How To Keep Snakes Away From Bird Feeders

Seeing snakes near your nesting boxes or bird feeders might be your greatest nightmare.

Especially during summer, snakes love going out from hibernation to look for food.

And because they are carnivorous, they are attracted to anything meat, including your pet birds and the worms they eat.

In this article, discover how to keep your bird feeders safe and protected from snakes. And we’ll also give you additional tips to avoid when setting up your nesting box.

What Can You Do To Keep Snakes Out?

Creativity is the game’s name if you want to defeat these poisonous snakes.

We know they can be aggressive when hungry, so you must be able to set up everything properly before they go out to hunt for food.

1. Change the Feeder’s Location

You must know that the feeder’s location is essential when setting it up.

Placing it on a fence or below a tree can be very inviting to such predators, including snakes. It would be best if you think wisely before installing bird feeders in your front yard or garden.

We recommend mounting the feeders by a pole in a nicely trimmed lawn and landscape. It’s even better if it’s away from trees and bushes.

This makes it challenging for snakes to reach the bird feeder and snatch your birds’ food. Why? Remember that the lawn is mowed and clean, so it’s an open space where snakes can crawl and attract their predators.

For a more successful installation, you can also place hardware cloth or a sheet of plastic-coated mesh made of wire underneath the bird feeder. This can also deter snakes and keep them at bay.

2. Use Kingston Stove Pipe

If you think our next recommendation is named after the famous Ron Kingston, you’ve guessed it right.

Ron Kingston was the famous expert who designed this pipe to keep snakes away. Kingston stove pipes and cylindrical baffles are mounted around the pole supporting your bird feeder.

Snakes don’t like this material because a wire mesh is tightly sealed around its end, while the bottom part can swing freely because it’s open.

These reptiles cannot navigate properly because of the different diameters of the larger stove pipe and the mounting pole.

And because the bottom part swings freely, snakes find it hard to stick to the surface when it tries to navigate through the stove pipe.

The wire mesh on the other end has its benefits too. It ensures no snakes can climb further up.

3. Utilize a Noel Guard

Noel Guards have always been successful in keeping cats and raccoons away. But it’s a double kill if you can also use them to discourage snakes from crawling near the bird feeders.

This material is a rectangular wire mesh made with several half-inch openings. You can use the wire mesh to mount around your bird feeder, especially around its entrance hole.

However, Noel Guards are more successful against large snakes than smaller breeds. Tiny snakes can still manage to enter through the wire mesh.

4. Remember To Regularly Clean Your Bird Feeders

Cleaning your bird feeders not only helps keep the snakes out but also serves as a protective way to keep your bluebird boxes safe from other pests.

You should also maintain the area around the bird feeder clean and dust-free.

If you are mounting the nesting box in your lawn or garden, make it a point to regularly cut tall grasses and keep your plants clean and green.

When there are no tall grasses, snakes will have a harder time finding a hiding spot where the predators won’t see them, even at night.

5. Use Natural Snake Repellent

Repellents can work wonders, regardless of the animal you try to get rid of. But you must know what substances to look for when making your own.

Not all oils or condiments effective against a wide range of pests can work on snakes. These reptiles are more aggressive and stronger, so your natural repellent should also be extra intense.

Taking advantage of the snakes’ keen sense of smell when making your homemade repellent is important. They hate essential oils, especially rosemary, peppermint, clove, etc. They are also not fans of garlic and cinnamon.

Acquire those oils and mix them to create an intense-smelling natural repellent.

Once you have your mixture, spray inside and around the bird feeders. Most pests also dislike the oils infused in the repellent.

What Must You Avoid?

If you want to be smart to get rid of snakes, it’s also important you know what to avoid.

These hacks may be effective against other pests and insects, but you won’t successfully deter reptiles like snakes from your bird feeders:

1. Don’t use mothballs. Even though they contain toxic substances against ants, flies, and roaches, they won’t keep snakes away.
2. You might see most snake repellents claiming sulfur is an effective substance, but it’s not. Don’t be fooled.
3. Golf balls or ceramic eggs can harm snakes, but they are not the best solution.

We know it can be frightening to see snakes nearing your property, but you should always learn the best ways to keep them away.

Let Birds Eat Peacefully in Bird Feeders

Bird feeders are attractive for experimental people who love observing birds eat and nest inside. But they can also be potential places where pests and critters can nest.

Bigger predators like snakes can also find the food they need in bird feeders, so you must always be responsible for taking care of the nesting box.

Snakes are attracted to bird feeders, so you must be creative in keeping them away.

We hope you learned a thing or two from this guide!