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Here is the third mod I was talking about. I remember growing up running over snakes or other animals and being horrified. It didn't have to be tall grass either.

I know that the vibration and vroom vroom should scare them away but it doesn't always. I was thinking of some version of a cow pusher but every design I come up with seems like it would push the grass over a snake and trap it. Any ideas?

I'm afraid that you are not going to be able to make a snake sifter work in front of a mower or anything else... The smart snakes are going to stay clear, the less smart will not be around to replenish the not so smart ranks... sooo with our help and a form of natural selection we should end up with mostly smart snakes or at least snakes with big ears:smile:.
Bunnies replenish their ranks so fast I see no shortage ever occurring because of anything that could happen to them... KennyV
Ps watch out for sneaky snakes with big floppy ears ... no telling what they may get into. :laughing:

:laughing: Bunny sifter....

I get natural selection. But the blood and guts and half bleeding dying severed snakes:frown:-- It's personally traumatizing. That is my fear though that as you put it, a snake sifter or bunny sifter will be impossible to design. I keep brainstorming though. Like what about flat thin long blade like items (kind of like the sills in a window blind) put on their side (thin side down, flat side facing side to side) so they sort of lightly whap the grass about two to three feet in front of the mower. It wouldn't quite be like a cow pusher but might alert animals not alerted by the rumbly to RUN!

I know. As I was told yesterday...I am one of Gods "special"children. :confused2::biggrin:

You might think along the lines of modifying a de-thatcher rake...
http://www.kwaree.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dsc01576.jpg
They do NOT do a good job removing thatch so your use might be better...
For your design you may be the only user of such an attachment as it will make it very hard to maneuver around any tight spots. But I know the unconscious wild life in your parts might appreciate you. :laughing:
KennyV

Oh no- I personally try to run over snakes! I hate them and they scare me. The more I get the better I feel! I love bunnies though and I've never had that problem. I wonder what you could use to get them out of the way!

Zeroturn said:

I love bunnies though
I wonder what you could use to get them out of the way!

Click to expand...

Plant a garden... They will all be in it eating all your vegies, that will leave the yard all clear to mow... :smile::smile: KennyV

:laughing:

You guys are too funny! I am a bit of a bleeding heart.

I looked at the pic and something like that might work. I was thinking of something though that might have more flexible and flat prongs though. I figure that way it might slap around a little bit so no little casualty gets through the prongs unspanked and unwarned. Are those prongs detachable, could I replace it with something else? Otherwise I might be able to rig up something similar but with the prongs of my choice.

The very first time I brush cut with my FIL's 8n I mowed over a fawn, that was not a good feeling for a city boy like me.

Is this really a problem you're faced with often? I've been mowing for decades and other than an occasional snake, mouse, mole, etc I've never felt the need to add a cow pusher to my mower.

That makes it worse, as we have had fawns hidden in the taller grass around trees and nooks. Its not like its an animal bloodbath here, but once is really too much. I remember from my childhood it happened enough times per summer that it stuck in my head, so when I gear up to take over later this summer, I want to avoid the trauma.

Plus, I like excuses to build stuff.

There has been several "stray" mower trails in my yard over the years after seeing a snake try to "run" :laughing:

Yup, chasing snakes is a game where I live. Too many of the little critters around. If you are using a push mower though, it is pretty dangerous unless you hear the "chunk" when it hits. As far as bunnies, they usually skedaddle when the mower comes close. Never had the experience of hitting anything bigger thank goodness.

I'm wondering if the automated robo mowers, since they look like they are super close and super tight to the ground, have a lower snake murder ratio, since it looks like it would be hard for a snake to get under there....That might preclude me having to make a modification.

Ha ha.. if one goes under it it will be toast... I think your pet snakes would be alright because it will always keep your grass clipped and neat, no tall grass for sneaky snakes to hid in:smile: ... KennyV

I do think that might be one of my problems. I always like the grass to have a bit of the bushy easter bunny look. I'm not fond of the hyper trimmed look on grass. It doesn't have to be at my knees, either. Gives critters a place to hide.

Bushy easter bunny look. You really need to explain that.:laughing: If you keep your grass 4inches or shorter you should have no problem seeing the bunnies. Even under bushes as long as you double check the fist time you cut under there. I mow about 10 acres a week in town and in the country and the only thing I ever have problems with are frogs and toads( you can't see them). Bunnys I see before I get to them and some are pretty stupid or in shock. It is not everyday they see a monster. I was hesitant to post this because I know that next week I will take out a bunny. Ah don't worry I will just be more carefull over the next month or so.:thumbsup: Dusty

KennyV said:

I'm afraid that you are not going to be able to make a snake sifter work in front of a mower or anything else... The smart snakes are going to stay clear, the less smart will not be around to replenish the not so smart ranks... sooo with our help and a form of natural selection we should end up with mostly smart snakes or at least snakes with big ears:smile:.
Bunnies replenish their ranks so fast I see no shortage ever occurring because of anything that could happen to them... KennyV
Ps watch out for sneaky snakes with big floppy ears ... no telling what they may get into. :laughing:

Click to expand...

