Gardeners told they 'have to reconsider' using nets after shocking discovery
A gardener was left distraught after finding a snake had wrapped itself around netting encircling his flowerbeds, and he's not the only one to have experienced the issue
A frustrated gardener has expressed his concerns over a troubling issue he believes is becoming more common amongst fellow green-fingered enthusiasts.
Posting on Reddit, he uploaded video footage showing a snake desperately trying to free itself from netting that surrounded his flower beds. "Came home to a gardner snake entangled in our raised garden bed bird netting," the gardener wrote in his post.
He explained the reptile's situation: "He clearly tried to death-roll his way out. We will have to reconsider our bird defence." The creature was identified as a gopher snake, which although not indigenous to the UK, can be purchased from various reptile retailers and breeders across the country, reports the Express.
Fortunately, the gardener's video ended with him freeing the snake after carefully using scissors to cut away the mesh that had become wrapped around its head. Following praise for his actions, he revealed: "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 went on to explain: "I always check the tail first, and when I recognised 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 realised he was good. And, honestly, after that first strike that hit me, I think he realised 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 reptile enthusiast responded warmly. "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 comparable encounter. They said: "Same thing happened to me many years ago, bird netting around our blueberries and a snake got tangled, I think a rat snake. 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 fertiliser 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, another person revealed their clever trick for rescuing snakes caught in such predicaments. "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."
If you come across a snake trapped in similar circumstances in your own garden, 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."