Guide to a Snake Free Yard
Basic things you can do to lessen snake encounters on your property
1. Clean, clean and clean some more. A snake will always look for a place to hide. Snakes are normally not found out in the middle of a clean and open yard, but rather in brush piles, under houses, leaves and other debris. Eliminate areas where snakes may want to hide.
2. A snake on your property is not there because it appreciates the view. Snakes live to eat and eat to live. If there is no food, a snake will soon leave and go to where the food is.
3. Get rid of possible food sources for snakes. Bird feeders attract more than birds. They also attract snakes. The snakes are not there for the seed but rather the birds, squirrels and mice that fallen bird seed attract. Do not leave garbage or any other items lying around for long periods of time that may begin to attract mice and rats.
4. Chemical controls. Southeastern Reptile Rescue does not endorse snake repellant or any other chemicals. We do this not because they are harmful to snakes but because we have never found any that actually work. Diet, body temperature and other biological aspects of snakes complicate the potrential for developing such snake controls. Some retaillers sell snake repellant in their garden sections. If it actually did what it claimed, we would have a link right here for you to buy it from us so we could benefit as well. Jason, of Southeastern Reptile Rescue has personally spoken with the president of a local company who specializes in snake removal and pushes the sale of its $200. plus snake treatment using the snake repellant. Jason was told by this president that he himself does not believe that the repellant actually works and that it is more for the customers peace of mind than anything else. We disagree. We believe it is more for a piece of the customers wallet. If having snake repellant sprinkled around your house allows you to sleep better at night, then buy it. But, we will not sell it to you. After all, people's fear of snakes is psychologically based, I guess the cure should be also. Various home remedies have been sggested for repelling snakes and several have been tested to determine if they repel black rat snakes. Treatments included moth balls, sulfur, gourd vines, a tacky bird repellant, lime, cayenne pepper spray, sisal rope, coal tar, creseote, artificial skunk scent and musk from a king snake (king snakes eat other snakes). None of these remedies prevented the snakes from crossing them.
So what does all this mean? - We cannot totaly prevent snakes from entering our property but we can lessen the chance of them choosing to stay. Instead of living in fear, we must learn to co-exist with snakes instead of always trying to kill them.