The ONLY good snake is a dead one! :smile:

dusty-t said:

Bushy easter bunny look. You really need to explain that.... If you keep your grass 4inches or shorter you should have no problem seeing the bunnies. .... I mow about 10 acres a week in town and in the country and the only thing I ever have problems with are frogs and toads( you can't see them).

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1. You know how when you buy kids easter baskets with fake grass and its a little bushy. Its kind of like that. :smile:

2. We used to live in the uber burbs where the grass was always kept at about two inches, but because there was a creek behind the houses, nature was constantly throwing the mower snake sacrifices.:frown:

3. Oh dear lord, now I have to sift for frogs and toads too!!

:biggrin:

Simple math

more snakes = less mice therefore happier spouse

more snakes = less bunnies therefore less hasenpfeffer:licking:, which is not good

Greenblades said:

Here is the third mod I was talking about. I remember growing up running over snakes or other animals and being horrified. It didn't have to be tall grass either.

I know that the vibration and vroom vroom should scare them away but it doesn't always. I was thinking of some version of a cow pusher but every design I come up with seems like it would push the grass over a snake and trap it. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

Try these "solutions"

How do you catch a Unique Rabbit? Unique Up On It.

How do you catch a Tame Rabbit? Tame Way.

What do you get when a rabbit falls into the chloroform? An ether bunny

:laughing:

ALRIGHT...
someone IS reading the old posts...
I was thinking of going back to re-read the oldies... but thought I would wait till the one year anniversary...
it is coming up soon... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

ALRIGHT...
someone IS reading the old posts...
I was thinking of going back to re-read the oldies... but thought I would wait till the one year anniversary...
it is coming up soon... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

I have no idea really...but, I'll bet it's snowing in Alberta.
I did learn a new word, which I plan on Googling right after my post..."hasenpfeffer"
sounds tasty!

Hasenpfeffer (also spelled hasenfeffer) is a traditional German stew made from marinated rabbit or hare. Hase is German for hare and Pfeffer is German for pepper, although in this case it rather refers to the small pieces of meat. The dish is prepared from smaller parts of a rabbit which are not suitable for roasting. These are braised with onions and wine and the marinade is thickened with the animal's blood.

Sounds good to me...I'll have mine with an ice cold "Stella Artois" thank you very much

Re: Protecting bunnies and snakes... and squirrels!

My wife found an old postcard, written in 1942 by her mother (Ruth) to Ruth's father:

Dear Daddy, We went squirrel hunting with Granddad today and killed 2 squirrels. Grandmother cooked them for supper. We're having lots of fun but wish you were here with us. Be a good Daddy and we'll see you soon. Love, Ruthie.

So far I have more birds and squirrels than bunnies or snakes. Not that I'm going to cook them and eat them for supper. There are lots of blue jays here that eat peanuts off my back railing. The blue looks nice against the snow, but man they eat a lot of peanuts.

jcobo said:

Try these "solutions"

How do you catch a Unique Rabbit? Unique Up On It.

How do you catch a Tame Rabbit? Tame Way.

What do you get when a rabbit falls into the chloroform? An ether bunny

:laughing:

Click to expand...

OMG! I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at those...very funny and Easter is fast approaching so you need a good bunny rabbit joke or two. I have never had rabbit before but if they keep running in my yard over from the neighbors I will be soon!

There is no telling how many toads I run over every time I mow the yard. They are everywhere!!!!

I can't say as I've ever run over a rabbit with the mower, and if I did, I didn't know about it. I have a few snakes here and there, but we live in a very rural area surrounded by woods. Our local Dept. of Fish and Wildlife agent told me we basically have two kinds of snakes - good snakes and bad snakes. The bad snakes are the poisonous ones, and the good ones are not. Well, I don't care much for snakes around the house. But she explained to me the good snakes will keep the bad ones away. Since then I try to give the good ones a free pass when I'm mowing, and not for the bad ones. I have noticed in the last year that I have seen far more good ones than bad.

Seems all the animals your looking to protect from the mower have a common natural
population control in place that may be of use to you. Hawks and Owls.
A stuffed or fake Hawk put on a pole in the area you plan to mower may move them
out of the area.



Tommy

When we first moved into our house we had a mouse infestation. And because of that, we also had snakes in the house. I really don't care for snakes. No sir. Not a bit.

The attic has blown insulation. My first foray into the attic was to install some lighting fixtures. I discovered that I had to kind of "plow" my way through the insulation in order to get to the area I needed to work. I uncovered some snakes while "plowing". I will guarantee that you've never seen a man exit an attic faster - all while giving the kids a "French" lesson!

I also get small snakes in the pool skimmers. They'll scare the daylights out of you when you reach in to pull the basket out!

I can't tell you how many snakes I've killed on the property over the years.

But NO MORE! Lyme disease is very prevalent in our area, and it is a NASTY disease. Mice are the source of the spirochete bacteria that causes the disease. (Deer ticks favor mice in their early life stage, and once they dine they become unwitting carriers - and deer are nothing more than taxi-cabs for the ticks)

So I just love to see those snakes around now. Especially if they have nice fat bellies!

(In terms of the snakes in the house - got rid of the mice, no more snakes)