You can make your yard deeply unattractive to snakes without harming them. Start by starving them out: secure compost, clean up fallen fruit, and move bird feeders to the far edges of your property so spilled seed doesn’t lure rodents – or the snakes that hunt them. Keep grass trimmed, pull weeds, and remove brush piles and stacked lumber where they love to hide and cool off. Then layer in gentle deterrents: plant lemongrass around patios and play areas, mist decks and steps with a homemade citrus-water spray, and run a border of cinnamon and clove oil solution along foundations, sheds, and fence lines.

Next, protect your home itself. Seal cracks in foundations, gaps around doors, and tears in screens so a curious snake can’t follow cool air inside. If you choose mothballs, use them only where kids and pets can’t reach. For stubborn visitors, set humane traps and relocate captured snakes to a wooded area well away from houses, giving them a safer home while you finally relax in yours.