A Complete Analysis of Snake-Catching Methods and Key Points

Snakes should be sought according to their habitat environment, their activity patterns, and the timing of their molting, and the best snake-catching method should be chosen to catch them; this not only makes snakes easier to find but also easier to catch. There are many methods of catching snakes, and when catching snakes one must be careful and cautious to prevent snakebite injuries. Here are several commonly used catching methods.

1. Finding snake burrows

Snake catchers can use snake excrement and shed skins as guides, that is, near snake feces or shed skins their habitat can be found. After late autumn each year, the activity of various snakes gradually decreases; in winter, when the weather turns cold, snakes enter caves to coil up and hibernate, and this is a good time to catch snakes. Snake burrows are generally in high field ridges, beside ponds, or in holes in mounds of earth; sometimes snakes hibernate in old rat holes on slopes or beside water. The way to identify 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 feces outside the burrow, the number and species of snakes inside can be determined; for example, cobra feces is yellow-green, in strips or segments; banded krait feces is gray-mud colored, contains scales, and is in a rotting heap; many-banded krait feces is black and rather scattered, sometimes with scales found in it; gray rat snake feces is green-white, loosely rotting and in strips; oriental rat snake feces is mud-white and granular, resembling rat feces; and beauty rat snake feces is strip-shaped in a "zigzag" pattern. After confirming that there is a snake in the burrow, the method of luring the snake out of the burrow can be used to catch it. The following methods are usually used to lure snakes out of their burrows.

(1) Luring snakes out of the burrow. Mash 500 g 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, catch it. Alternatively, mix 50 g of coffee, 25 g of pepper, 3 egg whites, and 50 g of flour into a dough. Make several medicinal dough balls, choose a place where snakes are often active, and dig a pit 1 m deep and 2 m wide. Line the surroundings inside the pit with smooth plastic sheeting, skewer the prepared medicinal dough balls onto a thin stick 1.5 m long, and insert the other end of the thin stick in the center of the pit. Snakes within a 30 m radius smell the odor, come over, and fall into the pit. For snakes that fall into the pit, use a small net or spray snake-intoxicating medicine on the snake's body to catch them.

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

2. Catching with tools

In early spring and late autumn, snakes are relatively concentrated, making snake catching convenient. To prevent snakebite injuries, snake-catching tools should be used when catching snakes. The methods of using tools to catch snakes 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 the snake; if the neck is not pressed accurately, first press any part of the snake's body, then shift to its neck. Only after the neck is pressed accurately can it be caught. 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 appropriate as long as it does not loosen and cannot shift position. If the snake is grasped too tightly, it often causes the snake to struggle desperately and become difficult to handle.

(2) Forking method. Use a wooden stick 1-2 m long with a forked end, with the fork opening at about a 60 degree angle, and the front end nailed with tough and elastic rubber so as to clamp it without damaging the snake's body. When a snake is found, the snake catcher quietly approaches the snake, uses the wooden fork to pin the snake's neck, and then uses the hand to grasp the snake's head and neck.

(3) Clamping method. Use specially made snake tongs or snake clamps; the handles of the snake tongs or snake clamps are required to be relatively long, and the inside of the tong or clamp opening is slightly curved; when catching a snake, clamp or lift it from behind the head toward the neck and place it into a snake container.

(4) Noose method. Use a bamboo pole hollowed through in the center, thread a nylon rope through it, tie a slipknot at the head, put the slipknot around the snake's neck from behind the snake's body, and pull the rope held in the hand to make it difficult for the snake's head to move, so that it is caught.

(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 a snake enters it, it is difficult for it to escape, and it can be captured.

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

(7) Covering method. Use a net bag, straw hat, or clothing, and so on, to cover the snake's head, then take advantage of the moment to seize or step on its body with the hand or foot, and after catching it put it into a container or bag.

(8) Light method. Most snakes fear light; at night, use the light of a spotlight or 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.