How to Eliminate Garter Snakes on Your Property
Due to their positive and negative effects on your yard and property, it is up to you to decide whether you want to eliminate garter snakes that live in it. You may want them gone from your area because of the potential harm they can cause your dogs.
Sometimes, you cannot control the natural curiosity and inquisitiveness of dogs, and there is always the possibility that they will encounter a garter snake that can cause unwanted consequences.
There are many safe and humane ways to rid your property of these snakes. We recommend that you do not harm them or kill them.
Instead, you can discourage them from making your property their home by removing the elements in it that they need for their food, shelter, and survival.
Once you remove the things they need, they will naturally avoid your area or just visit it infrequently.
The best method is prevention.
Even before there are any snakes in your garden and yard, you can begin taking steps to discourage future infestation.
With what you now know about their habits, you can start removing the things that attract them. You can employ trapping and deterrent measures.
And finally, if nothing else works, you can call a professional snake removal expert.
Thankfully, these common snakes don’t present much of a threat to us. Even small children, dogs, and cats are safe from them, as garter snakes’ bites and venom are too weak. The worst that could happen is the bite Most times, the bite would cause only a small amount of pain and swelling. Though garter snakes are not very dangerous or deadly to them, small animals and young children may experience slightly more severe side effects like nausea and dizziness. If you or a loved one gets bitten by a garter snake, clean the wound thoroughly and treat symptoms as they appear.
If you live in an area where these colubrids are common, you probably want to know how much of a threat they are to you, your family, and perhaps your pets. Are garter snakes poisonous? Dangerous?Let’s take a look at garter snakes and how dangerous–or not–they really are.
Do garter snakes bite? Yes! All snakes, including garter snakes, are capable of biting their prey or biting predators in self-defense. However, the garter snake’s bite is not particularly painful, and it lacks enough venom to present a threat to humans. In addition to this, garter snakes are mostly non-aggressive and typically only bite defensively when they are afraid or injured.
Of the more than 3,000 species of snakes on Earth, around 600 of them are venomous. Fortunately, only a fraction of those species is able to inject enough venom to be deadly to humans. But what about one of the most common snakes in America, the humble garter snake? Are garter snakes poisonous, venomous, or dangerous in any way? Do garter snakes bite?
As a group, garter snakes are some of the most common and widespread snakes in North and Central America. They have round pupils and short, narrow snouts. They also have a wide range of possible colors, such as brown, green, yellow, black, and tan. Most species have two parallel, light-colored stripes running down the length of their bodies.
Inspect your yard and eliminate hiding places
You can eliminate debris, piles, rocks, logs, and other places which snakes can use for hiding.
For rodent burrows, you can discourage snakes from moving in by plugging these holes with soil, gravel, or snake and rodent plug products.
Also take steps to eliminate rodent and insect pests in your home that garter snakes want to eat. Without these prey items, snakes will not have any motivation to seek food in your yard.
Other areas where garter snakes can hide include any dark, damp, and cool places.
These may include areas in your home, such as behind appliances and large cabinets, inside drawers, crawlspaces, literally anywhere they can hide in and squeeze themselves in.
You can probe these areas with a long pole or stick to maintain a safe distance.
Outside your home, snakes can squeeze into gaps, cracks, crevices, and other openings. All openings need to be plugged.
Snakes love to eat mice, rats, voles, fishes, moles, insects, frogs, other small mammals, and birds. A regular pest control program will keep your property relatively free from pests that will attract garter snakes.
Holes, crevices, cracks, and other similar places may be removed to prevent garter snakes from invading the area and living there.
Remove all clutter, debris, piles, heaps, trash, rocks, logs, and similar hiding areas materials.
Aside from giving shade and shelter to snakes, these places also attract their small mammal prey.
If you have the resources and if it is feasible, you may consider installing fences to snake-proof your property.
These can be made from steel mesh, nets, and even plastic sheeting. The fence needs to be well-buried with an outward upper angle and must have a minimum height of three feet.
EVERYTHING you need to know about Garter Snakes!
Of the more than 3,000 species of snakes on Earth, around 600 of them are venomous. Fortunately, only a fraction of those species is able to inject enough venom to be deadly to humans. But what about one of the most common snakes in America, the humble garter snake? Are garter snakes poisonous, venomous, or dangerous in any way? Do garter snakes bite?
If you live in an area where these colubrids are common, you probably want to know how much of a threat they are to you, your family, and perhaps your pets. Are garter snakes poisonous? Dangerous?Let’s take a look at garter snakes and how dangerous–or not–they really are.