any recipes for homemade safe..effective... rattlesnake repellent?

[samnsara]

I live in the mtns and we have Pacific Rattlers everywhere. Three of my 4* dogs get Red Rock rattlesnake vaccinations every year. However I still don't want the rattlesnakes in my yard. I have been using various snake repellents...'Snake Away' apparently isn't making the liquid any more? The liquid is fast and easy as I can quickly walk the parameter of the fenced yard and spray as I go. But my overnight sprinklers require a reapplication every day

* I have inherited a small rescue that needs his rattlesnake shot but he's too (fear) bitey to take to the vet..esp now with us unable to accompany the dog into the bldg.

I have some of the granules but I just now went thru a 12$ bag of granules and didn't even get to the fenced kennel yet. I have read about the various home made remedies...most contain essential oils and/or garlic,onion,salt etc. Some essential oils I know are toxic to pets.

Sooooo my big question is: has anyone successfully made a pet/human safe homemade snake repellent? I don't want to start ordering large quantities of these oils etc until I know if they do or don't work. My yard is too rocky for a snake fence and that would just trap them In the yard as well.

tia..

[soothsayer]

1. Found these preventative measures

Rodent control – rattlesnakes eat rodents, so having rodents coming and going from your property will bring them in.

Eliminate cool and moist areas, like the leaky hose or patch of lawn that nobody really uses.

Clean up dog poop. This can attract rodents and the rattlesnakes that look for them.

Rattlesnake Fencing to physically keep them out.

Keep a generally tidy yard, and eliminate any opportunity for a snake to hide.

[samnsara]

14. yep i do all this..i live in the forest..

..i do toss the dog poo over the fence so maybe it will keep them in that side!

[Chainfire]

2. I had a large population of Diamondbacks in my yard

until I started feeding four feral cats that showed up on my doorstep. The cats stayed, the snakes left.

[samnsara]

15. my 3 cats circled on one...they all just sat there and it rattled at them...silly cats

[in2herbs]

3. We have tons of rattlesnakes in AZ. The best I can do is keep the bunny and squirrel

and pack rat populations reduced so that they don't entice snakes. I have noticed a larger number of roadrunners on the property this summer. They eat snakes, bunnies, squirrels, pack rats, birds, etc.. If you have them, too, perhaps feeding them a specific food to keep them on property?? Also I had all of the bushes and trees trimmed to about 3 feet above ground level so that I can see snakes and they have fewer places to hide.

Two weeks ago a rattler bit one of the horses. You could easily see three sets of bite marks but because it was on the lower leg below fetlocks the pain/trauma was minimal.

BTW: Yesterday I watched a quail attack one of the road runners. The quail was ruthless and chased off the road runner, but I notice he was back at dinnertime.

[bmbmd]

4. Big Country Snake Removal

is an outfit in Abilene, Texas that specializes in desnaking houses in a humane fashion. They have an amazing Facebook page and YouTube channel. You can learn a lot about snakes from watching their videos.

[hlthe2b]

5. THe consensus has long been that none of them work and many are highly toxic.

The suggestions re: making your home/yard/property rodent UNFRIENDLY are good ones.

I used to get a big bullsnake in my garden which didn't really bother me more than the fact I appreciate the wild rabbits that nest under my and my neighbor's houses and didn't want them to become prey. But lest you buy into the premise that bullsnakes routinely kill rattlesnakes, they really don't. And why would they when rodents are so much easier "meals."

Good luck. Those I know who live in the nearby foothills have taken to placing a hoe in several prominent areas of the yard for "snake control."


As to your dogs, the rattlesnake vaccine can buy you time to seek care and reduce the chance of death. But, I'd also suggest you pair that with snake aversion training. All my dogs and my friends' dogs go through this training usually after a year of age from a group that comes up from om Texas and trains with both large bullsnakes and "milked" western diamondback rattlesnakes. They run hundreds of dogs (both hunting dogs and pets destined for hiking trails or homes that abut snake territory. I can attest to how effective it has been. You can check with large sporting goods stores or hunting clubs in your area who will undoubtedly be able to refer you.

Here's a link to the group I use:

http://www.coloradogundog.org/snake-avoidance.html


From my last training session:

[Kali]

6. bull snakes, king snakes, keep rodents and small animals away from areas you don't want snakes

even those things won't work if there are resting places that are attractive to them. there is no chemical repellent that will work, save yourself time and money.

voice command training for the dog. if dog won't come to you over ANY distraction, better to keep on leash or in snake-proof fenced area (good luck accomplishing that)

[Bayard]

7. In the beginning,

When I first moved to my farm in CA, up in the mountains, we saw plenty of rattlers. I would generally pick them up with a rake, put them in a bucket with a lid, and relocate them. Two of them we had to kill (with a shovel). One insisted he was going to have the little blind barn cat as a meal. The other one killed one of my rescue mini-dachshunds. The next day, he got stuck in the yard fence, couldn't go forward, couldn't back up. Presumably after a big pack rat meal (always a problem). I felt no mercy for that guy. That's when we started vaccinating everyone for rattlers. For whatever reason, we stopped seeing them, at least in the yard, for the last few years there.

