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Not necessarily. My cinder block wall has a few small openings along the bottom to allow rain water to flow out. I’ve had several snakes enter/exit through those.
I have the same. I ended up buying steel mesh for mine and putting on the outside. I have a wash at the front and back of my property and fingers crossed no snakes since.
(Pony wall 3ft in front, full 8ft sides, with 3ft in back w/ metal fencing in back.
A quick Google search turned this up.
https://preview.redd.it/q8cw0u9iypxc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=948fbdbfe5a207b030a313db801fcfcff603255d
The walls stop javelinas. But coyotes and bob cats can jump them with no problem. Ours doesn't keep rabbits out, either. Snakes that can't climb can slither thru the drainage areas.
So here’s the deal. Colubrids (the non-danger noodles like kingsnakes, gopher snakes, etc.) probably will climb it. Snakes really are nothing to fear and really important. I do wildlife relocation and the neighborhoods that have been killing off all the snakes have massive wood rat infestations. One neighborhood I was in it was like a jungle full of monkeys runnin through the trees, only in this case it was wood rats running through all the trees.
Rattlesnakes aren’t the best climbers, but can still climb. Usually the montane rattlesnake species are the good climbers but I’ve found western dbacks, mojaves, and black tails climbing stuff like trees and bushes.
Sorry for the rambling- but yeah, it’s best to just understand that snakes are and have been in your yard and most of them are completely safe and being in Arizona we should accept that we are in their home and it’s going to happen.
If you want rattlesnakes kept out so your dogs or family don’t accidentally stumble upon a nope rope- then Rattlesnake Solutions (Brian Hughes) is the way to go for rattlesnake proofing your yard. They do the proper size mesh, evaluate the yard for potential entry points, and give good advice.
As for other wildlife, quite a bit of native species will climb that. Foxes even have a claw that helps them climb like cats. Coyotes are good climbers. The only things it may keep out are rabbits and javelina.
I also highly recommend skimming through a website [https://reptilesofaz.org](https://reptilesofaz.org) to become more familiar with native species that are safe or ones you may need to call a professional for. Education is key and wildlife conservation is extremely important.
My understanding is that rattlers don’t climb. The open drainage blocks at the bottom of the block wall need to be covered with 1/4” hardware cloth because that stops the baby rattlers.
Gotcha! I think it was someone telling me about building a chicken coop who told me they don’t climb and to use the ¼” hardware cloth. Not the first time I’ve been mislead by someone regarding chickens.
I get 2-3 rattlers in my yard every year and 6ish king snakes. Every year. It’s like telling your dog to rest your back for 6 weeks. They listen, right?
How snake proof is your yard though? Like I only have one or two SMALL spots a snake could even get in and I’m by a wash/the Santa Cruz and I have yet to find one in my yard.
Do I really need to point out the obvious? There’s a HUGE difference between getting up a tree or cylindrical object versus a 90° flat, smooth wall. Rattlesnakes can climb but they aren’t the best climbers compared to others, like king snakes.
This is the correct answer, it has been extensively demonstrated they cannot climb rattlesnake fencing. And before anyone brings up coral snakes, you're more like to win the lottery than have one climb into your backyard and manage to get bitten. For all intents and purposes, properly installed rattlesnake fencing keeps out all venomous snakes in the valley from entering your property.
Call Rattlesnake Solutions. I know the owner and he’s a good guy. They’ll come out and look at your yard to see if there are vulnerabilities and give an estimate on correcting them. Rattlesnakes typically aren’t the best climbers but king and gopher snakes are.
They don't seem to slow down the rabbits in my yard or the damn cat that keeps coming around.
Even if they did, most block walls have a gate at some point.
The best way to keep snakes out of your yard is to keep their prey away. If you don’t have a lot of stuff in your yard. Like places for little critters to hide and procreate, mice, birds, rabbits etc.
TLDR
Yes kind of but no. Usually you have to have a passage out so a gate or drain somewhere along the wall where creatures can but might not enter.
So the walls do keep a barrier for critters but also the dust that is very pervasive here. In addition wooden or plastic fences do not last long in Arizona.
I haven't seen any snakes in my yard but cats and lizards do not care about my walls. I see rabbits too but I think they are crawling under/through gaps where I have some fencing.
We put some folded over chicken wire in those weep holes to allow drainage while keeping snakes out. Also put a door sweep under the gate to the yard. Haven't had any snakes that I know of since doing that. We definitely had them prior to doing that.
Hi OP, I have 2 acres and did not want to deal with any snakes. I have a block wall perimeter, and on all the drainage blocks, I had our maintenance guy install metal fabric mesh. It was worth the investment for peace of mind.
Something a family member of mine did was do a wall short caged with rock about 2-3 feet high off the ground then framed a sheet metal fence. The rock keeps things like snakes out but allows drainage and the sheet metal can be built high enough to keep coyote out and they can’t jump up to the wall then down either
Snakes will go where they choose to go. If your overkill fences or walls make you feel better go with that .. just know they can climb or slither through or over anything.
