Problem Solving

Do Bird Feeders Attract Snakes?

Not the feeder, and not the birds on it. The snake is hunting the mice and rats that live on spilled seed. Five university extension services agree on that, and on how to break the chain without giving up feeding.

Not directly. A snake is not drawn by the seed, and almost never by the birds. It comes for the mice and rats living on the spill under the feeder, and the cover where they shelter. Mississippi State's extension guide tells you to put pet and bird food "in secure closed containers to discourage rodents and the snakes that feed on them."

So the question is not how to repel a snake, but whether your feeder is feeding rodents. If it is, the snake is a symptom, and the treatment is in rodents under bird feeders.

The chain: seed, rodents, snakes#

The link runs in three steps. Utah State's Terry Messmer gives the first two: "Birds are messy eaters and often leave seed scattered below the feeder. Seed on the ground attracts rodents, which may also attract snakes seeking a meal." Illinois Extension says it in one line: "Birdseed attracts rodent pests, which in turn draw in snakes."

The third step is cover. Mississippi State: "Any structure or vegetation that provides a home for small rodents (mice and rats) is attractive to the snakes that prey on them." Florida's guide shows the chain in reverse: rat snakes turn up in attics, garages and sheds "when rodents are present, but leave when rodents are exterminated." That is why the extension advice reads like a rodent checklist. It is one.

What five extension services say#

None of these five guides is about bird feeding, which is why nobody has put their feeder advice side by side.

Every guide that addresses them agrees: close the seed container, skip the repellents, and use 1/4 inch mesh. The fence matters least to feeder owners; Colorado State prescribes it for "rattlesnake-infested areas," around a backyard or play area.

Why the feeder gets the blame#

"Bird feeders attract snakes" keeps circulating because the visible half is true: the snake turns up under the feeder. Drop the rodent in the middle and the claim points at the wrong fix. Two of the five guides never mention the feeder; all five deal with rodents, cover and openings.

The other reason is that some snakes do eat birds. Colorado State: "Most snakes prey predominantly on rodents, although some also eat bird eggs, nestlings, lizards, and insects." Eggs and nestlings are in nests, not on feeders.

The rare exception is a climber. Illinois Extension's Chris Enroth describes a five-foot black snake that kept "climbing up to our hummingbird feeder" until a sharp stream from the hose persuaded it to stop. A feeder on a branch or porch rail is an easy climb for a rat snake; one on a smooth, baffled pole in open ground is not. Sizing is in baffles: types, sizing and placement, and the open-ground siting in where to hang a bird feeder.

The summer pause: who says it, and what it is for#

This is where the guides split. Florida says not to feed "in late spring and summer, when birds have plenty of food sources, as you may be feeding rodents as well." Illinois says to remove seed feeders in spring and summer because "Birdseed attracts rodent pests." Utah State says "consider not feeding." Mississippi State and Colorado State stop at storage and cover.

The reasons given make the pause a rodent measure, not a claim that seed draws snakes on its own. So:

• You need it if you already see rodent sign under the feeder, droppings, runs or burrows, or if you have seen a snake near the feeding area. The six to twelve week pause in rodents under bird feeders is the same tool.
• You can probably skip it if the spill is under control: a catch tray, hull-free seed and a weekly sweep leave little for a rodent. Sunflower hearts drop no hulls. The routine is in seed mess, hulls and dead grass, with trays in ground feeders and catch trays.

The pause costs birds little, since wild food is plentiful in those months; see do birds become dependent on feeders. A nectar feeder drops no seed and can stay up.

Brush piles: cover for birds, cover for snakes#

Our brush pile guide recommends a pile within a short dash of the feeder, about 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m), and at least 30 feet (9 m) from the house. Colorado State says to "remove brush and rock piles"; Illinois, to remove or relocate them.

Florida's guide reconciles them: "You should not completely remove brush piles and vegetation from your yard because these can provide habitat for wildlife, but should keep brush piles well away from buildings and areas where children play." The towhees and juncos share it with mice, and with whatever eats mice. The answer is placement, not removal:

• Far from the house, at least the 30 feet our guide already gives, and away from where children play.
• Out of the drop zone. Never under or against the feeder, where cover and seed sit together. Keep the spill on a tray so the pile is near birds, not food.
• Short grass between the pile and the house. Utah State says snakes are less likely to live in or move through short grass, which exposes them to owls and hawks.
• Firewood on a rack, at least 12 inches off the ground, per Mississippi State.

In rattlesnake country, or with a rodent problem already, Colorado State's harder line is the safer one.

Nest boxes: where snakes do hunt birds#

NestWatch, Cornell's nest monitoring program, calls snakes "a common nest predator for birds," and shows a box whose predator guard "was circumvented by a Western Ratsnake."

The first defense is what the box sits on. NestWatch: "Trees, wooden fence posts, and fence posts intended for wire fences won't stop most predators," while galvanized or PVC pipe is slippery. Add a baffle below the box, as set out in nest boxes: sizing and siting.

If a box must stay on a tree, NestWatch points to a 2021 study in Spain (Navalpotro, Mazzoni and Senar) on tit boxes. Clear acetate 1 mm thick and 80 cm (about 31.5 inches) tall, wrapped round the trunk below the box, was "significantly effective": snakes took 20% of unguarded boxes (15 incidents) and 2% of guarded ones (1). Those were European snakes, not North American rat snakes.

The same applies to roost boxes and the bluebird boxes in how to attract bluebirds. No guard is absolute, so check boxes weekly in season.

Repellents, mothballs and glue traps#

Mississippi State's list settles it. Sulfur, lime, moth balls, gourd vines, sisal rope, cayenne pepper spray, artificial skunk scent, a tacky bird repellent, coal tar and creosote, and musk from a king snake were all tested on black rat snakes. "None of these worked." Colorado State adds a commercial 7 percent naphthalene, 28 percent sulfur product that failed on gopher snakes, western rattlesnakes, brown tree snakes and plains garter snakes.

• Mothballs are worse than useless. Utah State points out that using them outdoors violates the product label and puts your family and pets at risk.
• Glue traps outdoors catch non-target animals and kill them slowly, Utah State warns. Near a feeder, that means songbirds.

Do not try to kill the snake. Florida's guide says that killing or trying to kill a snake "greatly increases your chances of being bitten." To move one along, Utah State suggests spraying it with a hose.

Where this page stops applying#

• Venomous snakes. Mississippi has six venomous types, Illinois four and Colorado two. Illinois Extension's rule: if you cannot confidently identify the snake, leave it alone.
• A snake inside the house. That is a sealing problem. Colorado State says to seal openings of 1/4 inch or larger, and Florida notes that small snakes can use "an opening no larger than a pencil."
• Moving a snake. Rules differ by state. Colorado State says to contact Colorado Parks and Wildlife before relocating any snake off your property. For how much such rules vary, see squirrel relocation laws by state.

A station that does not feed snakes#

• Feeder away from the house, on a smooth pole with a baffle, not on a tree, rail or fence.
• Catch tray and hull-free seed, with the ground swept weekly.
• Seed in a closed metal can, not a sack, and checked for droppings.
• Grass mown short around the station, firewood on a rack, and the brush pile at the yard edge, well away from the house.
• Seed feeders down for late spring and summer if you see rodent sign or a snake near the feeding area. Nectar can stay.
• Nest boxes on guarded poles, checked weekly in season.
• No repellents, no mothballs, no glue traps, and no shovel.

A harmless snake that passes through is doing you a favor: rat snakes are among the predators that hold down chipmunks at the feeder.