How do I repel or poison garter snakes?

Karen
by Karen

I keep getting small garter snakes showing up in basement. We have tried to fill in all the cracks we can find. Every time my husband mows he kills a couple outside.

  5 answers
  • Patt Patt on Oct 18, 2019

    They will leave your basement when all of the food (rodents) are consumed. Please don’ t kill them just because they are snakes!

  • Lifestyles Homes Lifestyles Homes on Oct 18, 2019

    They’re finding food & nesting spaces on your yard and perhaps your basement.

    Kill the mice with rat bait. Put heavy rocks on their den holes.


    I’d stuff at steel wool bits in every crevice you can find on your entire house, with a pencil. You can set off Raid Fumigator cartridges in the basement, but you’ll need to prep the whole house for “bombing” and leave for 4 hours.




  • They are garter snakes. I used to make crowns and necklaces with them when I was a little kid. They are harmless, pick them up and take them outside. As others have suggested, there must be a food sources for them on your property. Most exterminators provide free inspections, they can point out all points of entry and heed their advice for plugging up all the holes. They will inspect the property and show you where they might be living and have a nest. And how to get rid of it.


    Without going into a long drawn out lengthy story, I am always the odd one and prefer not to use poison unless absolutely necessary. When you use poison and kill a rat or mouse, they die, then some other animal eats that dead poisoned animal, then they get sick and die. Here in CA they have tracking collars on mountain lions that live in urban areas. Recently 2 were found deceased. Autopsy results found they ate animals killed with poison. Maybe I am a bit over the top about this, but certainly something to consider.

  • Oliva Oliva on Oct 19, 2019

    The snakes are most likely seeking rodents, attracted by pet/bird food or animal feces in your yard. Cut down all taller vegetation and remove vines and leaf litter, stone piles, stacked logs, etc.

    Spray your yard with a combination of diluted lemon scented dish detergent, eucalyptus oil, and clove oil. The scent should deter animals which could be using your yard as a bathroom. The dish detergent will loosen ground tension and kill any sub-surface critters attracting the snakes.