topic Advice for keeping snakes out of house in Home

Advice for keeping snakes out of house

bosmamaa — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 18:56:36 GMT

For the last several years I have had probably a total of 5 snakes in my basement and 1 in my kitchen. I need advice please!! I am already stressing for spring, as I am absolutely terrified of them!!!! I live in a area where they are very prevalent. I know they are harmless (gardener snakes) but I can't handle them, especially in house! My question is have any of you had this problem and what did you do? I know it doesn't take much for them to get in. What sort of thing do I look for? TIA!

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

riley1 — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:01:16 GMT

I live in an area that has lots of snakes too. If they are in your basement, there is an opening somewhere. They can get in the smallest space. If you cannot find the space and close it up, can you call an exterminator and have him check the basement?

I've had them in my garage and on my patio. I'm always careful to make sure the doors are closed. Good Luck

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

BalletBabe — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:04:30 GMT

@bosmamaa wrote:
For the last several years I have had probably a total of 5 snakes in my basement and 1 in my kitchen. I need advice please!! I am already stressing for spring, as I am absolutely terrified of them!!!! I live in a area where they are very prevalent. I know they are harmless (gardener snakes) but I can't handle them, especially in house! My question is have any of you had this problem and what did you do? I know it doesn't take much for them to get in. What sort of thing do I look for? TIA!

They hate Mothballs.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

bosmamaa — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:09:13 GMT

I put them outside and one yr put some down basement and my poor son couldn't even sleep down there, what was I thinking? HAHA

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

SurferWife — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:10:48 GMT

Divorce? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

151949 — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:19:38 GMT

When our neighbor in Pittsburgh was having an issue with snakes it was found to be because she had mice. Snakes eat mice and go for the food source. Personally, I would pay an exterminator to handle this problem. They placed a lot of mouse traps and they found and sealed up the holes where both the mice and the snakes were getting in.They also advised her to keep decon out in the basement in high up places to keep the mice at bay in the future.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

colliegirls — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:21:20 GMT

@BalletBabe wrote:
@bosmamaa wrote:
For the last several years I have had probably a total of 5 snakes in my basement and 1 in my kitchen. I need advice please!! I am already stressing for spring, as I am absolutely terrified of them!!!! I live in a area where they are very prevalent. I know they are harmless (gardener snakes) but I can't handle them, especially in house! My question is have any of you had this problem and what did you do? I know it doesn't take much for them to get in. What sort of thing do I look for? TIA!
They hate Mothballs.

Who doesn't??? I would not want that smell in my house no matter what was coming inside!

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

SilleeMee — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:22:13 GMT

Snakes don't like cinnamon and clove. Try making a spray using some essential oils. Recipes are easy to find.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

151949 — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:28:03 GMT

Not all snakes are bad. We were having a real problem with geckos , everywhere and getting into the house. Then a black rat snake (harmless) moved into our yard and once I got used to him slithering around in the flower beds - he put a real hurting on the number of geckos around our house. He never bothers us , stays outside and stays off the lanai. We named him Ash , because he's black. The geckos are no longer such a problem, and except for occasionally startling us, Ash is not a problem at all. The man who comes to control the bugs said if we can live with the snake he is the best bet ever to control mice and geckos.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

pattypeep — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:37:06 GMT

@bosmamaa Do you have a pet? Cats or dogs will at least catch them if you can deal with the aftermath. I actually am fascinated with snakes and my dad used to love to tell anyone who would listen that I often had a gardener snake in my pocket.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

Keeper of the koi — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 21:53:42 GMT

msI have 2, 10,000 fish ponds and about 7 aceres of woods and grape vinyards. so, you can imagine the snake problems we HAD.My husband also employs stone masons so we have lots of stone walls .Snakes love them.Our problems were not garter snakes but poisonous copperheads and northern rattlesnakes.When i found a copperhead ,a bigggggg one , in my kitchen on the backsplash. I knew i would move or find a solution . .After lots of research i found a product called liquid fencing.It is pricy about 100 a gallon but is concentrated and reeks of rotten eggs. the smell leaves in a day.best of all nontoxic for my fish and pets. The website tells how to apply.i use a pesticide spraypump ,the back pack kind to apply. it needs to be applied around foundations in garages in cracks on stone wall crevices,etc. early spring and fall . Spring spraying makes them leave fall spray prevents hibernation in these sreas it will take several cycles but we went from hundreds to maybe 3 a summer.well worth it..Maryanne

