POwer wash the silt downwards if it is not that large of an area. I have never done this but it is an idea. You still will have to shovel out the silt on the low end unless it goes in your neighbors yard.... then that might be a touchy situation. I guess it depends on the neighbor and how moral a human you are.LOL

Hmm, morality, no comment! : )

I just bought a power washer, never thought of using it on that! It actually washes under the fence into a creek area, so no neighbors to tick off.

Interesting idea, thanks!

Be careful about washing it into a creek, if the wrong or right people observe it, depending on how you look at it, you could be in line for a large fine for polluting the creek and have to either clean it up or pay someone to do it.

shadetree bob,
I appreciate your concern, and I share it.

It really is only silt that I would be washing out. I am organic, other than the very occasional use of Round Up. The creek is little more than an overgrown, glorified, snake-ridden drainage ditch, that empties into a constructed catch basin. And the edge of the creek is at least 8 feet from the fence.

Based on the number of non-organic monthly lawn treatment trucks I see in my neighborhood, I think a lot worse than silt has gone into that ditch/creek.

Now, if any one has any idea how I can keep venomous snakes out of my yard, I'm all ears--organic or not.

Evidently, raccoons, foxes, and coyotes are known to eat snakes. The only good idea I have is to make sure you don't have anything in your yard that snakes will eat (rodents) as that should help keep them out. Squirrels might be on their diet but I don't think most snakes around here climb trees.

I'd round up the weeds when it was BONE dry but the plants still green (or it won't work). Then I'd plant a variety of extraordinarily aggressive native plants and nurture them along, while killing weeds as I had a chance. Pretty soon teh aggressive natives would mostly choke out the weeds.
If I were afraid of snakes (I'm not) I'd wear leather wrap on my legs and poke around a lot with a big ole stick. The snakes will run. I'd learn for sure the difference between venomous and non-venomous snakes. Non-venoumous snakes will eat what the venomous snakes want. King snakes eat all other snakes including venomous ones. If you have water in TX you're gunna have wildlife.

I know I'm going to have wildlife, and I try really hard not to be so scared. It's really primeval with me, even just a photo of a snake can make the hair raise on my arms.
I've had many snakes in the ten years I've lived here, even in my garage. It's a suburban type neighborhood, but behind my backyard, beyond the creek is a huge uncultivated field. So they're gonna come.
Last May I was walking my little path with my dog and son,
when the dog jumped back with a little yelp. I knew immediately what had happened, even though I didn't see ANYTHING at all.
Yes, she'd been bitten by a venomous snake, and within half an hour she was squealing in pain. She survived; the vet said it was a medium sized snake.
Where she was bitten was a clear area, no plants, and a layer of very flattened old leaves. The fact that I saw nothing at all, though the dog was within 2 feet of me, is what freaks me out completely. I don't go out in the backyard without long pants anymore.
We have possums, raccoons, coyotes, hawks, skunks, feral cat, you name it. But I'm still scared!

OOOOh you have a phobia. That's totally different. I'd get someone else to do that work for me then. If you're that afraid of snakes you might hurt yourself trying to be around them from panic.
I'm so sorry your dog got bit. I'm glad she lived.
I had a lady that bought dog food at the pet store where I worked with a snake phobia. Wouldn't you know it, every time she showed up to buy dog food (we carried the kind she liked for her dog) I had a snake out to show a customer. She would visibly pale and shake. I'd quickly tell the customer I was helping that I had to go to the back and yell to her the "all clear" just to come in the store. The reptiles were right by the door. The customer buying the snake would try to explain they weren't harmful, but her fear was based in primal panic, not logic. I felt so sorry for her. I feel even more sorry for you. She only encountered caged snakes in a store. I don't know how you handle them being around your house.