Just curious as to how many of you guys do snake removal. I have been doing snake removal and relocation for the last couple years through the conservation dept. Aparently only one of our local ADC guys does snakes and he charges out the yahoo for it. Personally I just really love snakes and enjoy it.

Steve

Special services, special prices

That I can understand but I have heard (not 100% but believe it may be true) that he charges a base of 200 bucks for snake jobs. I can understand dealing with venomous snakes being very risky and such but it seems a bit steep to me.

I charge $150-$200 and get every call that comes thru my phone if its a copperhead, our main poisonous snake here
. If its non poisonous, I try and talk the customer out of having me come out, but only 1 out of 5 decline the service.

So your saying you voluntarily do snake work ? I dont think any of on here dont love wildlife hard to deal with em everyday if you don't but my kids gotta eat too.

My snake jobs average 1500-2000...

SteveP, I don't know you and could care less if you do this for the fun of it or not. I think you should care less if the rest of us want to feed our families.

For the record I like snakes, I won't say love because the only ones I use that term for is my own flesh and blood but I do like snakes probably more than most other critters I fool with. I'd put them right up there with my honeybees. That doesn't mean I put them ahead of my family though because I charge out the yahoo to go get bees as well.

I don't deal with poisonous snakes and I charge a base of $200 "IF" I can't talk them out of me coming out.

I like snakes as well and have been handling them since I was around twelve years old. I handle calls for snakes which generally turn out to be rat snakes or king snakes and an occasional copperhead. However, I will not go into a crawl space to chase one as most snakes will bite and some actually hurt so I want to be able to move and react freely. Snake boots, chaps and tongs are a good investment and 1 or 2 calls will pay for them. As far as pricing, I take the "risk vs reward" stance and charge accordingly. I charge less for an easy hand catch of a king snake than a search and capture of a copperhead but all snake calls are a minimum of $150.

This is all very interesting and though I don't know the gentleman who does the snake removal here myself and the gentlemenand ladies at the office always refer to him first. I do it for several reasons. #1 being I have a deep passion for reptiles and amphibians. #2 I am the vice president and one of the founding members of the local herp society and we get these calls all the time. #3 most of the calls I do are for older and strugling folks whom without a little help would be otherwise stuck with this problem and no way to foot the bill. Not all of them mind you but the better majority. Rarely do I get a call with a venomous snake. I get calls all the time concerning cotton mouths which have never been documented this far north, matter of fact you would have to travel 150 mile to find one and then your chances would be slim at best. Acassional copperheads and rattlers. Lots of garter snakes and black snakes (now a texas rat snake). The last thing I want to do is see a snake harmed or killed, next after that is to see someone going out of business. Honestly I was figuring I would get the stink eye over this because all of you are business men and I'm just a fella who does what I feel is right. Now that's not a bash to anyone especially all of you. I was just wondering how many actually did snake work as I found it odd that 6 or so ADC guys in the area don't do it. Thanks for your thoughts and the info fellas truly.

Steve

Snakebite treatment at a hospital starts at around $125,000. I'm self employed. You probably know the ratio of poisonous to non-poisonous snake complaints. I would like to think that I am actually making it worth the risk. I like to help old people and veterans and such, whenever I can. I charge enough to those who can afford me to help those that can't. You are selling peace of mind,just like paying a plumber to come out and pour drain opener down the pipes and use a plunger, some people feel better having it handled by a professional. I once got payed not to remove a snake, but to retrieve patio furniture from down at the bottom of the drive, that a snake was seen crawling into. Snake was long gone, most likely frightened by screaming people who spray patio furniture off their porch and down the driveway with a garden hose, just as I would be.
Some people, even people in this industry, are terrified of snakes. I personally am more comfortable in a crawlspace full of copperheads than in any situation that places my body more than 40' above the earths surface, but we all do as we have to, to provide for our own.

Oh yes I am well aware of the cost of snake bite treatment. As a former (I have children now) keeper of hot snakes I know and understand the risk involved. Knocking on wood I've never been bitten and only once come close to being bitten by anything venomous. Part of my personal mission and the mission of our herp society is to educate people and help them to not fear but respect snakes for what it is they offer us as free rodent removal. Also many are not aware that it is actually illegal in the state on Missouri to knowingly kill a snake unless you or your family are in danger. Crazy law to some but it is still there.

Steve

I do snake work. A lot of rattle snakes, during the warm months one to two a day. $200 is not an arm and a leg. Snakes are a "Now!" Job. Basically the guy you speak of has to drop everything he is doing, be it setting up a new job, exclusion work, or on top of a three story building with a raccoon on the end of his snare pole. Then on e he gets the snake he has to go back to the previous job, which is a big money waster.
The price justifies the service. I normally get to my snake jobs fast. $200 really isn't that much.

Snakes are definitely at the top of the phobia list and often killed for no good reason by homeowners and the Missouri law is in place for just this reason. Like many others, I feel that I am rescuing the snake from the homeowner. I capture and release all snakes and the cost of that is factored into the pricing.

Baxter, I absolutely agree. Since you have to wait two or three days for most of your household service ( and you still end up paying $200 most of the time ) your snake service is a bargain.

I seldom do any snake removal if the problem is outdoors. Habitat mods are the answer in most of those cases. However, I do snake work when people have them in the home or basement. I treat it exactly the same as bat work..... seal (snake-proof) the structure and use one-way excluders made from 1/4" hardware mesh (funnel-type excluders). Typical installations at gaps at foundations at lower siding edge, large mortar gaps, gaps at edges of porch slabs, etc. Leave in place a couple weeks, remove and seal final openings. I've had many people tell me they see them exit the excluders.... makes the customer REALLY happy. Sort of like an upside-down bat job, as the holes and gaps are usually at ground level instead of at the roofline, though proper snake-proofing requires soffits, dormers, etc to be sealed just as with bats. BTW.... these jobs are rarely cheap, but they are effective.

Ron, do you make the snake excluders or buy them? Would love to see a pic. I'm assuming it is a simple funnel but would like to see an example. I do snake work all summer long. Venomous, non-venomous whatever. Usually $150 for either. If it isn't too far of a drive I may cut them some slack if I don't find it.

I make the excluders using 1/4" mesh. Just the typical funnel-type, similar to the entries on a crayfish trap or minnow trap. The most common location is the gap that is frequently found between the porch and foundation. I mount it so the opening is 4 inches or higher off the ground, and the funnel is usually about 15 to 20 inches long. Most common is garter snakes, but sometimes it's rat snakes which require a slightly larger hole in the end. I'll get some pics on the next job.

Gotta ask - concrete screws or real good sealant to hold them in place ?

I love to "rescue snakes from people". Can't tell you how silly people get over snakes - one job was for a little thing no bigger than a common earthworm! About as big a threat as a cricket. The hardest part is usually finding the snake, but our policy is to charge for time after the initial part.
I can't wait for the day when my slim and pretty wife picks up a harmless little snake for a bunch of bikers or UFC toughs who are wetting their pants and jumping into each others' arms because they saw a snake ten feet away.
Good posts, all. Mike, for an Ozark hillbilly, you're right smart!
Steve, is the law about killing snakes (not at all a crazy law) in the little booklet MDC puts out? And where the heck is St. Janky?