How to Use a Fake Snake to Keep the Squirrels Out of the Planters

Plastic snakes allow you to get rid of squirrels through intimidation.

Planters are places that naturally attract squirrels, as they provide the squirrels with a place to bury their nuts and to forage for food. Hanging planters may even invite squirrels to nest in them, which causes the planter to become stained and the plants in them to die. When you want to get rid of squirrels in your planter, use a plastic snake as harmless scare tactic to keep them out.

Things You'll Need

• Small stick

Instructions

1. Coil the snake around the plants in the planter. Do not simply throw the snake in the planter, as doing so gives it an unnatural conformation that may not be recognizable to the squirrel.

2. Push a small stick into the soil of the planter and use it to prop up the snake's head. This gives the snake a watchful quality that further startles the squirrel.

3. Move the snake every few days, especially at the beginning. The key is to convince the squirrels that the snake is real.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant a pinwheel in the planter to startle the squirrel with movement and light reflections.

References

• Gardens Ablaze; Reader's Questions - Squirrels
• BBC News; Slippery Snakes See Off Squirrels; October 2005