Living With Snakes

This brochure is designed to provide landowners and tenants with guidance to help maintain a relatively snake-free homesite. These practical steps address the most frequent conditions in and around homes, in rural settings, that result in snakes being drawn to human dwellings.

Snakes are drawn to homesites to seek:

1. Food (rodents)
2. Shelter (hiding and resting places for snakes and their food)
3. Hibernating sites (foundations, cisterns, dug wells)

The primary way to minimize having snakes around the home is to eliminate these three necessities. This, of course, is not always easily accomplished. Food and shelter are closely tied to one another, so both must be addressed simultaneously to deter snakes.

Food

Rodents are the primary food source that attracts snakes into yards. Rodents are attracted by food and shelter. Bird feeders close to the house supply a ready seed source for mice, chipmunks and ground squirrels, especially if they are kept stocked during the warmer months of the years. Moving bird feeders away from buildings and not feeding during the late spring and summer (when birds have plenty of natural food available) can deter rodents from yards.

For snakes that feed on frogs, like gartersnakes, yard ponds may attract snakes because frogs use the ponds to feed and breed.

Generally speaking, if you provide a ready food supply, wildlife has a way of finding it.

Shelter

All wildlife require shelter from the elements. Most rural landowners are well aware of mice in and around their homes, particularly in the winter. Rodents are attracted to the home for shelter and for the available food in and around the home. Rodents not only supply food for snakes, but they may create, by chewing, access points for snakes into homes. Snakes may initially be attracted to your yard and home by the scent of rodents. A key to keeping snakes away is to eliminate attracting rodents to your house and yard. This is no easy task! It requires that yard landscaping be simplified to eliminate shelter in close proximity to building foundations; removing dense bushes and flower gardens (keeping them out in the open lawn as opposed to up against the house), keeping firewood well away from buildings or indoors, and keeping clutter to an absolute minimum. Rock retaining walls and rock structure used in landscaping offer ready homes for both rodents and snakes. Snap trapping, and the filling of rodent burrows may help reduce the problem. In addition, yard maintenance (moving) must be kept up, and junk piles must be eliminated or at least moved a good distance from the home. Keeping garage doors closed tightly and/or clutter free, particularly on the garage floor, can help reduce rodents numbers significantly.

Another way of eliminating rodents and snakes from yards and homes is by maintaining the condition of you house foundation. Poured concrete or block foundations are seldom a problem leading to rodent and snake problems. Older rock foundations, however, are favorite places for both rodents and snakes. See details below.

Hibernation

Snakes are drawn to homes as hibernating sites when there is access to a basement, crawl space or cistern, through cracks in rock foundations. Hibernating sites are likely found by snakes when seeking food or shelter. Maintaining the mortar in old foundations will usually eliminate the "hibernacula." In some cases, rodent-chewed holes or rotting of the outer floor joists will allow entry between the house ring and the foundation which creates opening for snakes. Patching these holes will eliminate entry. Periodic inspections of the foundation and house ring can help prevent problems in the future. We advise not doing mortar patching until after mid-May, which allows time for the snakes to naturally disperse from their hibernating site after emerging in spring. If you close up the openings earlier in the year, you risk trapping the snakes in the home.

General Deterrents

Walls can be erected to discourage snakes from enclosed areas, provided they are high enough and maintained to prevent entry through gates or by passing under the structure. Snake walls should be solid, four feet high and have a four inch lip at the top that projects away from the area you are trying to protect.

Gates must be fitted tightly, sitting tightly against the side walls and the ground (no more than 1/8" clearance). Please keep in mind that there is truly no 100% snake proof fence. This design should keep most snakes out of the areas however.

Several products that claim to be snake repellents are on the market. Though fashionably marketed and high priced, there is currently NO SNAKE REPELLENT known to be effective. Be skeptical.

About Snakes

Wisconsin is home to 22 kinds of snakes. Two of these are poisonous, but also very rare. The massasauga rattlesnake (swamp rattler) is nearly gone after being listed as an endangered species in 1975. The timber rattlesnake was listed as a protected wild animal in 1998 due to its declining numbers.

Snakes, like all other wildlife, are extremely valuable in nature as both predator and prey, consuming rodents, amphibians and insects and providing food for a variety of birds and mammals.

Fear of snakes has lead to their persecution. Today, many species are facing an uncertain future. Before you kill a snake, please remember that they are not here on earth by accident. If you have a problem with snakes in and around your home, please follow the guidance above. You may also call the DNR in Madison at 1-888-74SNAKE.