Snakes live in many lands and climates. Sometimes, you can also find them in your backyard. These animals are mostly harmless to humans, but sometimes they can harm us. If you come across a snake, do not engage with it, even if you think it is not dangerous. This article will explain how to deal with this animal and keep it away. Stay with us.
Stay safe from snake bites.
1. Pay attention to your surroundings.
If there is a possibility that you will encounter a snake, be fully aware of your surroundings. The color of many snakes, like the rattlesnake, is such that they camouflage themselves in the environment. Therefore, if hiking or nature tourism, you should pay attention to the surroundings and places where snakes are more likely. It is better to watch your steps and move in harmony with others.
- When walking in nature, walk on the marked path as much as possible. If you don’t go out of the way, the chance of encountering a snake will decrease.
- Avoid picking up stones or sticks when moving on the walking path because you might scare the snake under it and try to attack you.
- If you have to lean on something like a tree or a rock while hiking, be careful where you put your hands.
- Avoid moving through tall grass. Snakes mostly hide in such places.
- Snakes like to hide under logs and rocks, so be careful when walking near such areas.
- It would help if you were more cautious when rock climbing. One of the places where snakes hide is between rocks. Before you put your hand on the next rock, take a good look around.
2. Keep calm
Attention to your surroundings will help you avoid snakes, but this is only sometimes possible. If you encounter a snake, there are several things you can do to keep yourself safe:
- Try not to panic. Keeping calm will help you make the right decisions and keep you safe.
- Do not flick toward the snake. Just stay calm and don’t try to scare this animal.
Remember that the snake was not looking for you and probably just wanted to find a place to warm itself.
3. Get away from the snakes
One of the most effective ways to avoid snakes is to avoid dealing with them. If you encounter this animal on your way, run away. If you can’t turn around and go the other way, give the snake enough space to get away from you. Remember that most snakes do not like to be around humans at all. That’s why you rarely see them.
- If you see a snake in your yard or garden, stay away from it. The snake will probably run away when it sees you.
- Sometimes, you may encounter an angry snake or a snake stuck in a corner. In such cases, please avoid this animal and not try to catch it. Just move in the opposite direction and out.
- Call the fire department if a snake has entered your home (125). Do not try to trap the snake yourself.
4. Make noise to drive snakes away
Making loud noises helps drive snakes away. Snakes do not have ears, but they are susceptible to vibrations. A lot of noise probably causes the snake to run away to a quieter place.
- Raise your voice. You can say, “Go away, snake!” Or scream.
- Stamp your feet firmly on the ground. You can also mix two pieces of wood.
- If you encounter a snake in your yard or garden, you can turn on the lawnmower to make a sound.
5. Go on a nature trip at the right time.
Snakes are cold-blooded; they regulate their body temperature differently from humans. They need to be exposed to the sun to warm up and stay away from it to cool down. For this reason, these animals are more active in warmer weather conditions. If you are afraid of encountering snakes while hiking in nature, choose autumn or winter for nature tourism when the weather is cooler.
Methods of keeping snakes away: Stay safe
1. Make your yard or garden quiet
Snakes are predators that hide in the bushes because they like to attack their prey from dark and hidden places. So, snakes find the best place to hide when the environment is full of different things.
Stacked leaves, haystacks, stacked logs, mulch of wood chips, and grass clippings are good snake hiding places. So keep such things from your home. For example, instead of wood mulch, use crushed stone so that snakes cannot easily hide between them.
2. Do not cut plants
Some bushes and plants are great places for snakes to hide. Cutting grass is an excellent way to prevent snakes from roaming your yard. Closely planted shrubs and plants in your garden attract snakes.
If you are concerned about snakes, remove these plants from your garden or space them out more. If you want to keep these plants, plant them in the farthest part of your yard and away from your house.
3. Eliminate potential snake food sources
Snakes are only seen around your home when there is something to eat. Depending on the snake species, its food may be giant insects such as beetles and grasshoppers or small mammals such as mice. Try to set traps or use materials produced to keep pests away so that snakes stay away from your environment.
4. Cover the holes
If you’ve noticed snakes in your yard and want to keep them out, the best thing you can do is fill the gaps around your house with a garage or netting. Carefully inspect these areas and cover the spot immediately, regardless of the hole size. Even holes as small as a dime are large enough for some snakes to pass through.
5. Install a particular net to prevent snakes from entering
The effectiveness of snake netting may depend on the type of snake that lives in your area. Of course, special nets in the market prevent the entry of many types of snakes.
- There may be better decisions to install a net in your entire yard. Instead, you can do it in areas your children and pets frequent.
- You should install similar snake barriers off the ground around your property’s buildings. Doing this will prevent snakes from hiding under the construction.
6. Make a vibration
If you’ve noticed snakes in your yard or garden in the past and think they may still be present, turn on your lawnmower before starting work. There is no need to operate the device because you do not want to kill the snake and just decide to scare it. These devices’ vibration is usually enough to scare or drive away many snakes, especially the common garter snake.
Note that you can’t keep snakes away forever with this method, but if you have to work in the garden, they will keep far enough away from you that they won’t bother you.
7. Lay a trap
Suppose you think a snake is around your home, or you’re worried it might be hiding somewhere before you can get rid of it. In that case, you can place a mechanical or tape trap in your basement or garage. Do not use sticky traps outdoors, as they may trap animals other than snakes.
Conclusion
Although most snakes we encounter are not dangerous, many of us still prefer to stay away from these animals. Our first instinct is to run away, but many snakes help control pest populations.
These animals may enter house yards or gardens to find shelter and food. They look for a place to rest, breed, and hunt and are primarily found in tall grasses, unpruned thickets, or near ponds. The first thing you should do to be safe from the bite of this animal is to pay attention to your surroundings. You should also keep calm and walk away from it.
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