I wouldn't want to be applying some deterrent every day either. I vote for snake proof fencing installed half way up your other fence. You may have to trench the bottom in a little to keep them from slithering under.

This from the web:
Make a fence by burying 1/4-inch mesh wire screening 6 inches underground and building it up 30 inches, instructed NCSU. "It should slant outward at a 30-degree angle from bottom to top. ... "If you already have a wooden fence and the boards are very close together, a good solution is to snake-proof the bottom." A one time investment.

Or this:

Rattlesnake trying (and failing) to get through a rattlesnake fence

The screen holes have to be small enough that the little guys can't get through. They're actually more deadly than the big ones because they don't have much control over the amount of venom they inject.

[in2herbs]

8. My friend has snake fencing. But have you seen the videos of rattlesnakes climbing

up the Saguaros? They can climb stairs, too. I know cuz they get on my back patio and the only way they can do that is to climb the stairs.

Our local Ace Hdwe store has a snake grabber contraption. I have two of the 96" size and keep them handy along with a bucket and lid so I can relocate them.

[Bayard]

9. Dang

They must really want something on the other side.

[samnsara]

16. i had one sunning itself on my lawn chair...

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. There's a rattlesnake vaccine????

Had not known of this. We have very big rattlesnakes and copperheads down here.
Lost one cat to a rattler, and always worried when I took the dog out for a walk.

Does rattlesnake vaccine only work with that type of snake???

[in2herbs]

12. There's a lot of vets who are not recommending the vaccine. I'd do my research and talk to others.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Was just surprised it was even a thing.

Until the universe tells me otherwise, we are dog-less now, but will keep your suggestions handy if that changes.

[womanofthehills]

19. Research I do says it's not recommended

My neighbor’s dog was bitten by a rattler on my property. Her dog had 2 rattler vaccinations. The dog got really sick really fast and needed 2 vials of anti-venom. People mistakenly think that their dog is protected. An actual toxin is injected into your dogs body.

[samnsara]

17. oh yes there is a rattle snake vaccine... I learned of this about 1999.. I was

watching The Animal Channel. Its called Red Rock. Initially it was only available in California because its species specific. Im in Washington State. I called my vet who was also a Golden Retriever owner and he called his buddy vet in California and then they met in Oregon and my vet got enough of the (illicit) vaccine for his dogs and mine. I was the first one on the state to get it for my dogs. The vet gave them the shot then we observed them in the office for an hour. Then he gave his dogs the shot. The initial dose is 2 shots a month apart then an annual shot. The highest efficacy is the first 6 months of the vaccine so I get my dogs vaccinated in May. The shots can be given at home so now we just buy the vaccine and give them ourselves.

Now I see that vaccine advertised every where. Check with your vet to see of it protects from snakes in your area. Years ago we had one big male Golden that came into the house with blood on his face..he had dispatched a snake and the blood wasnt his! It gives the protection of several vials of antivenin. The shots are only about 50$ each...but antivenin can run thousands of $$$$$ ( hubby is a pharmacist and used to provide the vets with outdated antivenin to be given to dogs for FREE...the vials would run 8000$ each!)

[keithbvadu2]

11. Bad snake

https://i.imgur.com/juiXDzo.mp4

https://i.imgur.com/vQviH4M.mp4

.

[samnsara]

18. I found a recipe!

...actually I had it all along. I just read the ingredients (all essential oils) on the back of the bottle but it was all printed in grams and stuff so it was like reading Greek. I handed it to hubby and said 'If I wanted to make 32 ounces of the spray how do I do it?' ( he used to mix chemo as a hospital pharmacist). so here it is (after he translated it for me):

1/4 tsp clove oil
1/4 tsp cinnamon oil
1/4 tsp peppermint oil

mix into 32 ounces (minus 3/4 tsp) water.


This is what 'Snake Defense' is made of..what I pay 12$ a bottle for! It must be reapplied after every rain or lawn sprinkle. Which means I have to walk the parameter of the fenced yard...and the fenced dog kennel every morning.

I have observed this work as I had a snake guarding my car once so I sprayed a bit of the spray close to (not on) the snake and I watched it change course pretty quickly.


Dont get me wrong. I LIKE snakes and I have never feared them..I used to have Boa Constrictors. But I have a healthy respect for rattlers.