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

hoosieroriginal — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:41:03 GMT

Did anyone see that kid that opened the toilet recently and found a poisonous snake in the toilet bowl? And then they called exterminators and found a nest of like 23 of them under the house! I would be moving really quickly - they are probably all over that house.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

bosmamaa — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:43:29 GMT

Twopeas- yes I have dogs but keep basement door shut and they are actually big chickens!!

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

Perkup — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:52:16 GMT

@151949 wrote:
Not all snakes are bad. We were having a real problem with geckos , everywhere and getting into the house. Then a black rat snake (harmless) moved into our yard and once I got used to him slithering around in the flower beds - he put a real hurting on the number of geckos around our house. He never bothers us , stays outside and stays off the lanai. We named him Ash , because he's black. The geckos are no longer such a problem, and except for occasionally startling us, Ash is not a problem at all. The man who comes to control the bugs said if we can live with the snake he is the best bet ever to control mice and geckos.

True, not all snakes are bad. We have a black rat snake also. He's been here for years, and causes absolutely no trouble. Glad you accept him and his/her work in your yard. We also had a beautiful spotted king snake who lived in our greenhouse for years, and kept the carpenter bees down to a reasonable level. Seems he passed away during Katrina, or just left the area.

We live in S.E. Louisiana by the river and swamps. Snakes are a 24/7 issue here, and many are copperheads and water moccasins. We've had both in our garage, and once in the kitchen. Very dangerous, especially if you have a wood pile, where copperheads love to hide. We do put moth balls out around the front entry (far enough away from the door to avoid an odor. Also around the back patios. We use cayene pepper, as well as boric acid and cinnamon/nutmet. Helps not only with snakes, but also with armadillos. The best piece of advice we've had came from an exterminator, who told us to be sure we kept all doors and windows (and screens) tightly closed. It's easy to go outside - for just a minute - and the snake crawls in the momentarily open door.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

DiAnne — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:59:19 GMT

Move!!

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

JeanLouiseFinch — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 20:27:11 GMT

Definitely call an exterminator and also take care of sealing up any entry points.

I would never want to mess around with snakes, even the non-poisonous kind. Years ago, we were moved in to our newly built house before we got the landscaping in, I discovered a very large bull snake sunning himself in my backyard. I shewed him away once but he came back. Because I had small children who liked to play out there, I didn't give him another chance. I got a spade and chopped his head off, but then left everything there for DH to dispose of later.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

Quse — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 20:30:44 GMT

If no access to a flamethrower, definitely an exterminator...preferably one recommended by others with the same issue

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

RedTop — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 22:32:23 GMT

@bosmamaa,

FYI: Garter snakes usually stay close to the area where they are born, so it's very likely all the snakes you've seen could actually be from the same litter. Garter snakes are born alive and ready to go, and the female can give birth to as many as 40 babies.

We actually decided to get rid of our side deck, because of a garter snake infestation. We spent one entire summer killing garter snakes; they were out sunning on the deck all day long, and we had to be careful opening the door to go in or out or one would slither inside. I killed 8 in one day, which is when we knew we had a problem. We lost count of how many we killed, but that was the only year we had major problems with them.

I would have an exterminator check the house for entry points; be sure to check around your dryer vent. Put the mothballs heavy around the outside of your house; use glue traps inside the basement. There are ultrasonic devices you plug into outlets that keep bats, rats, mice, and snakes away.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

Starpolisher — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 22:48:40 GMT

I have rarely ever even seen a snake! I'm sorry for those of you who are having this problem but please post where it is all of you live(I know some did). I never want to live or even visit there!

Here in NJ, where I live, snakes are not a problem.

Re: Advice for keeping snakes out of house

bosmamaa — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 23:17:05 GMT

I wish I could move to NJ!!