Key Points
- Snakes can be found in the same places where they find food for them.
- You should probably call a professional to deal with them, but there are ways for you to deter snakes from coming close to your home.
- By reducing wet areas, removing potential food types and prey, and adding some deterring smells and odors you can help keep away snakes.
Unless youโre keeping one as a pet, you donโt want snakes around, running freely. In this blog, we want to share a few tips for ridding yourself of snakes you donโt want and keeping them away. Letโs get started.
What Attracts Snakes?
Like any pests you donโt want around, snakes find their way to your spaces because theyโre essentially looking for one of two things: shelter and food. Snakes also want a place to breed and rest. And like all invaders on your property, if a snake finds any of those things, they tend to hang around.
While diet can change with the species, all snakes are naturally carnivores. Theyโre all looking for meaty foods. Here are a few creatures that promise to keep snakes around.
The slithering snake also embraces thick brush, leaf piles, and dense compost. Snakes love moisture so theyโll cling to your birdbaths, natural and manmade ponds, or cling near leaky garden hoses and faucets.
A nice Catch-22 here is if your property lacks natural predators like foxes and raccoons, snakes stick around. But who wants foxes and raccoons to keep out the snakes?
Get Rid of Snakes in the House

ยฉiStock.com/randimal
If there are mice, garter snakes and their friends will enter your home. Theyโre not necessarily nomads. Itโs more likely they wonโt know how to get out. Snakes in the house are nothing less than scary so you want to deal with them quickly.
Try to Keep Your Cool
No matter how much youโre disturbed or alarmed, itโs important to not disturb, distract or alarm the snake. They are jittery creatures. If theyโre dangerous, you shouldnโt confront them, especially if they bite. But if they slither away, likely, theyโll quickly duck where you wonโt be able to find them. Worse, you donโt want to harm yourself trying to capture it.
Open Potential Escape Routes
If thereโs a door or window the snake can use to get out, make it accessible without a whole lot of movement that might send the creature in the other direction.
Create a Barrier
Trap the animal in a room. Use boards or boxes to build a barrier. As nerve-wracking as it might be to do this, trust the snakeโs nerves are probably as shaky as yours. No creature likes to feel trapped. As previously stated, do this calmly and as quickly as you.
Contact a Wildlife Control Specialist
Whether itโs local authorities or an animal shelter, call a specialist that knows how to safely capture a snake. Many of these creatures are venomous and require unique techniques for proper capture.
Get Rid of Snakes in Your Garden or Yard
Depending on where you live, snakes can be common (garter snakes are an example) in your outdoor spaces. If youโre familiar with snakes, you may know right off if the creatureโs nonvenomous.
If you donโt know, itโs important to reach out to someone who does. Call a specialist or wildlife control. Professionals know the tried and proven methods for trapping and removing snakes of all types and to minimize infestation.
If you know youโre dealing with a nonvenomous snake, here are some tips to getting rid of it.
Spray the Snake With Your Hose
Grab your hose and drench the snake. Do this from a distance. Encourage the animal to keep it moving without harming it. Unfortunately, this is an immediate solution. It doesnโt mean the snake wonโt come back.
Entrap the Snake
No one wants to find something like a garter snake in the house. If you have the nerve, temporary traps for the creature include an overturned garbage can or solid box. This should only be the option if you know the snake bite isnโt poisonous. You can then contact pest control and have the snake removed safely.
You can also get a humane trap from the store. After securing the snake, transfer it to a location thatโs safe and far from your home. Release it there. Glue boards are good for snake removal. When youโre ready to release the animal, pour vegetable oil over the body. It neutralizes the glue so that the snake can slip away.
We cannot stress enough if you do something like this, you have to be sure the snakeโs bite is not venomous.
Get Rid of Food Sources
Snakes like birds, frogs, rodents, insects, and fish. If these creatures are on the property, removing them can minimize the possibility of visiting snakes.
Remove Standing Water to Get Rid of Snakes
Rain barrels, ponds, birdbaths, and other standing water sources are catnip for snakes. Remove them if you want to minimize reptilian guests.
Get Rid of the Burrows
If there are burrows on your property, get them filled with dirt or gravel. It gives snakes fewer places to hide. If youโve got a series of holes, such as those left behind by gophers, voles, or moles, contact a pest control specialist to get rid of this ready-made hidey-hole for a snake.
Get Rid of Shelters
Snakes like coiled hoses, tall grass, firewood, dense brush, crawl spaces, outbuildings, and open areas beneath sheds.
Grass shouldnโt go above an inch in height. Snake-proof fencing needs to be flush with the ground. It should consist of plastic sheeting or steel mesh. Any fence should angle outward, be at least three feet in height and four feet deep. There are also plants like wormwood and marigold which are snake-repelling.
Use Smoke to Get Rid of Snakes
Snakes are extremely sensitive to odors, especially smoke. Letting your fire pit run for a few days can effectively drive snakes away.
Natural Predators That Get Rid of Snakes

