That's the good point of palmettos, they provide habitat/shelter for birds and wildlife. I've left a 15' ring of palmettos around my property, and that is exactly where most of the birds are. Lots of people have a fear of snakes, but I have landscaped to attract/retain wildlife, including snakes. I see them every week or so here or there. Every time I see one, its objective is to get away from me. If you have kids, teach them to stay back if they ever see one. If you really want to remove your palmettos its your call, but you might consider the other side of the coin. Animals need a few places here and there since we're taking all their space.

Gary

I live in the country and like to consider myself as ecologically friendly as the next person; we have several squirrel and bird feeders scattered around our five acre "yard" and thoroughly enjoy these critters. And they seem to thrive in the trees here. However, my love of Nature does not extend to snakes! Hence my endeavor to remove palmettos.

I live on 1.5 acres, its amazing how many people must tame their entire property, with all of it being mowed grass. Not so sure you're as ecologically friendly as the next guy, but perhaps you are nowadays. Some people do choose to have no sympathy for snakes, despite the incredible majority being non-poisonous and wanting only to flee when they see a person. I had a coral snake on my property a year ago and left it, never saw it again. Sure, if I saw a poisonous snake which refused varying attempts to make it leave my front or back porch area after a couple weeks, I'd probably do something, but only under those circumstances. I have a co-worker who for some strange reason kills all snakes on site. I bet his dad taught him that. It makes me sad every time I hear it. I'm not even the most 'tree hugging' person I know! You may never reconsider your stance, but in addition to feeders, animals need sheltering plants, natural food producing plants (native to your area). Consider perhaps reading more on the web about palmettos before you remove them. Their wildlife value is significant. Pine flatwoods went from 100 million acres to less than 5 million left.

But to answer your questions, do a search on this website for palmettos and you'll find out how to remove them.

Good luck and no offense, regardless of your decision.

Gary

emphasis on MY decision!! I came here for friendly advice, NOT rabble rousing ruckus! and while I respect your choice to maintain your property as you wish---please return the respect.

You got as much respect as your going to get.

I have several large clumps of Saw Palmetto and have not observed them to be a harbour of snakes, but there is always the possibility, I suppose. I have removed a few established ones, where I wanted to plant other shrubs and plants. The trunks are horizontal in the ground and can be quite large and long. Shovel, axe, saws and a lot of manual labor are required to permanently remove them, unless you rent a back-hoe and operator. You will want to keep them away from water and sewer pipes. Some of my neighbors have incurred major expense removing them from sewer lines.
It's an easy chore to remove the foliage with loppers, if you only want to eliminate the above ground portion, otherwise, I would leave them alone.
Rb