Snake Holes in Your Backyard? Here’s What To Do About It

With spring in full swing, animals big and small are emerging from hibernation after months of conserving energy during the winter. As such, you might be seeing more and more wildlife, like snakes and other critters, around your yard.

One of the telltale signs that you may have snakes in your garden is the sight of snake holes. While some might greet this as a welcome sign because snakes help keep rodent and insect populations down, it might not be so ideal if you aren’t a gardener—or you just don’t care for reptiles.

However, just spotting random holes in the ground doesn’t necessarily mean you have a snake invasion in your yard, either. Ahead, you’ll find out how to identify snake holes, plus the potential reasons why snakes have chosen to take up shop around your yard instead of your neighbor’s, and how to deal with them if they’re unwanted. There are even tips about how to handle the sight of venomous snakes in your garden.

1. What are Snake Holes?
2. How to Identify Snake Holes
3. What to Do About Snake Holes

What are Snake Holes?

Believe it or not, snakes can’t burrow to make their own holes. Rather, they take abandoned holes created by other animals, like chipmunks, voles, turtles, and others. Snakes usually look for holes that are about 0.5 to 3 inches in diameter to perfectly fit inside.

The main reasons why snakes seek them out is as shelter from the sun, rain, and other weather conditions. Burrowing helps them stay cool during the day or warm at night, and a snake typically picks a yard or garden area to call its own because food and water are nearby. But possible spots for shelter—which may include ready-made rodent holes, dense wood piles, messy compost areas, unfenced garden areas, or even around bird baths—are also part of the appeal.

So, if you’re starting to suspect that a serpent of some kind has wriggled its way onto your property, it’s likely because there is an ample supply of rodents, frogs, birds, and bugs to eat. You might also have a lot of standing water from puddles; snakes thrive in damp areas. In addition, the best way to identify that there’s a snake inside of a hole is if you spot shedded snakeskin, tracks, or snake droppings (which usually is a dark brown or black oblong shape with a white cap-like substance on it) in your yard. 

How to Identify Snake Holes

Outside of calling pest control immediately, the best way to identify that there's a snake inside of a hole is if you spot shed snakeskin around the area. Snake tracks or droppings (usually dark brown or black and in an oblong shape with a white cap-like substance on it) can be another indicator, as where they are within your yard can tell you where the snake was most recently active. Whatever you do, don’t go prying inside the hole, though—you don’t know what is liable to pop its head out (or worse).

One of the easiest ways to deal is to simply leave the hole alone. Most snakes won’t attack unless they’re provoked and could be doing an important service for you as a form of natural pest control if you have a big garden.

But that might not be realistic, either, depending on the kind of snake that might be around your property. You’re most likely only dealing with a common garter or rat snake (both of which are nonvenomous), but in some parts of the U.S., it’s not uncommon to see rattlesnakes, copperheads or cottonmouths, all of which are venomous and thus should be a potential threat to pets or loved ones. If you suspect you might be dealing with a venomous snake, contact a wildlife or pest specialist immediately and proceed with caution. It’s better to have an expert deal with your snake problems than to do it yourself.

What to Do About Snake Holes

If you don’t notice any real activity around the hole (and think it's a nonvenomous snake) and you’re not content to just leave it alone, you could always try to fill it up with dirt. Be sure to wear gloves and protective clothing if you plan to work around the area for safety purposes. You could also use chicken wire, burlap, or some kind of netting to block movement around the hole or place a heavy rock over the top of it. While some experts maintain that this is only a temporary remedy (and will just drive snakes to find another possible hole in the area), it could provide peace of mind for some homeowners.

Practicing better home maintenance is another way to guard against the threat of a possible snake infestation. You can make your yard seem like less of a dream destination for snakes by just making sure the lawn is mowed regularly and debris—like piles of wood, leaves, and compost—is promptly cleaned up.

Certain decorative lawn pieces, including bird baths and hollowed-out logs, could potentially attract snakes as well, so you may want to think twice before you add things to your outdoor spaces. Installing proper drainage systems in moisture-ridden areas around your lawn may help, too. No matter what you do, spring cleaning this season could be an easy way to restore your yard to its pre-winter glory and make it less of a hotspot for snakes.

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