Keep Your Yard Or Garden A Snake-Free Zone With One Manageable Tip

Snakes lurking in your yard might just be one of the worst jump scares in the garden. Who needs a scary movie if you've got these reptiles slithering through your backyard? There's an easy way to keep snakes at bay: keep your grass trimmed and don't let it get overgrown. If you want to avoid attracting snakes to your yard this fall, then keep your mower handy.

Snakes love long grass for a few reasons. One, it keeps them concealed from other predators. Snakes find themselves on the menu for a lot of fierce hunters, including predatory birds, bobcats, and even other snakes. Out of sight can be out of mind, so tall grass is a snake's best friend. Snakes also hunt in the tall grass, where their favorite prey, such as mice or voles, hang out. Looking at tall grass, they see an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Grass can also help keep them cool, especially during hot afternoons. As reptiles, snakes can't regulate their own body temperature, so they have to seek shady cool spots during the heat of the day. It's why snakes also happen to be partial to hostas, a popular garden plant that snakes love to hide in. They take advantage of the cool shade there. They also hide out in dense shrubs anywhere in the yard. So, it's also a good idea to keep garden borders neat and tidy. Think about keeping a clearing between the leaves and the ground when it comes to shrubs and trees.

When trying to deter snakes, it's best to keep the grass about 2 inches tall. If you go much shorter, then you risk hurting the grass itself, but if left any taller, the snakes will be able to hide from predators. You'll also want to keep shrubs and bushes lining your yard trimmed as well to help keep snakes out of flower beds. It's also a good idea to clean away any debris that could find its way to your yard, like fallen branches or piles of leaves — anything that can act as a snake hangout. Think twice about keeping piles of firewood near your home so snakes don't make their favorite hiding spot next to your back door.  

The general idea is that you want to make them feel uncomfortable and exposed. Keeping grass trimmed also means you can see snakes easily and remove them yourself if needed. Snakes also love wetlands and humidity, so overgrown grass that has standing water will draw them in like an all-inclusive resort. Make sure that you fix leaky garden hoses or outdoor faucets, too, so you don't provide snakes a cool drink.

It's worth noting that snakes can be an important part of your garden ecosystem. They prey on the very pests that eat fruit and vegetables from your garden, such as slugs or grasshoppers, so you might not want to scare all of them off. The vast majority of snakes in the U.S. aren't venomous, either.