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Most of the time, garter snakes are what people call garden snakes. These reptiles are not dangerous, but their very mildly poisonous saliva helps them catch and kill their food.
With its tail, the common garter snake is between 22 and 54 inches long. It has yellow lines on a black, brown, or green base. Some garden snakes have designs of different colors, like olive, orange, or red.
Garden snakes live in North America and Central America. Douglas Athon Rossman says that garter snakes are the most popular and successful snakes in North America when it comes to where they live and how many of them there are. From the Maritime Provinces to British Columbia, they can be found in every state in the United States and Canada. They live in Mexico as well.
If you live in one of the places above, you’re probably thinking how to keep garden snakes out of your yard or garden. On a nice summer day, no one wants to hear or see a snake close. We’re here to help you, whether you’re afraid of snakes or just want to avoid running into them.
Before we talk about how to keep garden snakes out of your yard and garden, let’s find out if they are dangerous or poisonous.
Before the 2000s, garden snakes were thought to not have poison. Then it was found that their saliva has a mild neurotoxic venom that can make some people have an anaphylactic reaction. Still, they are not thought to be dangerous to people because their bites don’t have as much poison as those of other poisonous snakes.
Since garter snakes eat animals that are poisonous, it is possible that they are also poisonous. So, their bite isn’t dangerous, but you, your kids, or your pets can get sick if you eat one. Garter snakes are also one of the smelliest snakes. When you pick one up, it stinks right away.
In the wild, garden snakes usually live for 4-5 years. One thing that could help them live longer is that garden snakes can eat dangerous animals like the American toad and the rough-skinned newt and absorb the poison into their bodies. This makes the snakes poisonous to birds and other animals that try to eat them.
In a zoo, they can live for as long as 10 years.
Before you try to keep snakes away from your property, you should make sure that the snake you’re working with is a garden snake. Garter snakes, like ribbon snakes, are a lot like garden snakes.
The main ways that ribbon snakes and garden snakes are different are in their marks, colors, body shape, where they live, and what they eat.
Garden snakes come in many different colors and patterns, and their marks are clearer, while ribbon snakes have fewer colors and patterns. Ribbon snakes aren’t as fat as garden snakes, and their heads aren’t as big.
Both types of snakes live in warm, wet places near water. Ribbon snakes almost always choose to live near or in water. Garden snakes, on the other hand, like to live in woods or grasslands, so if you live in these areas, you’re more likely to see snakes. Because garden snakes live in these places, they eat small mice more often than ribbon snakes, which eat frogs, fish, and water bugs.
Snakes can smell things very well. But goods and plants meant to keep snakes away have never been shown to work. A lot of people think that marketed snake repellents work. Most snake experts, though, say that’s not true. If you don’t want snakes in your yard, get rid of their food and places to hide.
If you’ve seen snakes getting into your yard or garden, you might want to install snake-proof fences. Snake-proof fencing is generally made of vinyl or hardware cloth, and the mesh is small enough that snakes can’t get through it. It needs to be put up in a way that stops snakes from climbing it. If you don’t know what to do, you can always call a professional to help you put up the fence the right way.
Snakes will come to your yard or garden to find water, food, or a place to hide. Garden snakes like to live in grasslands, parks, wooded areas, and fields. They are always close to water sources. If you live in the west of North America, you should know that snakes there are more likely to live in water than snakes in the east.
Small fish, slugs, earthworms, lizards, amphibians, birds, snails, and mice are some of the things that garden snakes eat.
Keep Grass Under Control and Add Plants That Their Prey Doesn’t Like
The best you can do is figure out how “inviting” your yard or garden is to snakes. Shorten the grass. This will let snakes be eaten by animals like hawks. You’ll also be able to find them more easily.
If you water the grass too much, frogs, worms, and snakes will come to live there. Some of the bugs that garter snakes eat can be scared away by plants like marigolds, wormwood, or lemongrass. You can also plant some around the house to help.
Check the outside of your house and your yard or garden for cracks, holes, or places where people could hide. Snakes can easily hide in wood piles around the house, so you should get rid of them. Bird feeders can also be dangerous because they attract mice and rats, which in turn bring snakes looking for food.
If you see a garden snake in your yard or garden, what should you do?
Garter snakes are very cautious. If you see any, don’t try to touch or catch them. It’s better to give the snake some distance. If you don’t, they will feel scared.
People are not in danger from garden snakes. Because of this, it’s important to know how to tell them apart from other poisonous snakes, like rattlesnakes. A bite from a yard snake can hurt and cause swelling, but it’s not as dangerous as a bite from a rattlesnake.
If you are scared, don’t know much about snakes, or don’t know what kind it is, take pictures from a safe distance and call a snake removal expert. Do a neighborhood search to find a few that are close to your home and write down their phone numbers.
If your pet gets a hold of one of these snakes, it will probably drop it right away because it smells and tastes bad. You should be able to get rid of the smell by giving your pet a good mouthwash.
The best way to keep snakes from coming into your home is to take away what they eat. Snakes like to live in places where they can find small animals to eat. If you have snakes in your yard, they are probably there because there is a lot of food for them to eat.
To get rid of snakes, you have to take away what they eat. Getting rid of the mice and other small animals that live in your yard is one way to do this. You can also make your yard less appealing to snakes by getting rid of trash and plants that they can hide in.
One of the most popular ways to get rid of snakes at home, but also one of the least effective, is to use mothballs. Snakes can smell mothballs, but they don’t find them bad enough to stay away. In fact, some snakes might even like the smell of mothballs. Use essential oils instead if you want to keep snakes away from your property in a harmless way.
There are many snake repellents on the market, but not all of them will keep garter snakes away. Some people swear that mothballs or naphthalene balls will keep garter snakes away, but these methods have not been shown to work.
Snake-A-Way is the best snake protection that has been shown to work against garter snakes. The main ingredient in this product is naphthalene, which is a strong snake repellent that works on many different kinds of snakes. Snake-A-Way can be bought as either a powder or a liquid solution.
You may have heard that salt can keep snakes away if you’re looking for a safe way to do so. Some snakes can be scared away by salt, but it’s not a foolproof method and usually only works against certain kinds. Using salt in your yard can also hurt the plants and soil. If you do try this method, make sure you use Epsom salt instead of regular salt.
Another problem with using salt is that it might bring animals like deer, raccoons, and opossums, which could also hurt your garden. If you live in an area with a lot of wildlife, this may not be the best choice for you.
Garter snakes don’t move around much, and they often live their whole lives in the same place. This is one reason why they are such a common problem in parks and yards: once they find a good spot, they don’t move!
Not only can they be annoying, but small children and pets who don’t know how to avoid them can get hurt by them.
Vinegar is often used at home as a cure. Vinegar is acidic and smells bad to garter snakes. Mix equal parts of water and vinegar in a spray bottle. This will keep snakes away. Then, spray it around your garden’s edges. Some people also say that a few drops of essential oil should be added to the mixture.
Soaking rags in vinegar and putting them around your garden is another way to use it. The problem with this method is that you will have to change the rags every few days because they will dry out and stop working.
So, you’ve seen that there are several ways to get rid of garter snakes. You can use snake-repellent grains, liquid fence, or Whemoalus Snake Repellent balls.
You can also keep them out of your home by closing up cracks and holes and keeping your yard clean and free of trash. The best thing to do if you have a garter snake problem is to call a professional pest control company.
They’ll be able to figure out where the snakes are coming from and help you get rid of them for good. Don’t try to handle the problem on your own, because it could be dangerous.
