Repel Snakes from Your Santa Clarita Home
Spring has hit Santa Clarita and with it comes confusing weather patterns, pollen allergies, bugs, and snakes. If you’re a reptile-lover, snakes can make decent pets…but that doesn’t mean you want them slithering all over your yard!
Snakes are relatively common to SCV since development has displaced them into residential and recreational areas. While most species are harmless to people (and most pets), such as gopher snakes and garter snakes, we do see a lot of rattlesnakes this time of year – and they are very dangerous.
In the last few weeks, the Santa Clarita snake control experts at No Bugs Termite and Pest Control Inc have helped countless families and business owners prevent, catch, and relocate adult and baby rattlesnakes. Our team has also been contacting homeowners to warn them about the possibility of snake encounters on their property.
We wrote this blog to help our neighbors prepare for the season and protect their families. Please be mindful of your surroundings when walking around your property. So far, every snake we have relocated has been near the front door where people store things. If you notice a snake on your property, don’t get close to it. Move your loved ones and pets to somewhere safe and call an expert.
To learn more about the snakes common to this area, check out 6 Common Snakes Found in the Santa Clarita Valley. You should also review How to Stay Safe During Snake Season in Santa Clarita for information about what attracts snakes to your home, how to recognize venomous species, and tips to keep you and your loved ones safe.
Call your local snake control team at No Bugs Termite and Pest Control today to make your snake fencing appointment.
PSA Warning: 2 Things You REALLY Need to Know About Snakes
A popular and potentially deadly misconception is that rattlesnakes immediately produce hissing, buzzing, and ratting noises as a warning signal to potential threats. In truth, and verified by our brave field technicians, rattlesnakes tend to go very still and quiet until they are ready to strike. So always be careful about where you step!
If you encounter a dead snake, do not handle it without professional assistance. A dead snake can still inject venom and may move for several hours after being killed.
With that out of the way, here are our top 4 tips to help keep snakes out of your yard!
4 Critical Tips to Keep Snakes Out of Your Home and Garden
1. Remove Shelter Options
Want to keep snakes out of your yard? Simple: make your yard less appealing to them! Snakes aren’t out to scare you and your family – more often than not, they’re just slithering around looking for food and shelter.
Snakes like to cozy up in places that are safe and warm, including but not limited to:
- Boxes
- Porch decorations
- Wood piles
- Coiled hoses
- Play sets
- Dense brush
- Dog houses
- Leaf piles
- Gopher holes/burrows
- Rocks
You can keep your yard snake-free by:
- Keeping your porch clear
- Removing potential hiding spots
- Filling gopher holes/burrows
- Sealing entry points (cracks, broken screens, etc)
- Trimming hedges
- Mowing your lawn regularly
- Replacing grass with gravel
- Installing snake fencing
Although nonvenomous snakes can bite if they feel threatened, their bites are rarely life-threatening.
2. Eliminate Food Sources
As a rule, snakes find shelter where they can rest, hunt, and breed. If you’re noticing snakes on your property, it could be a sign that you have additional pest problems.
Snakes hunt the following animals and pests:
- Rats
- Mice
- Gophers
- Frogs
- Bats (seriously)
- Slugs
- Worms
- Snails
- Chickens
- Chicken eggs
No Bugs offers many preventative pest control options for birds, bats, gophers, and rodents that can help keep snakes out of your yard. Please feel welcome to contact our expert team to learn how trapping, exclusion, baiting, and abatement can help. We can also inspect your property to identify and mitigate areas of concern.
In the meantime, here are a few helpful DIY tips:
- Keep pet food and bird seed inside.
- Don’t leave pet food in outside bowls.
- Remove birdbaths, bird feeders, and other water sources
- Clean up scattered bird seed that can attract rodents and insects.
- Use metal cans with tight-fitting lids to store animal feed.
3. Try Natural Snake Repellents
What Smells Keep Snakes Away?
When it comes to warding off unwelcome pests, our first instinct is to get rid of them with chemicals or pesticides. But there are DIY and natural snake repellent options available online and in garden stores.
But a quick word of caution: Some chemicals and essential oils used in these mixtures can be harmful not just to snakes, but also to pets, livestock, and children. They are also not a reliable remedy without consistent reapplication. These options require a HUGE amount of product and will need to be applied every 2 weeks to remain effective.
Be sure to read labels carefully and do your own research before resorting to these options, and always use snake repellent as directed.
Possible repellents include, but are not limited to:
- Products with clove and cinnamon oil
- Garlic infused oils
- Fox urine
- Cedar oil or shavings (not pet friendly)
- Vinegar
Now, if you have a green thumb and want the most natural repellents possible, you can pot or plant plant West Indian Lemongrass (repels serpents and mosquitoes) or a succulent called Snake Tongue/Mother-in-Law Tongue. The great news is that succulents thrive in our Mediterranean climate! You might also have success with marigolds and wormwood.
4. Install Snake Fencing
Snake fencing is a popular and effective measure to protect homes and businesses from uninvited, slithering guests. The fencing is designed with tightly woven, unobtrusive mesh-like links to reduce entry points into your yard. It also creates a height barrier to impede climbing opportunities.
A professional and experienced pest control technician can thoroughly inspect your property, note areas of concern, and install fencing with the targeted mindset of protecting you, your family, and your pets. In the last few weeks, the No Bugs team has been installing preventative snake fencing in neighborhoods throughout SCV, so contact us as (661) 294-0206 to schedule your free consultation today!
While there isn’t a 100% guarantee that snake fencing will keep every single snake out, this is a tried-and-true measure that can deter venomous and non-poisonous snakes.
To get more information on snake fencing, please visit our Snake Prevention & Removal service page and our blog, “How Does Snake Fencing Work?”
Protect Your House from Snakes. Call No Bugs Today!
When you think of a pest control company like No Bugs, chances are your mind goes to spray treatments that get rid of ants, mosquitos, aphids, and other pests. But many great pest control companies also offer solutions to help keep snakes out of your yard.
Conveniently located in Santa Clarita, No Bugs Termite and Pest Control, Inc offers snake proofing, yard consultations, and humane snake removal to help you keep snakes out of your yard. We also offer treatments that get rid of other unwelcome guests, such as scorpions, cockroaches, silverfish, stinging insects, fleas, ticks, rats, mice, and more. Call our Santa Clarita snake control experts and protect your home today.
