﻿ How to Keep Snakes Away from the House
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How to Keep Snakes Away from House


Just hearing the word snake may make you want to ball up in a knot and send shivers all through your body. So, just imagine knowing that your property or home is infested with them. You’re probably packing and on your way out the door at this very moment. The truth is that some snakes can actually benefit your garden by eating the rodents that find pleasure in ruining it. Still, if you can’t fathom the idea of sharing your home and garden with snakes, then you might have tried using some of these repellants.

Keeping Your Yard Clean
Snakes love to hang out in areas where they can hide until their next meal comes strolling by and if you have thick leaves, bushes, tall gardens and shrubbery in your yard, it’s time to get rid of it. Not only are you assisting them with catching their next meal, but you’re making it easy for them to travel without being seen. If you maintain a clean yard with a low cut grass, snakes won’t feel as comfy because they’ll be more open to attacks by their own predators such as owls. Keeping your yard clean includes keeping compost piles at a distance from your yard. You might find a snake resting between the gaps waiting to cool off from the heat.

Eliminating Food Sources
As you may already know, snakes like to devour rats, mice, insects and other rodents, so if you have a problem with any of these around your home, then it’s going to be quite difficult to get rid of snakes. They’re not leaving as long as there’s food to be gotten. Treating your yard for these pests can actually send the snakes in search for food somewhere else. However, it’s important to keep in mind that some chemicals used to keep the other rodents and insects away have harmful chemicals in them that can make your garden veggies and fruits unsafe to eat.

Mothballs and Cat Litter
Yeah it sounds crazy but according to some, 10 cups of cat litter and 10 cups of mothballs mixed together in a container and allowed to sit for 48 hours just might do the trick when trying to repel snakes. People claim that snakes don’t like the smell of mothballs and hate the way the liter feels and sticks to their skin. The mixture can be applied outside around your yard, garden and other areas that you may not want snakes to be. This may deter other animals as well; however, the use of mothballs in this manner can be dangerous if small children and pets accidently get a hold of them. Not to mention, the chemicals from the moth balls can seep into the soil and make its way into your drinking water.

Considering snakes do not like strong smells, many people have used sulfur to keep them away from their yard and home and all you have to do is place enough along the fence line of your yard. You can place it around your garden and even around the foundation of your barn. Sulfur is an ingredient used in many types of snake repellants sold in stores, but the smell that sends the snake slithering in the other direction is the same smell that will send people in the other direction as well. It’s too bad that the snakes aren’t the only ones that can smell it. While deterring snakes with sulfur might work, it’s dangerous to have near your home when you have children and pets. Oh, and let’s not forget, if you have snakes hanging around in your yard already, putting down the sulfur may actually prevent them from leaving.

Cinnamon Oil
It’s very common for people to use cinnamon oil and other oil essentials to repel snakes because they can have a smell that is literally offensive to them. These oils are normally sprayed in smaller areas such as crawl spaces and in the corners of your garage. Some people even soak disposable towels in the oil and place them in areas where snakes might show up. Now, this might work in areas where a snake can actually get into your home, but it doesn’t repel them from your backyard and since oil typically dries up much faster than other types of liquid, you might find yourself applying it more often. This is a temporary solution that will cost you a lot of money to maintain.

More in-detail how-to snake removal articles:
Information about snake repellent - analysis of types and effectiveness.

