Do moth balls or Clorox help keep garter snakes away from the house and yard?
By Cindy from Omaha, NE
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I am very very afraid of snakes regardless of what kind and I have a beautiful flowerbed surrounding my home. I used to have many garter snakes hiding in my plants, mating, etc. I put moth balls down in early spring and no more snakes the rest of the summer. It does work.
Mothballs work great for garder snakes in sheds and basements, but they do smell A LOT. When you use mothballs place them in a location where they have an escape route. For basements place the moth balls in the middle first then work out from there over a few weeks towards a wall or corner. In a shed place then in the back so they can get out the door.
I use moth balls and it seems to work something about the taste of moth balls on there tongue.
If you want to get rid of garter snakes, get rid of what attracts them such as mice and other pests. Without the snakes you will have more pests in your yard and possibly your house.
While Garter Snakes are completely harmless and I personally wouldn't worry about them, snakes dislike cedar. If you mulch your garden with cedar chips, it will repel snakes.
Well i had one that lived under cedar shingles.
I have 2 -3 inches of cedar mulch around my flower bed and still have snakes .
I am from the old school of thought that when you had garden (garter) snakes, you did not have mice. I personally prefer the snakes. I do not have either. Snakes love rock gardens, places in the heat yet can be cool.
Moth balls have very dangerous chemicals in them. Please don't use them. They eventually break down into the ground and contaminate it. Garter snakes will do you a lot more favors than moth balls!
We lived in an old farmhouse with a poor foundation. Had garter snakes in my clothes hamper, my laundry room. Later when we added a basement room found them there,too. Nothing scared me more than finding a baby snake in my washer(still alive)flashing his little forked tongue at me while sitting on top of the clean clothes.
Yes I have a snake phobia too, I move into a house that had quit a few snake dens. If I would of known I would not have bought it. It took six months to get ride of some 300 of the little buggers. Here is what you need to know.
It's a waste of time to catch and release. They know where you live and will come back.
You have a great environment they that's why they like/love your place. So make it un friendly. Cut the grass, get ride of wood piles and compost on the ground piles, or rock piles. Make sure you stack every thing off the ground. No rock walls or wood decks. No cracks or wholes around the house, garage. Go to hardware store and get a bucket of premix cement filler or calk. Fill in everything. Mine were coming in where the cable guy didn't seal the hole for the wire. If you have vents around your house replace bent or damage, I took mine off, added screen door mesh to the inside with a calk gun the put it back on and sealed the edges. This was to stop crickets and small things getting under besides a cool and warm place that is desirable. Get rid of their food source and there habitat, that's a good start.
Pheromones, they leave an invisible trail to your house and entryways. So if you don't get rid of this more will come it's a road sign for them. You must wash patios, garages, sidewalk with bleach. Be carful it will kill flowers and grass. I just clean out a small greenhouse I have it took two gallons, just pour and use a stiff brush. Also I bought a large pump sprayer filled it with bleach and went around the house and garage and spray the ground and three ft up the walls, I have a stucco house so it worked well. I also raked the dirt and sprayed that to. Yes I killed 300, if you are up for it, use tree lopers and have a garbage bag ready, I have three kinds of loppers the best was the extended ones, go fast and aim at the back of the head, I can't touch them or catch them.
So the rule, don't freak out get mad and go to war, you will win, if you make your place unliked they will go some where else. I still have dreams about them, but I know that they just represent fear in my life, so I work on that. You will win, it will take some time, and just make sure you clean up and be mindful of creating habitats for them. Btw, I had lots of snake, and I had lots of mice too, so heck with that theory.
Please repost this as much as possible, I really feel for these folks with no real solutions. Mine are well tested, I only get pone poking around a year to see if the coast is clear. So not 100% proof but I'm around 99% proof and sleep well at night and can walk around my house with out fear.
Thank you... Your solutions have been helpful. Think I identified a copperhead yesterday. Big one. Chlorox was on my mind and your other tips have been helpful too....
Appreciatively,
Yancey
It seems if you take them far away from your place that they couldn't and wouldn't find their way back!? We just recently had about 7 Garter snakes in my back yard until my cousin came over and caught at least 5/6 of them and took them at least 20+ mins from here and let them go in the woods!! I haven't seen any come back yet... if they do then they're pretty die hard for their home
I also use those sticky rodent pads in my garage. I put 2-3 together, depending on what size I find at the store, and they work great. I hate snakes and I'm going to kill everyone I can catch. Also, wasp spray works too. Get the kind that shoots 40 feet and soak them down good. It permeates their skin. I chase them all over my yard until they roll up in a ball.
