Grass snake in the pond HELP !

How does one remove a snake from ones pond before it eats all the fish and frogs? Having spoken to our local reptile centre they say if it has been disturbed it will move on. Difficult to check by looking at the pond from a mile up the road. Any ideas?

Find a friendly local who loves snakes and wishes she her pond. She could a) check for you and b) relocate it.

PS If you're in East Dorset, I'm yer woman.

Oops, wrote rubbish, tried to edit, got error message then computer had funny turn. I meant 'wishes she had one in her pond' (though not if it's going to eat all the frogs and newts)

If I Spot it again its all yours !

Thankssssss :~

I've been making a sneaky pile of grass clippings and twiggy matter just in case passing grass snakes want somewhere to lay their eggs - told the neighbours it was just a compost heap!

If it's any consolation, even a big adult will only eat a fairly small number of prey items a year..

Thanks for the info Wildman. My 5 fish are still swimming, have seen a couple of frogs so our "visitor" may just have had a snack and not the full menu as you suggest.I will give our compost heap a little more respect in future as it had to go somewhere !

It is absolutely normal for grass snakes to go swimming.  They are gardeners friends.  Be grateful you have them.  Look after them!!

Why do people wish to disturb perfectly normal behavior?  Friends of ours have otters visiting their pond.  They will empty a pond in double quick time.

It's curled up somewhere bless! We are in Hampshire and as you say adders are a concern when walking the dog. Thanks for the tip, egg cases in the compost heap will be a first .Still counting fish!

Grass snakes are becoming an increasing rare sight in our gardens and countryside. You should be proud that your garden is so attractive to it. Let it get on with its business and enjoy the bragging rights of having a rare native species within oyur garden

We have worked so hard for 17 years to create a garden to share with wildlife. I feel blessed every morning to hear fledglings squeeking away at our feeders and the awe of a sparrowhawk catching lunch. The only sadness is no hedgehog for 2 years .We have just about everything else visiting us, we are so lucky!

This thread reminds me of the lovely poem written by D. H. Lawrence "A snake came to my water trough..."

gardengirl, that is one of my all-time favourite poems :- )

Bored with Bindweed - have you thought about Rescue hedgehogs? I'm on a crusade now I've got some. Your garden has to be incredibly secure, though.

Hi flo Bear I am a bit concerned about what my neighbours may be using to deter slugs. There are hollows under my fences where foxes have dug to make a corridor and we had a badger who visited last year. So the garden is dog proof but not hedgehog proof. We used to have a mum and baby visit and she loved dogfood and peanuts Good luck with your adoptions!

Oh, B with B, that's a shame. I'm a bit worried that I haven't seen two of my hoggies for a while though Blue Boy is out by the water bowl every night waiting for the food. I'm hoping for a balmy night soon so I can stay out in the garden and see what the other two get up to!