12 Natural Ways to Keep Snakes Out of Your Yard

Are you looking for natural snake repellent ideas so you don’t have to put a bunch of harmful chemicals in your yard? If so, I’m with you. Our homestead is full of snakes, but there’s no way I’m buying a bucket full of chemical snake repellent to keep them out of my yard.

Natural snake repellent methods are becoming more popular for many reasons. If you’re like most people, you don’t like the idea of using dangerous chemicals around your home or barn where children or animals could be harmed. And, you don’t like the environmental impact of using these chemicals.

Thankfully, there are many safe and natural snake repellent strategies you can use to keep snakes far, far away from your yard.

Snakes On Our Homestead

Here in Tennessee, we have a ton of snakes. And, our homestead is prime real estate for the local snake population because we have a pond full of frogs, a creek, and a spring. We also have two barns, a wood pile, and two large pastures of chest-high tall native grasses. I know, it’s like we put out a “Welcome Home!” sign for snakes.

Now, I don’t have a problem with black snakes and water snakes. These are the snake breeds we see most often on our property. I almost stepped on a black snake yesterday that was curled up in the grass right off our back porch. I gently prodded him into the garden just so the boys wouldn’t come out and ask to keep him for a pet (a weekly request when you’re homesteading with children.)

The problem is that the boys that are constantly wading through the pasture and tromping down to the creek or pond, and I’m always afraid they’re going to step on a venomous snake. And trust me, they’re out there.

Last summer, we killed two giant rattlesnakes in our yard on the same day. One, five feet long, was in our front yard eating a baby bird. The other was well over six feet, and was trying to get into the chicken coop.

The Benefits of Snakes

You might not love the idea of letting snakes roam around your yard. I sure don’t. However, there are some benefits to keeping them around, especially if you live on a farm or homestead.

Benefit #1: Rodent Control

The biggest benefit of snakes is that they eat rodents like rats and mice. These rodents can spread disease and cause illness in chicks and chickens, like Fowl Cholera. We lost a hen last year to this disease, and I’m pretty sure it was the mice that brought it into our coop.

Snakes also eat other rodents like nutria, rabbits, and moles, which can be destructive to smaller livestock, buildings, gardens, and property. And some species, like king snakes, eat venomous snakes like copperheads and rattlesnakes.

Benefit #2: Insect and Tick Control

Another benefit is insect control. Smaller snake breeds like garter snakes eat insects like aphids, grasshoppers, and beetles that can destroy your garden.

Snakes are also a natural way to control ticks in your yard. We use chickens to control ticks, but snakes might be more effective. Especially, and it pains me to type this, rattlesnakes.

Snakes eat mice, and mice carry ticks. According to a 2013 study by researchers at the University of Maryland, each rattler can remove between 2,500 to 4,500 ticks in their range each year, just by eating the mice they feed upon. If you want to lower your risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, let snakes do their thing.

Benefit #3: A Healthy Ecosystem

Snakes are an important food source for other predators like hawks, foxes, coyotes, and owls. Keeping snakes around helps maintain a healthy ecosystem and ensures that the food chain is robust.

The Myth of Mothballs as a Natural Snake Repellent

Around here, the first thing people say when you tell them you have a snake problem is to use mothballs. However, this is not a strategy you should use to repel snakes. Using mothballs to repel snakes doesn’t work, mothballs are not natural, and using mothballs exposes human and animals to a toxic substance the can cause serious illness.

In the United States, mothballs are made with one primary chemical, either paradichlorobenzene or napthalene. These chemicals are supposed to be irritating to a snake’s highly sensitive sense of smell. Of course, that irritating scent is also going to affect humans.

According to the University of Virginia, inhaling toxic napthalene fumes can cause headache and dizziness, and irritate the eyes and lungs. A child or pet who swallows a mothball can develop hemolytic anemia, when red blood cells break apart and can no longer carry oxygen to the rest of the body. If the mothball was made with paradichlorobenzene, they can experience liver damage or even die from its toxicity.

We don’t use mothballs to repel snakes on our homestead because I don’t want to expose any of us to toxic chemicals. And, most experts agree that mothballs don’t work to repel snakes anyway.

Natural Snake Repellent Ideas

Without a doubt, there are many benefits to keeping snakes around. However, chances are you still don’t want them right in your yard. So, let’s get into how to repel snakes naturally.

1. Keep Rodents Away

This natural snake repellent strategy isn’t glamorous, but it works: keep rodents out of your yard and home. If snakes can’t find anything to eat on your property, they’re going to move on.

Now, this is easier said than done, especially if you’re on a homestead with animals. Any type of available food is going to lure in rodents, and they’ll set up their own little homestead in a barn or coop without batting an eye.

Natural Ways to Deter Rodents

To keep mice away (and, in turn, the snakes,) try these strategies:

• Peppermint. Plant peppermint around your home, barn, and coop. Mice and rats are repelled by the strong smell of peppermint. As an added benefit, you’ll have plenty of herbal tea come winter. You can also blend peppermint essential oil and water and spray it around the outside of your home or in an area where you think they’re coming in.
• Avoid bird feeders. Wild birds may love to visit your bird feeder, but every time they do they drop seed on the ground. And, all this seed will attract rodents into your yard.
• Get a cat. Many cats are excellent mousers, and they can work wonders to keep a rodent population in check. I’m looking to get a barn cat for this very reason.
• Keep feed in steel containers. Keep pet and livestock food in galvanized steel containers that mice won’t be able to chew through. We keep all of our feed in these steel garbage cans. You can find steel garbage cans on Amazon, but they’ll likely be cheaper at Tractor Supply or at your local co-op.
• Feed Animals Indoors. If you have a dog or cat, feed them inside and pick up their food as soon as they’re finished eating. A half-full food dish will draw rodents close to your home and, in turn, the snakes that feed on them.

