The Common Outdoor Feature That's Secretly Inviting Snakes Into Your Yard

Everyone who has a yard may have to deal with various types of wildlife from time to time, but a surprise snake encounter can certainly be an unwelcome event. Despite some of their benefits, not everyone wants to actively attract these reptiles to their yards. You might do your best to take strategic steps to keep rats out of your yard as well as other rodents so that snakes might not be drawn to your outdoor spaces for food. If you think your yard is in the clear, though, take another close look. Any firewood piles you might have in your yard could be inviting snakes. To avoid these becoming havens for such reptiles, you might need to make modifications such as keeping firewood off the ground.

Piles of firewood are popular spots for snakes because these can become places of shelter. Snakes are most likely to hang out in firewood during warm times of the year, as these spots can provide them with cooler sources of shelter compared to rocks and other items that run hot in the summer. Plus, since recently-cut firewood takes several months to dry out before use, this can allow snakes to hide out in these piles undisturbed for quite some time.

The good news is you don't necessarily have to give up on storing firewood in your yard if you're interested in getting rid of snakes. In fact, it's not always possible to remove firewood entirely to prevent snakes. What you can do, however, is to make the firewood less appealing to snakes overall.

First, always store firewood piles elevated off the ground. Doing so can also prevent moisture accumulation that might create the damper conditions snakes prefer. Another critical step is to make sure there are no snakes among the chopped wood before handling it. You can simply gently tap on the firewood pile with a gardening tool to make your presence known, and then step back. More often than not, any snake that might be hiding will take the hint and slither elsewhere. Proceed with caution, and always wear gloves while handling firewood.

It's also helpful to store firewood far away from other structures, such as your home and storage sheds, so these don't become additional places of shelter for the reptiles. Cornel Cooperative Extension recommends storing firewood 30 feet from your home, if possible. You'll also want to manage other possible sources of snake shelters, including certain snake-attracting plants, children's toys, and brush piles.

Of course, snakes aren't the only pest that can be attracted to firewood. Among other notorious critters prone to lurking around these piles of wood include termites, carpenter ants, locust borers, and different types of beetles. Not only can some of these insects damage the wood, but there's the risk of accidentally bringing them inside your home when it's time to build a fire. In addition to checking for snakes ahead of time, it's always a good idea to use any firewood you bring inside your house immediately to help prevent any undetected insects from scattering to other parts of your home.