Don't kill snakes! How would you like it if a giant came up to you and killed you, even though you would only attack if threatened, and still try to escape first. And snakes will kill and eat insects that harm plants, and small rodents that tunnel through soil, and therefore loosen it. And garters may occupie tunnels, but they won't dig tunnels unless they MUST to stay safe. And you get a free pest control service provided by a SUPER cute lil' garter friend! And the toxins of a garter will max out at some pain, and discomfort, but the bite will probably be worse than the delivered toxins. Snakes are living things that are just trying to survive, and will only bite in self defense, like humans usually only attack in self defense, or if provoked, same with snakes.
My name is Sky. I own Worms R Us. I am a worm farmer. I have thousands of worms and lots of snakes because they like to eat worms. Im a country girl so Im not bothered by it, however I know many people are terrified of snakes. The following is a list of organic things you can do to have the snakes relocate without harming yourself, the environment or the snakes.
1. Put steel wool in, under, around all cracks or crevices then seal, if possible with caulk. The steel wool works well for doors and windows. Use screening and make a door roll. This way it can be removed when coming/going. Also serves as insulation from outside.
2. Use a mixture of one box baking soda to one quart vinegar (any kind works). Pour this mixture around rock gardens, foundations, sheds, ect. Do this when it isnt going to rain for at least three days. This also kills ants,slugs, termites and other insects.
3. Clean up. Remove wood, metal, large piles of grass, unnecessary water sources.
4. This is gross for some people, however this works to deter deer, snakes and rodents. Collect human urine, preferably male, (this is stronger and has different pheromones than femal urine). Morning urine is preferable, again because it has a much stronger consistency and odor. Pour outside around fire wood piles, ponds, ect. Again allow at least three days before rain. Do this several times when the weather becomes warmer after winter.
Hope these suggestions help. Please dont use pesticides or kill snakes. Its just not necessary. Snakes, like everything else, including humans, will relocate if they dont have the proper environment to survive in.
WOW!!
You are being VERY inhumane to those beautiful and helpful animals!
Couldn't you find a way to get rid of them WITHOUT being so CRUEL?
They don't deserve to be TORTURED!
That's cruel!
I came here to find some relief because when I opened my front door this morning to go get my mail, there was a happy go lucky garden snake about a foot away. I gave up the idea of getting my mail, and rushed back into the house terrorized. I started reading the comments here and found myself screaming at some of the disgusting stories of 4 or 10 snakes or snakes on a pile of laundry lol. Agggghhh, I would die! I found myself looking around my place in case one was hidden here too. I don't want them any harm but I hate them, they are disgusting to look at and scare the hell out of me not matter how hard I try to rationalize facts.
Just realized that if I'm too scared to get out of my house to go grocery shopping, I may lose the few pounds I've been struggling with for months. lol. Hum garden snakes may not be that bad after all. :-)
All jokes aside, I hope the one I saw this morning will vanish right away, it is the 3rd one I see in 2 years and I want to keep it that way. It's more than enough for me! Hate them, hate them, hate them.
I found 5 garter snakes in my bathroom yesterday. I'm not sure where they came in or how long they have been there, but how do I get rid of them and could you tell me why they are in my home and how they got into my house. Please and thanks, because me and my 2 sisters are terrified of snakes and bugs and my brother has to like kill everything for us but we didn't kill the snakes he thinks there cute. Anyways my sister got out of the shower and almost died cause there was a snakes on the floor. Then we found four more later that night, please, please help.
I returned all of the rocks I had used around my raised beds to the woods behind my property. What a job! Those rocks were a lot heavier than they were 10 years ago! I'm hoping the elimination of their habitat will discourage the snakes' from returning to my yard. I have no worries about mice and such. My cat will take care of that!
How to use mothballs & Cloris to keep snakes away in my yard?
Moth balls do not deter snakes; they contain naphthalene which is a harmful substance and should not be used near small children or pets.
We have a garter snake infestation where I live, they are in the walls and everywhere outside! We tried tons of mothballs and it didnt deter them one bit they just kept coming! The only method that works is stomping them to death, my stepmom is deathly afraid of snakes and my nephew is autistic and doesnt understand snakes arent to play with so I kill them! I have googled and googled looking for something to kill them or get rid of them but nothing works, not snake away sprinkle stuff, not vinegar, Im about to attempt malethon and bug bombing the house with 20 bombs something has to get them out the walls!!
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