This article will help explain how to keep snakes away from your home. We at Pet-Snakes recognize that not everyone is a fan of snakes and some people would much rather keep them away than have them as pets. In order to serve our readers better we’ve decided to write this article to help those who want to effectively control them to do so. Also see this article about how to trap and remove snakes
- The impact of getting rid of snakes
- It is important to realize that snakes play an important role in the ecosystem and they, just like everything else have a purpose. When you remove them you are impacting a delicate balance. For example I once lived on a large wooded property (over 80 acres) and we had abundant snakes. One year my dad decided to start killing off all of the garter snakes he could find. I don’t know his reasoning, but I do know the result. We were overrun with frogs and salamanders. The snakes had been keeping the amphibians populations under control. I remember early the next spring my dad handed me a 5 gallon bucket and dropped me off near a lake and told me to fill it with garter snakes so we could put them back on our property. So before you start a campaign against snakes in your area consider the impact it will have on you. For instance keep snakes away could be inviting rodents in.
- Get rid of cover and hiding areas to keep snakes away
- Removing or reducing the areas that snakes are found forces a snakes to seek a different place to hunt and rest. Some of those areas include -
- Tall grass
- Boards, logs, sheet metal, etc that they can crawl under
- Brush and shrubs
- Wood and rock piles
You also want to take care to eliminate their access to other areas they might find appealing such as under your deck or under your home’s foundation. A snake basically has three very simple functions. It hunts, it kills and eats, and it rests. It repeats that cycle throughout the entire course of its life. By taking away the things mentioned above you severely impact the snake’s ability to rest which is the most important of all the things it does. - Get rid of the source of food a snake depends on
- The reason snakes are attracted to your house and the surrounding areas is because there is an abundant food source. If you want to get rid of the snakes the single most effective way is to do so is to get rid of there food source. The less they have to eat the less they will come around your home. Rats, mice, frogs, lizards, and other such critters are a main staple of a snake’s diet. Controlling their presence will by proxy help to keep snakes away from your home.
- Some methods that don’t work to keep snakes away
- There are a lot of wives tales out there about ways to keep snakes away. Unfortunately they don’t usually work and for the most part you waste your time and money. The exception is that something doing some of these things will reduce the food a snake has and it will cause their numbers to dwindle. Some of the more popular methods that don’t work are -
- Roping off the affected area with hemp rope
- Spreading mothballs around the affected area
- Flooding snake dens
- Spreading gas or diesel around
- Commercial products such as “Snake-Away”
- Sulfur powder
The primary problem with these methods of snake control is that they require constant refreshing. The odors (which may or may not keep snakes away) become less and less potent as time goes on. A flooded den quickly dries out and becomes a haven for snakes once again. Not to mention you’ll have to live with a yard or house that stinks of sulfur, gas, and mothballs. Personally I’d rather deal with a snake here and there than to have to inhale those toxins 24/7 in order to keep away a few snakes
- One final method to get rid of your snake problem
- A final method of getting rid of snakes around your home is to have someone come and collect them. You’d be surprised how effectively a skilled, and knowledgeable person can be when it comes to collecting snakes and relocating them to another area far removed from your home and yard. Many times you can find a person at a local herpetological club that is willing to remove them at no fee to you.
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