How to Get Rid of a Rattlesnake
This page is an expert guide on getting rid of a Rattlesnake from your yard using the products and methods suggested by our experienced pest control specialists. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and you will eliminate the threat of Rattlesnake activity around your yard.
Snakes of any kind finding themselves on your property is alarming but encountering a Rattlesnake can be downright frightening. Rattlesnakes are a dangerous snake species and quite an unfriendly intruder to run into. If one happens to come close to you to strike, not only can the Rattlesnake bite be painful, it can also be life-threatening.
there has been an increase in Rattlesnakes moving in toward buildings and structures due to seasonal conditions being conducive to Rattlesnake being on the move to forage for meals. Normally, if a Rattlesnake is discovered on your property, it is advised to contact animal control to handle the situation. However, there are things that you can do to protect your home against a Rattlesnake intrusion
Before you can carry out a treatment approach, you need to be sure you are dealing with a Rattlesnake and not some other animal. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong treatment methods, which may end up being a waste of your time and money
Below, we will cover what Rattlesnakes look like so you can properly identify them:
Rattlesnakes are reptiles that are found throughout North and South America and are a distinctive species of snake.
They have large thick bodies ranging from one to eight feet long and unique features like their scaled skin which comes in various colors and patterns. These scales look like a series of diamonds or hexagons overlapping one another. Most of the time, Rattlesnakes are colored with subtle earth tones which help to camouflage the snake.
Rattlesnakes have a triangular head, a forked tongue and fangs which can inject poisonous venom.
The most unique trait of the Rattlesnake is how it got its name which is the rattle at the end of their tail. Rattlesnake uses this rattle, which consists of interlocked segments or rings of keratin, to warn enemies.
How Do I Get Rid of Snakes
There are many types of snakes, some are poisonous and dangerous while others are quite harmless. Most people do not want to see snakes in or around their home and they want to know more about how to prevent or deter snakes from entering their yard and being near their home
How Can I Prevent Snakes In My Home? How Do I Protect My Home From Snakes?
Seal up cracks in your home and add weather stripping to fill in gaps around doors and windows
How Can I Prevent Snakes In My Yard?
Keep your grass cut short with regular mowing and remove any bushes or shrubs that are close to your home
If you store wood in a pile this can be a really good hiding place for snakes. Be careful when you remove wood from a pile because if there is a poisonous or aggressive snake it can be startled and strike.
Keep your wood pile several inches above the ground if possible.
Keep compost in a sealed container so as to not attract rodents which in turn will attract snakes
What Are Some Home Remedies For Snake Problems?
Install a “perch pole” where predatory birds can sit and grab a snake if they see one in your yard;
Patch holes in your house foundation if you have any;
Get rid of pests such as mice that can be an attractant to snakes as a food source;
Add mesh hardware cloth around your home to prevent snakes from getting close to your home.
Add hog fuel or other rough landscaping materials to your garden.
Snakes don’t like to move through this type of material as it can hurt them.
Plant marigolds around your home, they tend to deter snakes.
How Can I Get Rid Of Snakes?
Get rid of snakes. has many effective snake repellents and deterrents. Take a look at our selection of products which can help to deal with your snake issues once and for all
Guide to a Snake Free House
this would not be a crisis. But, then again, we are not often considered normal. Getting a snake out of a house and keeping a snake from enetering a house are two very different situations. We’ll first discuss keeping the snakes out. Snakes enter houses in a variety of ways but there are three entry points that we often encounter on snake removal calls. The first is laundry rooms, the second is under kitchen sinks and the other most common entry point is right through your front door.
Your Laundry Room – Clothes driers have large exhaust hoses that attach to the rear of the appliance and lead through the wall to the outside where the hot air is expelled. Over time, these exhaust hoses can become worn and develop cracks. As a mouse approaches your house from the outside and finds the exhaust vent it can easily make entry into the hose
The mouse then walks through the crack in the hose and onto the floor of your laundry room. If there is no crack, the mouse can quickly and easly chew a hole. As we discussed in “Guide To A Snake Free Yard”, snakes follow scent trails of food sources and most snakes love mice. Check your drier exhaust hose to make sure it’s intact. Also, examine the exhaust vent on the exterior of the house. Insure that the vent is secure and has a cover that does not allow pests to gain access.