ยฉiStock.com/mynewturtle
Natural predators of the snake include foxes, cats, raccoons, pigs, turkeys, and guinea hens. If you keep these animals around, you have a natural source for holding snakes off. Some stores sell fox urine. Itโs another natural snake repellent.
Use a Wildfire Control Expert to Get Rid of Snakes
If you have a venomous snake or youโre finding multiple snakes, the situation may require a deft hand. Itโs often easier to turn the problem over to a professional. Thereโs no reason to risk a potentially life-threatening bite and a trip to the emergency room when there are people trained to deal with such vermin.
Get Rid of Snakes in Your Crawlspace, Basement and Under the Porch
Snakes donโt mind moist, dark spaces at all. You can use all the same tricks in your crawlspace, basement, or porch areas as youโd use to get rid of them in the yard. Set up mouse traps, remove shelters that snakes use (such as shelving or storage boxes). Buy store-bought repellents or pellets and leave the substances around openings or corners of areas like the basement.
Get Rid of Snakes by the Pond or Pool
Snakes, particularly water snakes, go straight for your bodies of water.
The smell of ammonia is pretty powerful and keeps many types of animals at bay, particularly snakes. Soak rags in ammonia and put them in unsealed plastic bags. Leave them where youโve spied snake activity. For the best results, change the rags daily in the yard and other outdoor spaces.
Use Natural Repellents to Get Rid of Snakes
There is a range of repellents you can buy at the store. Safe and easy to use, they interfere with the snakeโs sense of smell. The substances deter snakes from nesting in your spaces. Take note that store-bought products tend to be more effective than homemade or natural repellents.
These solutions arenโt equally effective in all situations so you may encounter spotty results in the beginning. Have a conversation with a vendor or snake pro about the types of creatures you might have encountered. The professionals will be able to advise you on the safest ways to protect your environment and prevent infestation.
Ammonia
Ammonia makes for pretty powerful traps that distract just about any creature that inhales. Soak rags in ammonia. Put them in plastic bags and set the bags around the perimeter of where youโve seen snakes. Replace the rags and bags daily. This could naturally run snakes off.
Clove and Cinnamon Oil
Clove and cinnamon oil release powerful scents that can deter snakes. For maximized results, mix the elements in a spray bottle and spray the areas that snakes occupy.
As a bonus, this spray could add a nice aroma to wherever you spray it. Bonus, right?
Lime
Mixed with hot pepper or peppermint, lime can help deter snakes in the yard. Put the ingredients in a glass bottle and pour the mixture around the perimeter of the garden, pool, home, or other areas.
Naphthalene
One of the most common ingredients in commercial snake repellents is naphthalene. Save a few ducats by purchasing pure naphthalene and use it anywhere you have snake activity.
Onions & Garlic
Both garlic and onions contain sulfonic acid. Mix them with rock salt and sprinkle the compound around the home and yard to repel snakes. And, as a side bonus, fewer vampires will come around!
Sulfur
Powdered sulfur aggravates the snakeโs skin, making it an effective repellent. If you choose to handle sulfur, wear PPE.
Vinegar
Snakes that like bodies of water can be deterred with standard white vinegar. That includes swimming pools and natural or manmade ponds. Pour straight white vinegar anywhere there may be snake activity like the pool or pond edges.
Get Rid of Snakes With a Pro

ยฉiStock.com/Andrii Zastrozhnov
If youโre stuck for a solution, turn to a specialist. Theyโll perform an initial inspection and find the telltale signs of snake activity. They may be able to even identify species. Good snake handlers use a natural holistic approach via a combination of tactics. Theyโll also prepare a unique treatment as well as perform monitoring and follow-up to ensure you donโt get another infestation.
Up Next:
- Copperhead Snake Bite: How Deadly Are They? You probably know they are dangerous, but how bad is the copperhead bite?
- Discover the Largest Snake Found in the Amazon. There are big snakes, and then there are BIG snakes!
- Flying Snakes Wait. Are these real?
Discover the "Monster" Snake 5X Bigger than an Anaconda
Every day A-Z Animals sends out some of the most incredible facts in the world from our free newsletter. Want to discover the 10 most beautiful snakes in the world, a "snake island" where you're never more than 3 feet from danger, or a "monster" snake 5X larger than an anaconda? Then sign up right now and you'll start receiving our daily newsletter absolutely free.
More from A-Z Animals
The Featured Image

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.