West Texas, New Mexico And Arizona Peeps Rejoice – Snake Repellant IS A Thing

Most of Texas, even El Paso, gets cold enough for snakes to hibernate. While they snooze, gather these things to make sure they avoid your house next spring.

Texas has only 4 snake species that are venomous - rattlesnakes, coral snakes, copperheads and water moccasins. El Paso, fortunately, is only home to one of them. Rattlesnakes may well be the most ill tempered one of the group but, hey, 1 beats 4.

The other species aren't deadly, (some couldn't bite hard enough to even break the skin), but you still don't want slithering roommates. Here's how to keep 'em away.

There are a lot of myths about how to keep snakes away and most of them are a load of snake poop. Horsehair ropes for example ...

Keep Roadrunners In The Yard

Sure, roadrunners do eat snakes, even rattlers. IF they see them, IF they're hungry and IF you can keep the proper ratio of wild roadrunners to snakes balanced, 24/7.

There are other myths and/or impractical methods for keeping snakes away but these have been scientifically tested and proven to work. Some are also all natural so you don't have to worry about pets or kids getting into them.

What Snake Repellants Actually Work?

Snakes are way sensitive to odor which plays to our advantage. According to Greenwood Nursery, you can spray ammonia and/or sprinkle Epsom salt or cedarwood chips around your foundation or property perimeter.

You can also blend garlic with water and spray it all over. Pouring white vinegar around ponds, pools and outdoor areas works too. PETA recommends mixing lime with hot pepper, garlic or onions.

Cinnamon oil, peppermint oil and clove oil, aka eugenol, can also help keep them away and there are some solar powered repellants that use sound and vibration to snake-proof areas.