How to Keep Snakes Out of Your Yard (14 Tips)

Snakes, like other pests or predators, can cause various problems to certain homeowners. Whether you are living in the city or the suburban area, knowing how to keep snakes out of your yard can be very helpful if you’re one of the people.

In this article we go over a total of 14 tips to help keep snakes out of your yard and away from your house. Note that some of these tips will also work for raccoons, squirrels or other reptiles that can cause damage or just generally be a nuisance.

Tips to help keep snakes out of your yard

1. Keep your yard clean

Snakes prefer taking cover in what they consider safe conditions. This largely depends on the time of the day. In the day time, snakes love to blend with their immediate environment. If you have a yard with a garden, snakes might use it as a place to hide during the day.

At night, they could switch their temporary residence to other dark places where they can’t be easily detected. Thus, it’s your responsibility as a homeowner to ensure that your yard is completely free of hiding spots for these reptiles. This includes piles of leaves, a stack of firewood, a bale of cut grass as well as overgrown garden or lawn.

2. Remove their food supply

While snakes will not necessarily scavenge for leftover food, they take pleasure in hunting down animals that do. This includes rats, frogs, cricket and other small mammals you often see in your yard. It’s even advisable to get rid of these pests first before you focus your attention on snakes.

There’s a high possibility that snake will not frequent your yard if they do not find anything edible to hunt down. Also, you should feed your pets, including dog, cats and others inside instead of outside. In a case where they have leftover food, ensure you displace properly. All these things are what attracts other pests that snake hunt.

3. Install snake-proof fencing

If you live in a snake-infested area where there is a common incidence of snakes taking over a yard, the best precautionary method might be to install snake-proof fencing. Snake proof fencing comes in different materials, including steel mesh, plastic, and catch net. These snake proof fences deter snakes from climbing over or beneath the fence.

The type of snake-proof fencing to set up largely depends on your location and the type of construction you have. You can contact your local handyman to know the type that’s best suited for your apartment. Here’s some popular snake fencing to consider on Amazon.

4. Keep natural snake enemies around

Some animals in the wild are sworn enemies of snakes to different degrees. For instance, the mongoose is a common predator of snakes. They have several cases in which a mongoose has intentionally pick up a fight with snakes. Even cobras are not spared.

However, keeping mongoose as a pet solely for warding off snakes isn’t practical. Also, there are strict regulations about preventing these types of wild animals in the US. There’s a claim that mongoose urine turns snakes away. How true it is remains unproven.

Other pets that may deter snakes include cats, dogs and even pigs. However, these animals are not natural snake hunters like mongoose, hawks or honey badgers. Also, geese, ducks and chickens will make specific calls when they spot snakes and other predators in your house during the day.

5. Cover up hollow places

As stated earlier, snakes like anywhere they can hide to take quick cover. If you have holes, crevices, ditches or any other areas that may serve as a hiding place for snakes, it’s probably time you covered it up. However, before you do, check for any snakes or other animals that might already be living in these holes within your yard.

If you use a smoke bomb, be wary that any creature can jump out when smoking, including snakes. You might need the help of a professional snake removal service to pick up snakes and relocate them during this process.

6. Drain abandoned ponds

Ponds breed amphibians such as frogs and salamanders. These are delicacies for snakes. Also, most snakes can swim, and some can stay underwater for more than an hour.

If you have an unused or abandoned pond in your yard, you should drain it. However, if you are keeping fish or other pets in the pond, you should use wire mesh as protection. Just cover the pond perimeter with tough wire mesh.

7. Set up mechanical traps

If you discover that the species of snakes in your yard are poisonous, you can set up traps to catch them. It should be traps that can catch snakes live. This is to prevent causing death or injuries of other useful and harmless creatures when accidentally captured.

Glues are not advisable in this regard because they can equally be harmful like traps. Contact your local animal control unit to ensure that you implement legal and eco-friendly measures of using traps.

8. Apply snake repellants

Snake repellants are substances that are capable of deterring snake from penetrating your yard. Based on your choice, you can either go for DIY natural snake repellant or order commercial grade snake repellants online.
Briefly, we will explore some of the effective repellants for snakes, starting with a natural remedy.

Some people have had luck with solar powered ultrasonic animal repellers for snakes as well.

Natural repellants to keep snakes out of your yard

These are some of the natural snake repellants you can use at home.

Note: To safeguard the health of kids and other pets, ensure that you only apply these repellants in places that are less accessible to kids and pets.

9. Powdered sulfur

Sulfur has a pungent smell and also irritates snakes’ skin. These two combinations will keep snakes away from your yard. Sprinkle the powdered sulfur across your yard and anywhere you sense that a snake may hide. However be sure to wear nose cover or face mask as they can be toxic if inhaled in their concentrated form.

10. Vinegar

Vinegar is a well-known natural repellant for snakes. Introduce a small portion of vinegar to the perimeter of any body of water, like swimming pools or garden ponds. Snakes skin will absorb it which irritates their skin and drives them away.

11. Ammonia

Ammonia produces a strong suffocating smell that snakes cannot stand. Carefully spray ammonia by the ground close to snake-invested areas. The irritating scent will drive snakes away.

12. Lime

Lime also produces double action to deter snakes. When you add hot pepper into the lime, it can work even better as snakes can’t withstand the itching and fumes created by this combination.

13. Onion and garlic

Both of these edible plants contain sulfuric acid that repels snakes. Alternatively, you can add rock salt or infuse the mixture in essential oils. Spray all around the perimeter of your yard with a spray bottle.

14. Plants and trees

Although there is no evidence to back it up, it’s believed that planting certain types of plants and trees can deter snakes. The logical reason is that these plants produce a pungent smell that snake detest naturally. Some notable plants and trees to plant in your yard to keep snakes away include:

• Marigold
• West Indian Lemongrass
• Mother-in-law tongue
• Indian Snake Root
• Mugwort.

Commercial repellants for snakes

Some of the popular ones include:

• Ortho Snake B Gon
• Liquid Fence
• Snake Scram Granular

Final Thoughts

Snakes can be pests and even cause damage or injury (if venomous) when left in the yard. Using any or a combination of these methods will help ensure that your yard is free of these unwelcome guests.