The internet is full of products to rid your home, yard or farm of snakes.
But do any of these snake repellents, snake traps or snake fences work?

The short answer is no, no snake repellent and no snake trap are efficient ways to get rid of snakes around your house. Keep reading below for details ...

UPDATE! I spoke with the 2 companies that make almost all the snake repellent in the US - the ones that you see at the big-box stores, farm and outdoor stores. Neither would provide me with even a shred of evidence that their product had any effect what-so-ever!

The first - the one made from poison and a suspected carcinogen wouldn't even talk to me. The second - whose primary active ingredient is, believe it or not, mint oil, initially told me they would send their research, but then backed away from the offer.

Feel free to contact me with questions or stories about your experience with snake repellents, snake TRAPS, or other methods of getting rid of snakes! : Contact --  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Read excerpts from email exchanges :

• "Questions and answers about snake repellents, snake fences and snake traps".

See also details about:

• Do Snake Fences Work?

• Do Snake Traps Work?
  
  

So if repellents, traps and fences don't work, what does?!! See my article on "How to get rid of snakes - keeping snakes away from my yard"

Snake Repellents

Snake repellents contain completely ineffective ingredients like cinnamon, sulphur, or hot pepper - capsaicin is the active ingredient. Snakes simply don't care about these odors, and hot pepper oils will not burn their skin. The outer layer of snake skin is made of the tough protein keratin - the same substance your fingernails are made of. Obviously you won't perceive "heat" from rubbing a hot pepper on your thumbnail, and neither will a snake when crawling over hot pepper spray.

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A young water moccasin (aka cottonmouth) in southern Illinois

Some of the best known snake repellents have naphthalene as their "effective" ingredient. What they don't tell you is this is the same chemical used in moth balls - which are a lot cheaper - and don't work either. Naphthalene has the unfortunate side effect of making you sick and causing potentially serious liver and kidney damage to boot. It is listed as a possible carcinogen by the EPA, and exposure to large doses damages or destroys red blood cells - especially when used inappropriately as the seller of this type of snake repellent suggests. So do moth balls keep snakes away? No, not at all.

I have even seen places trying to sell electronic snake repellents! These devices supposedly "scare away" snakes by emitting a "pulsing vibration" or high frequency sound inaudible to the human ear. Please. When will people figure out that electronic repellents don't work for ANY animal, let alone for snakes?

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The harmless diamondback water snake might be mistaken for a dangerous species

Snake Traps and Snake Fences

Snake traps are another common method tried to rid one's yard of snakes. Unfortunately, they are almost as ineffective as snake repellents. Its not that you can't catch a snake in a trap - you can - but even if you littered your yard with dozens of traps, you would catch only a small percentage of the snakes that are present. You can't attract a snake to a trap from a distance with bait because a snake's prey is all around them.So you would have to rely on dumb luck. If there are enough snakes and enough traps, you will eventually find a snake in one of the traps - but it will be one of dozens of snakes that crawl within inches of the trap and don't happen to enter it. (Continued below ...)

Further, if you have snakes in your yard then you obviously have good snake habitat. Removing one snake will almost certainly provide an opening for another snake to move in. Why not get to know the snakes you have and learn to appreciate  the good they do keeping rodent populations down and other pests under control. See below for references on dealing with phobias and irrational fears.

And if you read anywhere that there are effective snake baits that will lure the snakes to the traps you'll know for sure you've found another scam. Snakes eat live food without exception, so the only baits that would work would be live food, or baits made fresh from live food. Can you say ground up ground squirrels? And since all of the snakes people fear most: rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads locate food via heat sensing pits on either side of their face, you would need to keep the bait gently warmed in order for it to be effective.

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Water snakes sometimes loose their pattern or have it obscured

Another option I've seen advertised are snake "fences" Snake fence is essentially just the black, nylon bird netting sold at many stores to keep birds from eating your cherries, strawberries, etc. Of course, since it is SNAKE fencing it costs twice as much. But would it work? Well if your yard was truely infested with snakes I imagine you would occasionally find one entangled in this nylon mesh fence. But they would have to be just the right size - larger ones would back out of it once they realized they could not go forward, and smaller ones would simply crawl right through it. But if your interested in trapping one in maybe 50 of the snakes on your property, by all means, buy a snake fence.

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This prairie king snake will vibrate it's tail making a sound like a rattlesnake

Purveyors of these "snake oil" solutions rely on people's irrational fear of snakes to peddle their worthless products. They know that many people are so afraid of snakes that they are willing to try anything at all to insure they won't come upon them unexpectedly in their yards or on their farms. There are ways to reduce the likelihood that you will find snakes on your property, but the various repellents, traps and fences won't be effective methods.