2. Avoid Bird Houses

Putting up bird houses in your yard is like telling the local snake population that the free buffet is now open for business. Many snake breeds are excellent climbers and can easily scale a pole or tree to make a meal of baby birds. So, another natural snake repellent strategy is to keep bird houses out of your yard.

Yes, birds will still nest in your yard without a bird house, but they might choose a nesting spot higher off the ground or in a spot that’s more difficult for a snake to reach.

If you really want to have bird houses in your yard, put them on a pole with a upside down cone at the bottom to keep snakes from climbing.

3. Keep Yard Mowed and Trimmed

Snakes love to hide in tall grass. Keep your grass short and the weeds trimmed to give them fewer incentives to come into your yard.

4. Keep Brush Piles Away From Your Home

Another favorite hiding place for snakes is the wood pile. It’s dark, protected, and it also harbors their favorite food source: mice.

Keep your brush piles small and burn them regularly to keep snakes and mice out of your yard. If you need to keep a wood pile, place it on a rack or pallet and raise it off the ground at least 12 inches.

5. Don’t Landscape with Large Rocks

Snakes love to sun themselves on large rocks because they heat up quickly. Larger rocks also provide snakes with a safe place to have babies and make a winter den.

Instead of landscaping with large rocks, use smaller rocks or gravel, which are less appealing for snakes.

6. Get a Rooster

Roosters have a sketchy reputation, but adding a rooster to your flock is another way to deter snakes. Roosters are programmed to protect their flock, and they will try to kill any snake that they discover in the yard or run.

We have two roosters. Although they can be annoying, their benefits outweigh their downsides. And, their ability to deter snakes is one of the reasons I keep them around.

7. Get Guinea Fowl

Guineas are even more effective than roosters at killing snakes. They’re also excellent tick exterminators.

That said, guineas aren’t for everyone, and you should really only keep guineas if you have a homestead with no close neighbors. They’re loud, they range all over the place, and they will bully your chickens and ducks. I seriously considered getting guineas last year but ultimately decided that the noise and hassle wasn’t worth the benefits.

8. Use Essential Oils as a Natural Snake Repellent

Because snakes have such a highly sensitive sense of smell, you can use essential oils to keep them away from your home, barn, or coop.

You can make an all-natural snake repellent spray with clove and cinnamon essential oils. To make, add at least 40 drops of each oil to a 16 ounce spray bottle, fill with water, and shake vigorously to blend. If the scent isn’t strong enough, feel free to add more drops of each. Spray the essential oil blend around the outside of your home, or around the barn or coop. You will have to reapply whenever it rains, and when you notice the scent has dissipated.

You can also experiment with other essential oils known to repel pests like lemongrass, peppermint, and cedarwood.

Natural Snake Repellent Plants

There are several natural snake repellent plants that you can place around your yard, barn, or coop to discourage snakes.

6. Lemongrass

Lemongrass stalks are commonly used in Asian and Thai cuisines, and you can use the leaves to make a bright refreshing tea. Lemongrass is also a natural snake repellent plant because of its strong citrus scent.

Plant lemongrass in the sunny beds around your home, barn, and coop to repel snakes, as well as other pests like mosquitoes and ticks. If you live in zone 8 or higher, lemongrass will thrive outdoors all year. However, the rest of us have to bring lemongrass indoors in the fall. You can find more information on how to grow and care for lemongrass at Bonnie Plants.

10. Mother-In-Law Tongue

Sansevieria trifasciata, commonly called mother-in-law tongue or snake plant, is a hardy and common houseplant that you can easily find at every garden center and nursery.

There are many benefits to growing this plant in your home, including it’s NASA-demonstrated ability to remove formaldehyde and benzene and from the air. But putting it outdoors can help keep snakes away from your house.

Mother-in-law tongue can grow outdoors in zones 10 and 11. The rest of us need to keep it in pots and bring it indoors once temperatures start hovering around 50 degrees F.

11. Garlic

Snakes are repelled by strong scent, and it’s hard to find a plant with a stronger scent than garlic. Planting garlic around your home and outbuildings is an easy way to deter snakes naturally. An added benefit is that you’ll have plenty of garlic on-hand for cooking and medicine.

You can find more information on how to plant and care for garlic at Burpee.

12. Marigolds

Marigolds are well known for their ability to deter pests in the garden. And, the same strong scent that deters harmful bugs is also thought to deter snakes. Plant marigolds around the perimeter of your house and garden to keep snakes away.

Keep in mind that chickens like to eat marigolds, so if you’re free ranging then the marigolds might not last long. However, chickens that eat marigolds will lay eggs with bright, deeply colored yolks!

Last Word

Although I’m never going to be a die hard snake fan, I can appreciate the important role they play in the food chain, and the benefits they bring to a homestead like ours. However, I still don’t want them in the yard because of our boys, and their natural desire to pick up or get involved in anything that looks remotely dangerous.

I’d love to hear back from you. Have you successfully kept snakes out of your yard? What did you do that worked?