Many people like to keep sandboxes out in their yards for the kids to play in. This is a tried-and-true place where kids can build sandcastles and just have a good time.
You probably have fond childhood memories of playing in sandboxes yourself. It seems nice to be able to pass things such as this down to your own kids by ensuring that they have a nice sandbox of their own.
This is why it’s going to be horrifying if you walk outside one day and see a snake in the sandbox. Any parent is going to be incredibly concerned about the potential for kids to get harmed by snakes once they know that there are some in the area.
What can you do to keep snakes out of sandboxes so that your kids can play there safely? Read on to get all of the information so that you can decide which steps to take.
Remove the Snake
Removing the snake is the first thing that you’ll need to do to try to get things back to normal. There are a few ways that you can go about doing this, and some of them might make you uncomfortable depending on how you feel about snakes.
You could attempt to remove the snake yourself by capturing it, but you’ll need the right equipment. It’ll be necessary to have snake-handling gloves that can’t be pierced by snakes if they try to bite you.
You’ll also need a snake hook or snake tongs that you can use to grab the snakes. The idea is that you grab the snake with the hook or tongs and then carry it to another location.
The best thing to do is to place the snake in some type of vessel where it won’t be able to harm you. You could have a small bucket that you can quickly close the lid on once the snake is inside.
Of course, doing this yourself is going to be somewhat dangerous no matter what. The level of danger really depends on the type of snake that you’re dealing with, and many people have no clue what differentiates common garden snakes from more dangerous ones.
Set up Snake Traps
Snake traps can be set up in the yard to try to trap any snakes that might be around. These traps are fairly simple, but they’re effective at catching local snakes so that you can relocate them.
For the most part, snake traps are designed to kill snakes but there are some humane options you can look into. If you don’t care whether the snakes live or die, then buying the standard traps that will kill the snake should be fine.
When snakes pass over the traps, they’ll spring and kill the snake. It’s a pretty simple type of trap that people have been using for decades, and it does work pretty well to eliminate snakes.
Of course, you won’t be placing traps near your child’s sandbox or other areas where your kids play. Some people choose to place snake traps on the perimeter of the yard near wooded areas, but it still might not be wise to use traps when you have kids who play in the yard.
Call Professionals
Calling professionals to remove the snake is going to be the safe way to do things. It’ll cost you a bit more money, but you won’t need to put yourself in harm’s way.
These exterminators or pest control professionals will have no issues getting the snake out of your yard. They can come out to trap it and you’ll never see it again.
It’s also easy to ask professionals such as this to check your property for signs of other snakes. They might be able to help you get rid of multiple snakes and can suggest prevention methods that will make your life easier.
Overall, this is going to be worth the money for most people who aren’t familiar with handling snakes. If you’re somewhat afraid of snakes, then you should definitely call the professionals to get the snake out of your child’s sandbox.
Preventing the Snakes From Getting in the Sandbox
One of the best things that you can do to protect your kids is to try to prevent the snakes from getting in the sandbox to begin with. Many sandboxes that you buy from stores will come with lids that can cover the sandbox.
If your sandbox has a tight lid that you can close, then a snake shouldn’t be able to get in the sandbox when you’re not around. This is a pretty standard thing that you’ll want to look into to protect the sandbox from local snakes.
Many people use sandboxes without lids because they just build their own using wood and sand that they purchased from local stores. You can build a lid if you’re handy enough, but you’ll need to ensure that there aren’t any gaps where snakes might be able to squeeze in despite your best efforts.
1 – Control the Local Rodent Population
Controlling the local rodent population will go a long way toward keeping snakes out of your yard. Snakes generally come into people’s yards looking for food and shelter.
If you can limit the number of rodents in the yard, then the snakes won’t have food to eat. Rodents are attracted to areas that have food for them to eat as well, and this means that you need to keep pet food secured and tucked away.
You should also pick your yard up and remove things such as fallen berries and fruit that might attract certain types of rodents to the area. If you keep your grass cut low, then there will be fewer places for snakes or rodents to hide as well.
Picking up your yard can be useful when you eliminate brush and wood piles as well. Snakes will hide in fallen tree limbs, random piles of rocks, and all sorts of other debris that might be in a yard.
Get rid of the rodents while giving snakes fewer places to hide so that you can solve your problem. It might take a bit of effort, but it’s worth it to protect your kid’s sandbox.
2 – Ultrasonic Repellent Devices
Did you know that you can use ultrasonic repellent devices to keep snakes away from your yard? This is a type of device that plays sounds at ultrasonic frequencies that only animals can hear.
The noises being made by these devices will scare snakes away and keep them from wanting to get too close to the area. Many of these products can protect large areas, and you can place one right by the sandbox.
If you place a high-quality ultrasonic repellent device near the sandbox, then snakes shouldn’t get within 2000 feet of the sandbox. Many people have said that this works really well, and the devices aren’t incredibly expensive either.
They use a simple stake design so that you can just stake the ultrasonic repellent device into the ground wherever it is needed. You don’t even have to worry about batteries because these devices are solar-powered for your convenience.
3 – Use Other Snake Repellents
You can try to use other types of snake repellents as well to keep snakes away from your yard. There are many things that snakes don’t seem to like that will work effectively.
Many people like to mix up clove and cinnamon oil in a spray bottle to make a repellent spray. You can spray the sandbox and the area around the sandbox to try to keep snakes at bay.
Another repellent option that works nicely is garlic. Both garlic and onions are capable of repelling snakes, and it’s so easy to get these ingredients that it might be one of your most practical options.
Consider mixing onions and garlic with rock salt that you can sprinkle around your yard. There might be a bit of an odor that you’ll have to deal with, but it’s much better than having to worry about snakes in your kid’s sandbox.
Ammonia works wonders too, and you can spray ammonia in areas of your yard that you want to keep snakes out of. People also use vinegar to try to keep snakes out of bodies of water by pouring it around the perimeter.
Predator urine will scare snakes away from areas too, and you can buy products that contain it. Fox urine would be a good option for scaring snakes away from a yard.
As you can tell, there are a large number of different options when you wish to repel snakes. You can use a few of these in tandem if you’d like to try to keep snakes from ever entering your child’s sandbox again.
Final Thoughts
Don’t fret when you find a snake in your kid’s sandbox. There are things that you can do to keep snakes away, and it’ll be possible to remove the snake safely.
With so many different repellent options available to you, it shouldn’t be too hard to keep snakes away from that part of your yard. It’s wise to cover the sandbox when it isn’t in use just to be safe, but the repellents do work very nicely.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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