Can professional exterminators get rid of snakes?

No. I know they claim they can, but they can't. They only have the same ineffective tools you can buy online. They can claim they have "professional strength" products, etc but that is hogwash. What a responsible extermination professional can do is help you identify why the snakes are there in the first place and how to discourage them by altering their habitat and food sources (see below for details).Many snakes in many states are protected by law, so one should check the local laws before and effort to kill or harm the snakes is undertaken. I know some people find it hard to believe that snakes would be protected by law, but they are as integral to the health of the environment as any other species and deserve thoughtful protection. I knew of a family who fulfilled a life-long dream when they purchased a beautiful orchard. They moved in and got busy with plans to grow their business and live the good life.

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Harmless fox snakes are sometimes mistaken for copperheads or rattlesnakes

Even though it may seem difficult, people who have an irrational snake phobia really should spend some time getting over it. It is not impossible. Unfortunately, there are almost as many people ready to take advantage of your snake phobia as there are ready to take advantage of your desire to rid your home of snakes! But you will spend less time and money working through a systematic desensitization program than you will on any of the junk remedies to snake infestations out there today. By the way, there is a good - free - self administered desensitization program available at the Guide to Psychology website.

How do I get rid my yard of snakes in my yard?

The first step in dealing with snakes in your yard or around your home or farm is to learn a bit about them. There are many harmless snakes that people misidentify as dangerous species. As a matter of fact, I would wager that the majority of snakes identified as venomous by slightly hysterical people are harmless species. In most areas of the US there are various species of rat snakes that put up impressive defensive displays - including tail rattling. Bull snakes, milk snakes and the many rat snake (aka chicken snake) species rapidly vibrate their tails which produces a startling rattling sound when they come in contact with dry leaves, branches, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people swear they had come across a rattlesnake when in fact they had misidentified a harmless species.

Water snakes are the second most frequently misidentified snakes. Almost everyone who has a "nest of cottonmouths" out back are actually seeing harmless water snakes.  (By the way, snakes don't form nests or display any communal behavior with the exception of some small, secretive species). Water snakes can grow rather long and thick, and can look rather intimidating. Their teeth are capable of inflicting scratches much like a kitten can with it's claws when playing, or a puppy can with its sharp puppy teeth. The snake bite is no more painful and no more dangerous.

There are good photos of water snakes on the HerpNet website: http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology

Other snakes that are commonly misidentified are fox snakes and hog nosed snakes. Older adult fox snakes tend to develop a coppery colored head and are even referred to as copperheads in parts of their range. A copper colored head is not sufficient to identify a copperhead! Hog nosed snakes have many regional names - all of which sound more dangerous than this harmless snake: Blow adder, spreading adder, sand viper, etc. Hog nose snakes spread a small hood when threatened and tend to blow themselves up and hiss. They scare people, but they can't hurt people. If picked up a typical hog nose snake will roll over and play dead. They never bite!

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A big black rat snake can startle unsuspecting home owners. They too are harmless

Its seems to be human nature to tell scary stories - especially to people who are likely to be really scared by them.  I've had many people tell me of their snake infested properties only to find on examination to have a very normal population of snakes - no more or less than many other areas. So don't necessarily believe people when they tell stories of the number of snakes in the vicinity; their great size or how dangerous they are. I could almost guarantee you that they are exaggerating, relying on third hand information or just making stuff up to scare you.

Having said all that, maybe you still have snakes and want to get rid of them.To do so you'll have to remove the reasons snakes are on your property (or in your house) in the first place. Snakes will seek out food and shelter just like any animal. If you have the, your providing one or the other or both. Water snakes come to ponds and sometimes creeks looking for sick and dying fish or frogs and toads. (Water snakes eat very few healthy game fish, which are generally too fast for the snakes to catch). So if you have a pond full of frogs you may have a hard time controlling the snake population. You could contact a local reptile and amphibian organization (usually called herpetological societies) for advice. They may be able to send someone out to catch and relocate at least some of the snakes. But since snakes spend most of their time out of sight, it will be difficult to rid the area of snakes entirely. Better to learn to live with them!

Do you have a story about snake repellents, snake traps or electronic snake repellents you would like to share?

If so, email me at:

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References:

Links to Overcoming Phobias:

Phobias and Overcoming Phobias - Good detailed site explaining cause and treatment of various phobias including fear of snakes

Overcoming Phobias with Progressive Exposure (deals with panic attacks and panic reactions too)

Mayo Clinic - Understanding and overcoming phobias

Dealing With Snakes on Your Property: