Snake Repellent

I think for many Americans, the though of buying a good snake repellent is a very pleasant idea.  I know my biggest fear is snakes, and I believe many people have the same feelings about them as I do.  There are all kinds of different snakes in the United States, and depending on what region you live in, you can have a wide variety of them in your area.  Obviously, the snakes you need to worry about the most are the poisonous ones, such as rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copper heads and coral snakes.  There are many different types of rattlesnakes, and all of them can cause serious damage if bitten.  This is a very big worry for families with small kids; they want to be able to rest easy knowing there kids are outside playing with no threat of snakebites.  With that in mind, companies have been making different types of snake repellents.  This article will go over many of the different types that are out there, and give you an idea of what you could buy to get rid of your snake problem. 

When dealing with snakes, make sure you know what type of snake it is before you try to remove it from your yard yourself. Leave removing poisonous snakes to professionals, and know that even dead poisonous snakes can be dangerous if you nick yourself with the fangs, and even non venomous snake bites can cause infection which can become very serious.  A good first step to protecting yourself is finding a pair of cheap snake proof boots that don't skimp on protective coverage.

Once of the new techniques to keep snakes away are snake repellents.  Snake repellent is based on the assumption that all animals have certain smells, or scents of other animals, that they cannot stand.  This means that when the snakes smell this they are going to want to leave that area. 

Snakes do have an organ that is in charge of smell and tasting.  The snake repellent is supposed to leave a very foul odor, and a terrible taste for the snake.  This is going to weaken the snake, and make them leave the area.  The basic logic behind snake repellent makes it sound like this product could work.

You are supposed to spray your yard, and any area where snakes appear every four weeks.  This should take place from the spring to the fall in cold weather climates, since snakes are not out during the winter. 

Do they work?  Well that is a matter of opinion, but I tend to believe not.  I know for a fact that repellents like mothballs, cinnamon, sulfur and harsh smells like that normally do not work.  There are a few brands that use sulfur, and I know they are not going to be effective.  Some brands claim to have natural smells that keep the snakes away.  If you want to try one, you are more than welcome to, do they work?  I cannot say for sure. 

There are some natural solutions that will work for reducing the snake population in your yard.  Some of them require a little bit of hard work and some cleanup, but you should start to see some results.  The results are not as easy as getting a snake repellant that, you can spray on your yard and prevent snakes from coming there, but they should have results that work for you over time.

Snakes will go to places that have a good food source.  Depending on the snakes that are infesting your yard, they might be feeding on rodents, or bugs, or whatever snakes normally eat.  If you get rid of the rodents, particularly mice, rats, gophers, those types of things, you should be able to get rid of the snake's food source.  Some snakes prefer things like grasshoppers, crickets, and other bugs.  If you spray pesticides and get rid of the bugs, you can get rid of those types of snakes.

Snakes love dark, protective, clutter filled spaces. If you get rid of the places where snakes are comfortable, you should be able to get rid of the snakes. This means if you have many garbage piles, old piles of wood, or new piles of firewood, those places make the perfect shelter for snakes. The less garbage and clutter in the yard, the fewer snakes you are going to have.

This also means you should move big gardens, bushes and shrubs away from your home. These are also places where snakes are going to live, and if they are next to your home, than that means there is an increased chance you are going to see snakes in your home. The further away those things are from your home or yard, the further away the snakes are going to be.

I know that we all wanted an easy answer to getting rid of snakes, and snake repellent seems like a perfect solution. I cannot say for sure if it actually works, but I do know that certain things people claim will work, do not. Depending on sulfur or mothballs as a way to get rid of snakes is not going to work. So the least you can do is check the ingredients and see if a brand works for your home. If it does, please let me know, leave a comment, and I will know what to put in my yard.