If you’ve got snakes in your garden then I don’t need to tell you that it’s not the snakes themselves that are the biggest problem, but the constant worry that you might be about to encounter one. Only a quarter of native snake species in the USA are venomous and most – like garter snakes and corn snakes – are helpful garden visitors, eating rodents as well as slugs and bugs. But even if you’re happy to tolerate them as part of a healthy garden ecosystem, it’s smart to set some boundaries and deter snakes from yard areas you regularly use.

October is the very best time of the year to make your yard inhospitable to snakes, if you don’t fancy your garden becoming their permanent winter home. As fall temperatures drop to around 60°F, reptiles will start scouting out a frost-free space to brumate (like hibernating, but not as deep), so now is the time to take action. By making these areas scarce in your garden, snakes will likely move out of your yard to find somewhere to stay. Snakes are also exceptionally hungry in October as they need to store body fat to survive months of winter brumation, so removing food sources will also drive them out of your garden.

And if you need any more motivation to keep snakes out of your garden this month, know that they frequently breed in the exact same space they brumate. A typical female produces 10-30 babies, so if you don’t want a heap more slithering around your garden next summer, here’s your 8-step plan that explains how to deter snakes this fall.

1. Identify Likely Hiding Spots

Snakes like cool, damp, dark and undisturbed areas so take a look around your garden to identify probable hiding spots. If you’ve got a large yard and like to share your yard with wildlife, then by all means leave shelter in unused corners. However, in areas of the garden you frequent, clear yard clutter, trim vegetation and bag up fallen leaves. If you have a firewood stack or compost pile, consider moving them further away from the house.

When you’re clearing an area that may already be providing cover for snakes, always use tools rather than your hands. Don’t think that even leather gauntlet gardening gloves will protect you, either, as the single layer of fabric is easily pierced by a snake fang. Gloves are a smart move, but you’ll need animal-handling gloves such as these from Amazon for any worthwhile protection.

2. Keep Grass Mown Short

Snakes hate spending time in open spaces where they’re visible from the sky and could become easy prey. Especially in October when snakes are highly mobile, keep all grass mown to a length of 3 inches or less and you’ll strongly deter snakes from slithering across it. Be sure to trim transitional zones too, where a mower can’t reach, as these can become favored travelling routes for snakes. A pair of shears with a 90° blade action such as these lightweight Hand Grass Shears from Walmart make short work of trimming lawn edges, or use cordless clippers like this Rechargeable Grass and Hedge Trimmer, also from Walmart.

3. Raise Shrub Height by Pruning Lower Branches

Dense shrubs provide welcome cover for snakes but it’s an easy task to trim off lower branches to expose the ground and make them less inviting. You can also prune a shrub into the shape of a small tree. Use a pair of pruners – and do sharpen them first with a tool such as a Sharpal, available from Amazon, as cuts made with sharp blades heal much quicker – to cut unwanted branches flush with the main trunk. For bigger branches, a pruning saw like Fiskar’s Power Tooth Pruning Saw, available from The Home Depot, is a better bet.

4. Mulch With Fine Compost Not Bark or Straw

We often mulch our garden beds in fall but a cosy, damp layer of pine straw or chunky bark chips offers snakes the ideal spot to regulate their body temperature. Use fine compost to mulch beds and borders instead, which snakes will find far less appealing. If you make your own compost then a rotary sifter such as the Mikiotto Soil Sifter, available from Lowe’s, makes short work of sieving the larger chunks out. Otherwise use a pre-made manure-free compost such as Back to the Roots Organic Compost, stocked at Walmart, as a mulch.

5. Eliminate Easy Food

Bird feeders are a prime reason why snakes hang around in gardens. While they don’t eat the dropped seed itself, the reptiles are drawn to the plentiful supply of mice, voles and insects it attracts. And how many of us resume feeding garden birds in fall, just as snakes reach peak appetite?

Getting rid of this easy food source is a key part of the plan to keep snakes out of a garden. The solution is to switch to a waste-free bird food such as Kaytee No Mess Wild Bird Seed, available from Amazon. Hook a seed catcher like this hanging tray from Walmart to the base of hanging bird feeders too, to catch any discarded seed husks.

6. Seal Gaps

Fix any gaps that give snake access to a shed, summerhouse or your home. If you need a temporary closure then steel wool is the best way to create a sturdy, weatherproof but non-permanent barrier and bulk packs are available cheaply, such as this steel wool from Amazon. In October, snakes are highly mobile and need the heat of the sun to be mobile, so you’re far more likely to block them out of a hole than seal them in. Do your repairs in the middle of the day when the sun is at its warmest and you can be confident a snake is out basking, hunting or scouting for winter digs.

7. Use Essential Oils as a Deterrent

There are plenty of urban myths that promise mothballs, crushed eggshells and even marigolds deter snakes, but extensive research has proven otherwise. What a study by the USDA National Wildlife Research Centre does show to be an effective snake deterrent is essential oils that are rich in eugenol, namely cinnamon and clove. The research found that this compound irritates the snake’s scent receptor in its mouth and triggers its escape response. So if you're wondering how to keep snakes out of gaps that can't or shouldn't be blocked, here's your solution.

Add 15-20 drops of pure clove oil and the same of pure cinnamon oil to a quart of water in a spray bottle. Add a teaspoon of dish soap to help the oil bind with the water and shake well to mix. Spray this blend around ground vents, woodpiles and decking or porch voids, or anywhere else that gives access to a dark space that can’t be blocked.

Outdoors, oil disperses quickly so reapply after heavy rain or every 2-3 weeks. Once temperatures fall consistently below 50°F, it’s safe to stop as snakes will be holed up in their winter dens.

8. Encourage Natural Predators

Snakes are terrified of birds of prey, and one of the easiest ways to deter snakes is to attract owls into your garden. Whether you DIY an owl box or opt for a ready-made design like the Aoibox Large Owl House from Lowe's, October is a prime time to invite owls into your yard as they're actively looking for nesting sites between September and March.