Dear more knowledgable ones, We rented a rural property with a couple wells. The wells have not been used for years. The more shallow one with the hand pump is the one we are trying to resurrect. We know zip about it. We have pumped about 4 feet of water out to see if it recovers and it did somewhat. It took eight hours for a 4'4" diameter well to recover 15 inches. Is this an acceptable rate of recovery?

There are many, many snakes hanging out in the well. Now we don't know the next best step to take. I am quite freaked out at this snake situation. I know we need to dump bleach down there but then where do snakes usually go, in basements? Waa Waa

-- a mom (snakes@well.com), October 08, 1999

Answers

What kinda snakes? We had some living in our crawl space when we moved here... got cats right away... plus killed a few. (Choose yer weapon... shotgun or broom!) Now that we have cats (sturdy little buggers too... been bit by a snake more than once, but lived to tell about it, so to speak) they don't come around anymore. (not much, anyway)

We also have dogs that run inside our fenced property. We keep the inner grass mowed down, cause snakes like TALL brush. But they do like ponds... (or wells!) and we just steer clear of the nearest pond until late fall when the snakes go nighty-night around here. Sort of wish we had a pond, but our neighbors do, and they get the snakes too.. so maybe it worked out better this way.

Hope you get some better help...

georgia peach (how about callin' an exterminator? Ours'll set traps for them.)

-- georgia peach (the.patch@worldnet.att.net), October 08, 1999.

The surface area of your well, 4'4" wide, is the radius squared times pi : 2.167' x 2.167' x 3.14159 = 14.747 sq feet So each 12" of depth is 14.747 cubic feet. A cubic foot is about 7.5 gallons (7.48) So each 12" of depth is 14.767 x 7.48 = 110.46 gallons, or 110.46/12" = 9.2 gallons per inch. You had 15 inches refill in 8 hours, so 15 x 9.2 = 138 gallons/ 8 hrs, or 17 gallons per hour. That's almost 1.5 gallons per 5 minutes. Is this enough? that's a subjective question, but you do have water! PS: I hear snakes taste like chicken..... :-)

http://www.megaconverter.com/Cv_start.htm

-- Programmer Farmer (seven_children@home.org), October 08, 1999.

Be careful if they're Copperheads!!!MAS Dangerous!!! Most of the water-borne/aquatic snakes are A)Hostile and B)Dangerous. Be EX-tremely careful when dealing with them buggers. Best bet, get a pro to handle it!

-- Billy-Boy (Rakkasn@Yahoo.com), October 08, 1999.

yes be very careful with those water snakes.. could very well be cotton mouths. Do you guys have a small .22 rilfe?? A well placed shot to the head with a .22 is the best way to kill snakes.

-- michael (michael813@yahoo.com), October 08, 1999.

After killing what we thought was a cottonmouth, we educated ourselves and found that we had killed a harmless water snake. I don't see any point in killing non-poisonous snakes, especially if you're interested in rodent control. Getting an expert to help you is a good idea. I would also advise everyone to get the Audobon (sp?) guide to reptiles if you have questions. FYI, for cottonmouths, you can see their eyes when looking down on them from above. With water snakes, you can't. Also, strange as it sounds, most non-poisonous snakes are usually much more aggressive than the poisonous ones.

-- dakota (none@thistime.com), October 08, 1999.

Shooting them is dangerous and noisy. Use a hoe to chop them hard anywhere on the spine, then finish them off. We've killed many copperheads this way.

-- helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), October 08, 1999.

The bleach should repel the snakes from the well. If you pour it around your house foundation, I think they will find the smell offensive also. It seemed to work at a house I own.

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), October 08, 1999.

Not trying to discourage you, but your dug well is inherently unsafe. Bleach will not keep it from being recontaminated from other snakes, bugs, or runoff. If you can drive a point for a well, it would cost only a few hundred for everything.

If not, you will almost have to assume the water is unsafe for drinking and disinfect it after pumping it from the well. People do still drink water from dug wells without any problems, but you're taking a chance. In my state (WI) dug wells are illegal and are ordered filled whenever found.

You may think snakes are bad, but when you find a dead rat or skunk in one then you'll realize how vulnerable these type wells are.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), October 09, 1999.

Thank you all for this info. Jon, Please explain what you mean by "drive a point for a well" Thank you.

-- a mom (snakes@well.com), October 09, 1999.

a mom: try moth crystals or moth balls and pour them around the well casing and another ring several feet away too.

-- Furie (furieart@dnet.net), October 09, 1999.

Just a stupid question "a mom". Are the snakes hanging around the walls or are they swimming down in the water ie. under the surface. Many people mistake eels for snakes.

Both are tasty!

-- LM (latemarch@usa.net), October 10, 1999.