Cyprus-Forum.com

[Get Real!]

Make a boundary around the yard with miniture Turkish flags, That will keep these sneaky snakes away.

Come to think of it… if you use "TRNC" flags there's no way snakes can enter a non-entity!

[Get Real!]

There seems to be only one snake that is dangerous to humans on the island and that is the Adda. There are a few more that are but apparently their teeth are set too far back in their mouths to do any harm to us. So I would say...Identify the Adda and leave the rest alone.

That’s an Adder you turnip!

[tessintrnc]

Again, many, many thanks. I have heard of cats, and the geraniums, but not the egg shells and garlic. You can actually buy snake repellent in the South (based on smells) but not here in the North I think.

Tess x

[halil]

Snake buster - If you are worried by snakes, repel them with a new product rather than trying to kill them
By Jill Campbell Mackay

PEOPLE are not born with an innate fear of snakes, we are taught at an early age that they can be dangerous, although there is no logical reason to have an extreme dread of snakes.

In Cyprus you are 1,000 times more likely to die in a road accident than from a snake bite and worldwide more people die from bee stings. With our almost relentless building projects, it is man that has a far greater impact on snakes than vice cersa.

These days, it’s more likely that the snake lounging on your patio has been usurped from its normal environment and is on the look out for a comfortable replacement home.

So what does one do when faced with a blunt nosed viper as an unwelcome visitor? The first thing most would do is to reach for a brick or pour out the Lanate and kill the creature. Many will even aim their vehicles at snakes who have decided to sunbath by the side of a busy road.

To the majority of people the only good snake is a dead snake. Yet the snake, like every other organism, plays an important part in nature so we should never kill them, we simply need to keep them away so they are not a pest or a danger to us.

Hans-Jorg Wiedl, or Snake George, knows only too well the problems both snakes and humans have with each other and his aim is to endeavour to get both parties to live together in a more harmonious manner. With this in mind he has, over the last year, worked with a British scientist to develop a powerful snake repellent that is non toxic called Snake Buster.

This is a wholly natural repellent and does not harm either snakes or household pets, and, like most repellents, it works on the principle of inhibiting the animal’s sensory perception. With snakes for instance, the repellent literally “shuts the light off”. It doesn’t kill them, but it’s akin to a human being forced to walk through a room with all the light switched off, and we don’t like that, neither do the snakes.

With one application to garden borders, entranceways, garages, wood piles, sheds, playgrounds, edges of swimming pools, George has now proved that this can repel a blunt nosed viper and all other Cyprus snakes for up to a period of up to eight weeks.

The key message is ‘Live and let live, and to do so with effective repellents not poisons’.

n Snake Buster costs £12.50 for one litre of repellent and can be sent islandwide via Akis Express for those unable to buy direct from his Reptile Park in Peyia. Call 99 987685 or 26 938160



Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008

[kafenes]

In Cyprus it is called a 'Fina'. It is about a meter long and thick and has a very short thin tail. I don't think it is the same as an Adder but more like a Viper.
The following is from a book teaching school kids about the Cyprus snakes.

[purdey]

Thank you halil, snake George is your man Tess.

[tessintrnc]

I actually like snakes - very much. I had to stop my car last year when a long black snake crossed the road, and I have also stopped the car for a chameleon, but they are SO slow........... I ended up picking it up, it really hissed at me - but was lovely and warm and it started to change colour even in those few seconds - amazing creatures!!!
Tess

[purdey]

Let's see a ban on poison in Cyprus and let nature do the work it was intended to do.

[denizaksulu]

I have heard that the large black whipsnake should be considered a welcome visitor to the garden because it keeps down pests. It is also non-venemous.

It's definitely harmless or I wouldn't be around today; picked one up and was walking about when I was around six and my dad freaked out when he saw me!

Should I say what a pity or thank god, for what we would have done with out your wit.

[iceman]

In Cyprus it is called a 'Fina'. It is about a meter long and thick and has a very short thin tail. I don't think it is the same as an Adder but more like a Viper.

This viper is also called gufi in Cyprus