In general, repellents and deterrents are no good for keeping wild critters at bay, particularly snakes. It has been said that snakes are not the biggest fan of very strong smells or hits to their senses, which is definitely what lime, and other citrus fruits, as well as sulphur would bring. Sulfur is an ingredient found in many commercially-sold snake repelling products, but because of the bad smell, can actually repel people and pets just as much as it can snakes. In fact, although some people have had great success with using strong-scented snake repelling items, such as sulfur, their effectiveness is hotly debated. It’s not an approach that we would recommend you take.

As well as being potentially dangerous to other animals and pets, sulphur could actually stop the job you’re trying to finish – getting the snake out. If you put down strong-scented products that DO work to repel the snake, it could actually block their exit, preventing them from actually leaving at all.

There are a number of reported plants that are meant to repel snakes, but we just warn you that you cannot guarantee they will do the job. There isn’t a snake repellent that works all the time or at least some of the time, in some cases. Plants that keep snakes out should be taken with a pinch of salt, and definitely not relied upon as your method of approach for keeping your family and your home safe and free from intruders, particularly the wild kind.

What you must bear in mind with snakes is that they don’t actually cause you any real damage. They eat a few insects, perhaps a few mice and rats too, but they aren’t usually attributed to vast amounts of damage. This is why relying on a more natural approach is a good one, if you can make that the case, or calling in a professional wildlife rehabilitation expert to remove the snake for you. Even in cases where the snake isn’t a venomous one, although the reptile won’t cause any damage, it can still inflict injuries to pets and humans alike.

Although very few (if any) plants have actually been shown to effectively keep snakes at bay, marigolds have had some success according to home and property owners. The good thing about marigolds is that they don’t just occasionally repel snakes, but the scent is also said to keep mosquitoes at bay.

Aside from this and strong-scented flowers, there are no snake –proof plants that you can turn to repel snakes from your garden. If the snake is already in your garden, there’s a good chance that you could actually trap the critter in.