I am thinking of moving into the country. How can I keep snakes away from my home and yard?

Question

Are there any animals or chemicals that truly work. we have rattlesnakes and copperheads.

Answer 1

Get yourself some (LIME) and spread it all around your land.
We live in the country on 5 acres and we put the lime out
every summer. Have never had a problem with snakes. You
don't have to spread it all over your land, just around the
edges of it, they won't cross over cause they don't like the
smell. The cost is real inexpensive, like $3.50 for a 25lb. bag.
But make sure you also have a good size dog that will stay
outside, cause they will also keep an eye on your property
and let you know if a snake is around.
Hope you enjoy the country, I Love it out here.

Answer 2

Depending on where you live, there are services that will come and find these animals and relocate them. Sometimes Animal Control will come free of charge since it is a poisonous snake. Your best bet is to have them removed when you see them so they don't continue to breed in the area. I don't know that there is anything else you can do. Edit: I just found this on the animal control website: People will always try to sell you products, and magic cure-alls. Some products work, and some don't. In the field of wildlife control, you'll often find more bogus products than effective ones. Snakes are reptiles, not insects. The internet is full of snake deterrent products, but virtually none of them work. Some of these products include cinnamon or spicy powders, which is a nice idea in theory, but it isn't effective. Other products are simply made of napthalene - moth balls - which some companies sell as an end-all be-all in wildlife repellant. Sorry, it simply doesn't work. I've seen people dump a whole 5 lb. box of mothballs under a deck where snakes are living, and they don't care in the slightest. They keep using the area. People also claim that sulphur will keep snakes away. That is ridiculous. Hey, I know, why don't you just sprinkle lemon juice on the ground - that is sure to keep snakes at bay. Devices such as ultrasonic sound emitters that make a high-pitched noise are completely useless. I've been to so many properties over the years in which people have spent time and money on silly gimmicks like these, and then they hire a real wildlife control operator, and the problem is correctly taken care of.

Answer 3

We used mothballs under the porches and rocks. My grandfather was an old Indian, and he used to actually kill a snake and drag it bleeding around the perimeter of the house and barn. We also kept a black snake, some call them bull snakes I think, in the barn. He (she?) kept the mice, rats, and other snakes out. My mother's garden shed sat up on bricks, and my father put broken glass along the underside edges of it as well as the mothballs. They lived in SE Oklahoma, and we had our share of the same snakes you do. There isn't anything I know of that is perfect, but a combination of things seems to do a lot to help. Guinea hens, geese and pigs tend to discourage snakes as well as dogs and some cats. The larger breed chickens will go after small snakes, but generally they just raise a fuss if they find one. Mostly you want to do what you can not to offer any nice hidey holes for them, and keep the rodents under control. If there's no place to hide and nothing to eat, they have no reason to stay around. Lots of mice will mean lots of snakes, there's no other way around it. Keep any animal feed stored in bins without mouse access, and don't leave the food bowls laying out full. Don't have shrubs and low growing greenery up close to the house, and avoid having greenery that creates cool shady spots as much as possible. And get into the habit of walking hard, watching where you walk, and stirring up tall grass with a stick before you walk into it. You can try lots of things to discourage them, but there is always the one that seems tolerant to it all. So no matter what you do, don't ever think or convince yourself otherwise.

Answer 4

Haha...you can't!

Well, you can somewhat control the amount of water you have around your house and in your yard. Keep stored water to a minimum if possible. Try to drain buckets and fill in holes, especailly around your house. I would suggest finding/buying king snakes, haha...they are the only good remedy against copperheads and rattlesnakes.

Answer 5

I have always heard that Geese will eat snakes,also I lived in the country for around 12 years on 48 acres of woods ,My dogs, 2 pit bulls,a Great Dane and a Akita they all killed snakes believe it or not (the Great Dane especially) got bit allot, the place she got bit would swell up but next day they were OK these were Copper heads mostly ( also when ever one of them got bit they would take off into the woods and get into the pond mud)

Answer 6

The average person has 2.25 phobias. Snakes must be one of yours. I would recommend that you learn to live with them as they are very beneficial at getting rid of pests such as mice, rats, and insects. I have rattlesnakes and copperheads and I have no problem living and working around them. I even learned to handle some snakes without gloves.
Good luck with your decision.

Answer 7

Keep your debri and bushes cleaned out. Also don`t leave alot of water around.




I really don`t know as I was gardening and I got scared by a snake and no more planting into the ground for me. Good Luck to you!

Answer 8

Get some sulphur granules from your local feed store. Make a line of it around your peremeter, then sprinkle around your yard. I breed German Shepherds in the country. It also keeps away fleas. Good luck!

Answer 9

Keep your yard free of debris. Snakes like flat rocks, wood piles and things of that nature to crawl under. Border collie dogs are also a threat to them.

Answer 10

There's a product on the net i saw called "snake away"...you may have to google that! guess it works on rattlers too! We have lot's of them here in Texas..i just shoot em!..lol. I do think the more pets/cats/dogs...etc. help to keep them away because snakes thrive on small rodents etc.(the pets scare away or eat) which make up the snakes diet...makes sense to me. "No food for snakes....no snakes" they will move to the neighbors place..;-)