What Can I Put Outside to Make Snakes Not Come Around?
Snakes are animals that divide opinion --- while some love these reptiles, others see them as a pest and even a danger, especially when the snakes turn up in their backyard or under their porch. If you're in the latter group, you may seek to implement measures to keep wild snakes away from your property. While some measures yield success, many are controversial or unreliable. Often, a better practice is to make changes to your outside to discourage snakes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Remove Hiding Places
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An efficient way of keeping snakes at bay is to create a backyard that's unsuited toward these reptiles. Since snakes require plenty of spaces to hide in and under, start by combing your property and removing anything that could constitute such a hiding spot. Trim down patches of tall grass, dispose of piles of wood and rock, and remove objects, such as sheets of metal or plastic, that happen to be lying about. Garden features, such as logs, should be taken out, and consider cutting tree branches so that they're at least six inches from ground level, as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website suggests.
Fencing
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You can create an effective barrier against snake intrusion by surrounding your backyard with fencing. The fencing should reach around the perimeter of the yard entirely, with no openings that snakes can exploit. While the materials used to construct the fence don't matter too much --- you can use chain-link or picket, for example --- you should place hardware cloth underneath the fence, a few inches down into the soil itself, to prevent snakes creeping in.
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Remove Food Source
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What attracts snakes to your property is often the food they can find there. This food comes in the form of small rodents, such as mice and rats, as well as creatures such as insects. While you won't be able to remove every potential source of snake prey, you can make a difference by reducing the number of rodents in the vicinity. You can keep rodent numbers down by using traps and by removing nesting sites. Ensure objects that attract rodents, such as supplies of pet food, are kept well-sealed, too.
Smell Repellents
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Many property owners deploy objects outside of their homes that supposedly ward off snakes. Such objects give off unpleasant smells, which have an impact on snakes thanks to the overactive sense of smells these reptiles possess. This tactic isn't always completely effective, though some success can be had, as the Snake Facts website suggests. Smells to use include those given off by marigold plants and mothballs, while Kingsnake's musk comes in spray form from specialty stores.
Animals
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Some animals can be utilized in keeping snakes from your property. While deploying a guard dog outside might not stop snakes coming, many breeds of dog will attack and kill snakes, and even some cats will dispose of tiny snakes, too. Other animals, such as turkeys and geese, are useful if you simply want to create a snake warning system, since these animals will make noise when they spot a reptile.
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References
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