Gardeners using netting to protect crops warned about 'worrying trend'
A concerned gardener had to take action after he discovered a snake had become entangled in netting he had used to protect his flower beds from birds - and now he's issued an alert to others
A frustrated gardener has expressed his concerns about a troubling pattern he thinks is becoming more common. Posting on Reddit, he uploaded video of a serpent fighting to break free from netting around his flower beds.
"Came home to a snake entangled in our raised garden bed bird netting," the gardener wrote in a caption. He noted regarding the snake's situation: "He clearly tried to death-roll his way out. We will have to reconsider our bird defence." Fortunately, the clip ended with him freeing the snake after he cautiously used scissors to cut away mesh that had coiled around its head.
Following praise for his actions, he admitted: "I am terrified of snakes. When I was very young, I was bitten by a rattler on a ranch I grew up on. But, I have a healthy respect for nature and really don't want to destroy it for selfish reasons.
The gardener elaborated: "I always check the tail first, and when I recognized this as a gopher snake, I knew I have to try. I initially thought I saw exposed insides of the snake, but as I slowly freed him (there was several minutes before this video), I realized he was good.
"And, honestly, after that first strike that hit me, I think he realized I was trying to help... With the few brain cells it has. In any case, I wish this snake a long, happy life, and many meals of gophers around here."
"Thank you for taking care of him!" one snake enthusiast responded in appreciation. "I get people who are saying they are terrified of snakes and it is just such an unfortunate conditioning. I was very lucky as a child to have a guy who came to our school every year to teach us about snakes."
Another Reddit user shared a similar encounter, meanwhile. "Same thing happened to me many years ago, bird netting around our blueberries and a snake got tangled, I think a rat snake," they said. "Big/long one too, it died trying to get out. I ended up having to cut it out in pieces so I wouldn't ruin the rest of the netting "setup" that had taken so long to put up."
They continued: "We ended up burying all those pieces of snake in a hole that we'd dug for a fig tree, figured it would decompose at become a fertilizer one day? All I know is that fig tree is SO healthy (figs are already such vigorous growers right?) and we always attribute it to that snake. We always tell people the variety of fig is 'snake' figs because of all the wriggly, twisting branches of the tree haha."
Meanwhile, a third person offered their expert advice for helping snakes trapped in similar situations. "I've found hand pruning shears and herb cutters- both with the curved blades, to be extremely handy when dealing with needing to get things off animals," they said.
"You can slide the one curved blade under with no real danger since it's blunt on the end and just cut. The little herb cutters would have been perfect for this. Their blades are smaller and thinner than scissors but still blunt and curved- just insert so it curves away from their body."
Should you find a snake stuck in comparable conditions in your yard, the RSPCA offers this guidance:
"Any wild animal that has been caught in constrictive materials such as netting or plastics should be brought to a hospital like ours to be checked over and monitored, as problems may not be clear at first, but damage caused by restricted blood flow can become apparent in the future."