Hi -- and HELP!! Need to get rid of water snake!

[1g1yy]

I live in Nashville,TN. up on a wooded ridge. We have a goldfish and Koi pond that is about 7 by 12 feet. Usually we have several frogs that live in the pond, sit on the rocks surrounding the pond and croak. But now the frogs are gone. We had lots of tadpoles a couple of months ago so this was a real mystery to us. I had been noticing that for several weeks whenever I would approach the pond some "puffs" of pond debris and scum would rise from the bottom. The fish and frogs never kicked up such a visible display of an effort to hide. Then yesterday I saw what was causing the commotion -- a dark brown snake with light vertical bands, quite small actually, only about 14 inches long. Well, I thought, that explains what happened to the frogs!!

Well so far the fish don't seem too bothered, but as he grows I'm sure his attention will turn to them. And since my wife -- for whatever reason -- is afraid of snakes, I have to find a way to get rid of him. Any ideas?

Thanks,
John

Oh, and where did he come from? As I said we are up on a ridge with no connecting, or near, water links. The only other snake we see is a very large ( 4 foot or so ) black snake. We see him come through about twice a year. He will take a long drink, then swim across the top of the pond and leave. If we make a move ( our deck is only about three feet from the pond ) he leaves in a big hurry!

Well, any info I can use to get rid of the water snake would be a big help. Thanks