(2) Forking method. Use a wooden stick 1 to 2 m long with one end forked, with the fork opening at about a 60 degree angle; the front end is nailed with tough, elastic rubber so as to hold the snake without injuring its body. When a snake is spotted, the catcher quietly approaches the snake, pins its neck with the wooden fork, and then grasps the snake's head and neck with the hand.

(3) Clamping method. Use a specially made snake tongs or snake clamp; the handle of the snake tongs or snake clamp should be relatively long, and the inside of the tong or clamp mouth should be slightly curved; when catching the snake, clamp or grip it from behind the head toward the neck and put it into a snake container.

(4) Noose method. Use a bamboo pole with a passage through the center, thread a nylon rope through it, tie a slip knot at the head end, put the slip knot around the snake's neck from behind it, and pull the rope held in the hand so that the snake's head can hardly move and it is captured.

(5) Jar-catching method. Bury a jar in the ground where venomous snakes frequently pass, with the jar mouth level with the ground, and put frogs or the like inside as bait; once the snake enters it, it is hard for it to escape, and it can be seized.

(6) Net-bag method. On the head of a 2 m long bamboo pole, attach a 25 cm diameter wire ring, sew on a pointed-bottom long cylindrical cloth bag to net the venomous snake, then shake the net handle so that the cloth bag wraps around the wire ring, and the snake cannot escape.

(7) Covering method. Use a net bag, straw hat or clothing, etc., to cover the snake's head, and following that use the hand or foot to seize or step on its body, then after capturing it put it into a container or bag.

(8) Light method. Snakes are mostly afraid of light; at night use a spotlight or the beam of a strong flashlight to shine on the snake's eyes, and when the snake's eyes are dazzled, catch the snake and put it into a container or bag.