9 Natural Repellents That May Effectively Deter Garden Snakes

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

While snakes can be beneficial in the environment as a vital part of the food chain, most people would prefer not to run into one while weeding. If you want to keep the reptiles out of your garden, but are hesitant to use chemicals to deter them, we've gathered 10 natural solutions that you can try. These are mostly anecdotal accounts that claim they might work, with little scientific evidence. 

If you want to at least try some of these methods to keep your yard a snake-free zone before moving to more extreme methods, then it's time to grab some concentrated cinnamon oil, vinegar, or ammonia. Another natural repellent involves making your landscape difficult for them to slip through. This means adding sharp lava rock or a prickly cactus to spots they normally like to shade or sun themselves in.

For the best results, you'll want to be proactive. One easy thing to do is trim your grass, and remove anything they could potentially see as a good habitat, like wood piles or debris. For more tips on how to discourage the creatures from sneaking into your yard, keep on reading.

If you want a natural snake repellent in your yard, then try using lava rock in your garden beds. You might assume snakes don't like the sharp edges of this rock, but what they really hate is the fact that the temperature fluctuates too much.  Lava rock can really hold heat during hot days, potentially burning them, and can get extra cold at night when the sun goes down. For best results, you want a fairly wide swath of lava rock, say 2 to 3 feet long. 

Snakes might not care too much for concentrated cinnamon oil. To be fair, warm-blooded animals don't much care for cinnamon, either, since it may be the trick to keeping squirrels off of your bird feeder. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists concentrated cinnamon oil as a deterrent for brown tree snakes specifically. It's the strong smell that many say deters the reptiles. They suggest using oil with a 95% concentration for best results. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also recognizes clove oil officially as a brown tree snake deterrent. Clove oil is another powerful scent that may overwhelm delicate snake noses. You can use it alone, or you can combine it with cinnamon as a decent strategy to try to repel snakes naturally. Just make sure that the oil you use has a 95% concentration. Spray the oil where you've seen snakes or where you think they might enter your garden.

If you want a natural deterrent for snakes, look no further than the prickly cactus. Just looking at it, you can see why a snake might avoid getting too close. The golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) especially can be hard for the reptiles to get around. It grows 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide, so it's no wonder they tend to avoid pathways with this spiky obstacle.

While there's not much scientific proof that the smell of vinegar repels snakes, some do say it works. You can try dousing rags in vinegar and tucking them strategically around your yard. Others say it's best used when sprayed directly on a snake's head... though most prefer just to spray it in garden beds. Know that vinegar will be washed away by the rain over time, so you'll probably need to reapply it every week or so. Just be careful not to spray vinegar directly on plants because it can damage foliage.

Garlic oil, like vinegar, is something people say deters snakes, though there aren't many studies proving it. Garlic has a pungent smell, which reptiles might not like. It's certainly true that in some studies garlic has been shown to be effective in repelling insects. And garlic might even keep rodents away from your birdfeeder. Whether that's also true for snakes is up for debate, but what is known is that garlic oil or crushed garlic cloves can safely be used in the garden, since they're unlikely to hurt plants or animals.

Making a mixture of lime and hot chili peppers may sound like the perfect marinade for your taco dinner, but might encourage snakes to stay away. While again, there might not be scientific evidence proving this, anecdotally, gardeners say this spicy-sour concoction is something reptiles avoid. You can easily try it out for yourself to see and save the rest for your taco marinade.

Snakes and foxes don't typically get along, as the clever mammal is known to hunt a reptile or two. Fox urine might help keep snakes away if sprayed around your property. This might sound gross, but some gardeners swear it works and may even last through a rainfall. Not sure where to get any? Try Predator Pee 100% fox urine to start. Of course, you'll have to buy this remedy, unless you want to try to lure a live fox into your backyard.

While we might love the minty fresh taste or smell of peppermint, snakes might not. Using concentrated peppermint oil might help keep snakes at bay. Try adding lime into the mixture to see if it helps. There might not be a lot of official scientific studies about how well it works, but it can't hurt. The worst that happens is that your garden smells minty fresh.