Eggxactly What To-Do Before Easter

Lower the Odds of a Snake in Your Yard

Nick Massimo, MS - 2023

Tip #1: Regular landscape maintenance, keep your lawn short

Performing regular landscaping is one of the best ways a property owner can supervise the wildlife on their property. We want to start with this common household chore for two main reasons. First, after a long winter, there’s often some neglected yardwork that needs to be done. Second, neglecting this task can have unintended consequences. Grass should always be kept short. Allowing grass or weeds to grow tall provides a great microhabitat for snakes to find food and cover. A dripping hose may be an excellent source of water in the hot summer, especially a desert like Phoenix, Arizona. Regular landscaping can also prevent the buildup of large debris piles, and clutter. By monitoring your property regularly, you have a better understanding of what resources are available for wildlife.

Tip #2: Trim your bushes, shrubs, hedges, trees, etc.

Why are we bringing this up specifically? It sounds kind of repetitive, but Snake Guru has specific instructions on how to trim your foliage. Large, unkempt shrubs or trees are unappealing to the eye, plus, they’re excellent places for all kinds of critters to gather, not just snakes.

Ideally, vegetation on your property should have at least the bottom six inches of branches and leaves trimmed up from the ground. Depending on the type of vegetation, you may prefer to trim more. If there are any parts of the plant extending out over an area where people gather, like a walkway or yard, trim those back as well. Next, all of the leaf litter that accumulates under the plant should be raked up. As the homeowner, you are trying to increase your line of sight as much as possible. Pruning your vegetation as described accomplishes this, while also transforming a previously safe shelter into a vulnerable place to hide.

Tip #3: Pottery, Furniture, Decorative Pieces, Yard Crap - Pick It Up & Organize It

Humans are continually expanding and fragmenting the landscape. It’s important to think about how, as humans change the landscape, many of the creatures that lived there originally will attempt to fit into the habitat that’s left. Following this line of thinking, it’s important to note, wildlife doesn’t appreciate human made items in the same way as people.

From the viewpoint of a snake, or their prey, the more junk scattered about your property increases the potential number of shelters. In our professional opinion, it’s best to limit the décor around your home. Everything that’s essential should be kept in a clean, organized manner. If something can be raised off the ground, such as a planter or high-top table, consider lifting it up. This allows someone to get a better view from farther away. if an animal is hiding underneath, it should be much easier to see (don’t forget to check on top too). Clutter is successful at attracting snakes. Reduce this, and the chances of an unexpected snake encounter diminish.

Tip #4: Walkways

Can’t decide where to start working? Don’t worry, we have an excellent suggestion. When outside, an average person spends the majority of their time on a pathway or a congregating area. Any area you are confident people use regularly would be a great place to begin.

Once you’ve found the area(s) most used by people, try to find anything that’s either been placed on, or overhanging, the area. Think about the pathway like a tunnel. Anything that forces a person to alter their route, or feel encroached upon, most likely needs to be addressed. If anything is identified, think about how it could be amended to make it less appealing to an animal, while increasing the field of vision for people.

BONUS TIP: NO SNAKE REPELLENTS

Snake Guru, LLC wants to throw this tip in for free, and really emphasize, snake repellents DO NOT work. Please, save your TIME & MONEY. Both are valuable and should be used more wisely. In short, there is very little, if any, evidence to suggest snake repellents consistently work well at warding off ALL VENOMOUS SNAKES. Many concoctions, chemicals and even natural oils are rumored to repel snakes, but numerous peer-reviewed scientific studies have found no evidence to support the folklore.

Instead of holding your breath waiting for a magic potion to work, invest your energy into the tips we provided earlier. These factors are within your control. Will these tips make the Easter eggs a bit easier to find this year? Probably, but with a little work, you can apply what you’ve just learned to keep your family safer this Easter Sunday.

Remember, even if you follow all this advice, you aren’t building an impenetrable fortress around your home. No matter how much you do, there’s always going to be a chance you may have an encounter with a snake (or other wild animals) on your property. If you happen to encounter a snake, remain calm and slowly walk in the opposite direction. If the snake is in an area where safety is concerned, reach out to your state’s game & fish agency or a properly licensed business in your state allowed to work with wildlife. For example, have a rattlesnake in your kitchen? Who you gonna call? Snake Guru!

At Snake Guru, we prioritize the use of educational outreach paired with wildlife conservation to help all animals within our community, we just so happen to specialize in work with reptiles and amphibians.