"Shell91" wrote in
:

What do you do about snakes in the garden? Especially when they could
be one of 4 poisonous kind and at least 1 protected kind?

My problem is the babies get into the house. I'm not sure how they do
it but they show up inside, usually far from any door or window. I
also get geckos and anoles inside but they don't bother me near as
much.

Now I know some will say the usual about them being more afraid of you
that you are of them. Ordinarily I would not care and would just
leave them alone but I have a small dog and a handicapped and ill
mother to be concerned about. We do see moccaisins and copperheads.
Never seen a coral or a rattle snake though. And yes we do have a
ditch behind the back fence which has a creek (sort of) and it's a
flood control area so they stir up both snakes and rats when they
clear it out.

I need advice on discouraging them from coming into the yard at all.

I guess the young ones that you say are coming into your house are either
stupid, cold or hungry. Not much you can do about the stupid, except
maybe hire out your local rent-a-mongoose. Water moccasins and
copperheads are typically found near water, and as you probably guessed
the flood control ditch is probably the source of your problems.

You could try amending the fence in a way to inhibit the migration of
snakes or at least make it more likely for them to be caught by a
predator when making the crossing (example: a border of white paint or
chalk). If the fence is already more or less solid, find out what hole
(s) they are crawling through and stuff it.

- S