Your Kitchen Sink – If your house is on a concrete slab then this may not apply to you. If you have a crawl space then pay attention! When your house was constructed, holes were put in the floor or the wall underneath your kitchen and bathroom sink. Once the holes are made, the plumbing pipes are inserted. If the hole is not properly sealed around the pipe then guess what can get inside! If the pipes were properly sealed when the house was built, make sure it is still in good shape and hasn’t been chewed away by a rodent attempting to gain entry.
Your Front Door – Snakes are excellent at picking locks and crawling right in through the key hole. (I wonder how many people will actually believe this:) Actually, snakes can easily crawl under doors. The good news is, you can easily prevent it! During daylight hours while standing inside your house, shut your entry door and look to see if daylight is visible underneath. If you can see daylight peeking in then so can a snake. Simply replace the weather stripping underneath the door. Any local hardware store can help you correct any of the above problems.
How To Remove Snakes From Your Property
While most snakes do not pose a threat to humans, there are venomous species that can do serious harm if they bite you. Whether venomous or not though, your first thought when you spot a snake in your yard is likely “how do I get rid of it?” Snake control is a serious matter that should be approached with the utmost caution.
HOW TO GET RID OF SNAKES
Snakes tend to be wary creatures and try to avoid exposure, though they do sometimes warm their cold-blooded bodies on rocks and other surfaces that heat up on sunny days. You are most likely to come across a snake in uncultivated areas of your yard and around shelters, such as piles of firewood, rocks, or brush. Most will move away as quickly as possible when they see you – even the venomous types prefer to escape rather than attack. Still, the safest choice is for you to get away from any snake rather than confront it.
Remove Attractants
The primary reason snakes make their home in your yard is because they’ve found easy access to prey. Because rodents are a prime food source for many snakes, often the presence of snakes correlates with the presence of mice and rats. By keeping your home rodent-free, you have a better chance of keeping snakes out. Use traps and repellents to eliminate rodents before they entice snakes to come to dinner. Also, be sure to clean up birdseed, pet food, and other food attractants.
Eliminate Outdoor Shelter
Snakes need undisturbed places to hide. Snakes generally like cool, damp, dark areas where they can find food. They are often attracted to stacked firewood, old lumber piles, junk piles, flower beds with heavy mulch, gardens, unkempt basements, shrubbery growing against foundations, attics, stream banks, and unmowed lawns. Mow areas where grass and weeds grow tall and clean up piles of debris around your yard. Snakes also make use of burrows dug by other animals, so fill any you find with soil or stones.
Make Your Home Inaccessible
Snakes will even enter your home if they can find a way in, and nobody wants that! Keep these slithering creatures out by blocking off all possible entryways. Keep in mind that snakes can slip through gaps and cracks 1/4″ wide. Repair any holes in your foundation, siding, or roof that could allow them to enter. Install screens with small mesh on your chimney and any other openings that cannot be completely sealed off. Also be sure to eliminate gaps under doors that lead into your house.
Snakes
Snakes are misunderstood animals that serve as an important component of many types of ecosystems. All snakes are reptiles. Reptiles are ectothermic, which means they obtain body heat from their surroundings (also called cold-blooded). They bask in the sun to warm and seek shade to cool. They tend to be more active during the day in spring and fall, and more active early morning and evening during the heat of summer.
Snake physical characteristics:
Lack limbs
Covered in scales
Have no moveable eyelids
Elongated body with specialized scales on the belly (scutes)
No external ear openings, but can hear some sounds through vibrations of bones in the jaw
Snake behavioral characteristics:
Snakes flick their tongue in order to “taste” the air and ground. Particles picked up by the tongue are processed through an organ in the roof of their mouth called the Jacobson’s organ.
Air temperature is the main factor in snake activity. They control their body temperature by basking in the sun.
Snakes hibernate from late fall through early spring.
Reproduction
Snakes mate in the spring after they emerge from hibernation or in late-summer before returning to hibernation. Snakes can produce offspring in three ways:
Oviparous – egg laying. Young receive nutrients only from a yolk sac.
Viviparous – females gives birth to live young. Young receive nutrients solely, or in part, from the mother.
Ovoviviparous – females give birth to live young. Embryos receive nutrients only from a yolk sac.
In both viviparous and ovoviviparous species, the eggs lack a true shell. Instead, the young develop within a sac-like membrane inside the mother. Young of oviparous species have a leathery, flexible shell. Females will lay eggs in leaf litter, rotten logs and mulch piles, or underground.