Snakes often instill fear in people because of how they quietly slither their way in the ground and attack prey at their most vulnerable. Since snakes are often painted in the media as a poisonous villain of some sort, it’s not surprising why people would rather not have anything to do with them.
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Snakes: Their Roles As Pest Remover And Actual Pests
Despite their reputation, it’s worth noting that snakes have their own ecological roles in the biosphere—one that humans shouldn’t bother to mess with. For instance, some places would thrive in the presence of snakes because they serve as predators to common pests, like rats and mice, keeping the pest population low.
However, when you let snakes roam freely in your garden, they may end up becoming pests themselves as they may also go for items that shouldn’t be included in their daily menu. In such cases, it’s recommended to just go for complete snake removal before they get a chance to destroy your garden.
How To Protect Your Turf From Unwanted Snake Visits
Reading about the most common gardeners’ questions about snakes should give you an idea of how to deal with snakes in general. While such knowledge is always good to have, it may be better if you just work on keeping snakes and the garden pests that they consume out of your garden completely.
If you’re looking for ways to reduce snake visits to your turf, listed below are seven tips that can help you in that regard:
Get Professional Help
If you think that your garden’s snake issue has already gone too far, you can always rely on professionals for help. Aside from being equipped to handle snakes, they also know how to identify snakes, allowing them to safely remove them from your yard.
Once a professional eliminates the presence of snakes, the next tips ensure that you’ll have an easier time keeping your garden snake-free.
Clean Up Your Garden
Snakes are attracted to tall grass surrounded with a lot of debris, a setup that enables them to easily slither their way across undetected. If your garden provides a lot of hiding places for snakes, chances are they’re going to like being there.
One of the easiest ways to keep them off your garden is to keep it as clean and as well-maintained as possible. This includes removing all debris and mowing your lawn regularly. Snakes can’t operate stealthily if their existence is easily exposed, so when you have a clean turf, they’ll move on to some other place.
Seal Gaps And Crevices
Check your property if it has any gaps and crevices that snakes can easily slide through. If they can easily get in and out of your property, they’re more likely to set up a nest there.
Once you find any holes or gaps that they can potentially use, have these sealed immediately. If snakes can’t enter your house anymore, they won’t bother destroying the seals.
Stop Feeding The Snakes
You may not be aware of it right now, but snakes may love your garden because you’re unknowingly giving them something to eat. This tip is especially applicable if you’re taking care of chickens in your yard.
They may love lurking around your chicken house to feed on chicken eggs. Snakes are likely to come back if they know your place gives easy access to food. Make sure that you collect your chicken eggs before they get a chance to eat them.
However, if they have already infiltrated the chicken house, you can move it temporarily to another area to confuse them. The goal is to make your garden less interesting so they don’t bother to come back.
Get Rid Of Garden Pests
In connection with the fourth point, another reason why snakes may be enticed to come back to your garden is that it feeds on its pests. While it’s a good thing that the snakes can take care of the pests, they’re likely to overstay because your garden is associated with food.
Hence, if you wish to get rid of snakes altogether, you must also get rid of common garden pests, like rats, mice, moles, slugs, snails, and various insects. Once they’re out of the picture, snakes will know that there’s nothing in your garden for them to enjoy.
Add A Sharp Mulch To Your Garden
Snakes don’t like slithering through broken glass or jagged rocks, much like how humans will avoid them. Even if their scales look thick and tough, these are actually sensitive to sharp surfaces.
Thus, adding a layer of sharp mulch to your turf can make your garden look utterly uninviting for snakes. Natural materials, like eggshells, holly leaves, pine cones, or sharp rocks, are enough to tell them that specific areas are a no-go zone for them.
Make Use Of Snake-Deterrent Plants
Fortunately, you can make use of certain plants to keep snakes off your garden treasures. These are:
- Garlic And Onions: These plants aren’t only great ingredients in the kitchen, but they’re also excellent snake repellents because of their smell and disorienting power.
- Lemongrass: Apparently, the pleasant citrusy smell of lemongrass can deter not just mosquitoes, but also snakes.
- Marigolds: The marigold’s root system produces a pungent smell that encourages snakes to move on instead of stick around.
- Snake Plant: This plant’s imposing appearance and sharp leaves are enough to drive snakes away.
Having two of these plants will usually already suffice, but having all four of them together will be a much better way to protect your garden from snake visits.
It Doesn’t Take A Lot To Keep Your Garden Safe And Snake-Free
While snakes can be a reliable means of pest control, sometimes it’s better to just keep snakes and pests off your lawn completely to minimize the risks of property damage. Fortunately, keeping snakes off your garden only takes a few conscious efforts on your part.
Of course, you can also call snake removal professionals to handle more challenging tasks for you. Aside from safely removing snakes in your garden and releasing them into the wild, they’ll also provide effective tips on how to keep snakes off your turf for as long as possible.
Updated on 2024-04-17 - Images from Amazon API. Logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. 1001Gardens is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