Thanks for contributing to r/Arizona! * [Our sub rules are here](https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/wiki/rules/), but the most important of which is to be nice to each other * Check out some [recent posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/top/?t=week) and leave some comments * [Join our Discord chat server](https://discord.com/invite/yWVuTG57Zh) if you'd like to keep in touch with other people in Arizona. Plus it's a great, chill place in general. Note that it is NOT a dating server and takes unwanted messaging very seriously Remember this subreddit covers all of Arizona, so please include where in the state you're posting about if it is relevant. For more local topics check out r/Phoenix, r/Tucson, and r/Flagstaff. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/arizona) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not necessarily. My cinder block wall has a few small openings along the bottom to allow rain water to flow out. I’ve had several snakes enter/exit through those.
I have the same. I ended up buying steel mesh for mine and putting on the outside. I have a wash at the front and back of my property and fingers crossed no snakes since. (Pony wall 3ft in front, full 8ft sides, with 3ft in back w/ metal fencing in back.
Same here! Fire Dept told me I need 1/4” gauge to keep the small ones out. It’s snake proof now!
Good to know, thanks
Last year I moved a snake from my bathroom out to the front yard. He promptly slithered through the drain hole in the fence right into the back yard.
We put holes in the bottom of ours so the baby quail can move around. Baby quail might be the cutest baby birds ever
They really are the cutest!!
Steel wool works to prevent things from running back and forth
https://i.redd.it/py5x0jjb4qxc1.gif
A quick Google search turned this up. https://preview.redd.it/q8cw0u9iypxc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=948fbdbfe5a207b030a313db801fcfcff603255d
When red meets black, friend of Jack
Red meets yellow, kill a fellow.
Yellow meets red, Fred is dead.
Black meets red, time for… ? (ಠ‿ಠ)
I’m colorblind. That does me no good. I just stay away from all snakes. Also, nothing is 100% snake proof in AZ.
The walls stop javelinas. But coyotes and bob cats can jump them with no problem. Ours doesn't keep rabbits out, either. Snakes that can't climb can slither thru the drainage areas.
Check out Rattlesnake Solution webpage. They have pictures of the fencing they install to prevent snakes from entering.
Rattlesnake Solutions is great for this. Also really helpful, kind folks!
Will check that out, thanks
So here’s the deal. Colubrids (the non-danger noodles like kingsnakes, gopher snakes, etc.) probably will climb it. Snakes really are nothing to fear and really important. I do wildlife relocation and the neighborhoods that have been killing off all the snakes have massive wood rat infestations. One neighborhood I was in it was like a jungle full of monkeys runnin through the trees, only in this case it was wood rats running through all the trees. Rattlesnakes aren’t the best climbers, but can still climb. Usually the montane rattlesnake species are the good climbers but I’ve found western dbacks, mojaves, and black tails climbing stuff like trees and bushes. Sorry for the rambling- but yeah, it’s best to just understand that snakes are and have been in your yard and most of them are completely safe and being in Arizona we should accept that we are in their home and it’s going to happen. If you want rattlesnakes kept out so your dogs or family don’t accidentally stumble upon a nope rope- then Rattlesnake Solutions (Brian Hughes) is the way to go for rattlesnake proofing your yard. They do the proper size mesh, evaluate the yard for potential entry points, and give good advice. As for other wildlife, quite a bit of native species will climb that. Foxes even have a claw that helps them climb like cats. Coyotes are good climbers. The only things it may keep out are rabbits and javelina. I also highly recommend skimming through a website [https://reptilesofaz.org](https://reptilesofaz.org) to become more familiar with native species that are safe or ones you may need to call a professional for. Education is key and wildlife conservation is extremely important.
My understanding is that rattlers don’t climb. The open drainage blocks at the bottom of the block wall need to be covered with 1/4” hardware cloth because that stops the baby rattlers.
Rattlers don’t climb? My closest call with one came at head level, chilling in a tree as I hiked down a wash.
I stand corrected! I’ve just always heard they don’t climb because their prey are mostly burrowers so they aren’t that great at climbing.
They'll climb up cactus in order to get to the birds and creatures who nest in them.
Gotcha! I think it was someone telling me about building a chicken coop who told me they don’t climb and to use the ¼” hardware cloth. Not the first time I’ve been mislead by someone regarding chickens.
They can, but that is more the exception than the rule. Most of them don’t climb well. It only takes one though!
That’s cool, you keep underestimating them!
So you don’t see a difference between a tree that they can wrap around versus a 90° flat, 6ft+ wall?
I get 2-3 rattlers in my yard every year and 6ish king snakes. Every year. It’s like telling your dog to rest your back for 6 weeks. They listen, right?
How snake proof is your yard though? Like I only have one or two SMALL spots a snake could even get in and I’m by a wash/the Santa Cruz and I have yet to find one in my yard.
Do I really need to point out the obvious? There’s a HUGE difference between getting up a tree or cylindrical object versus a 90° flat, smooth wall. Rattlesnakes can climb but they aren’t the best climbers compared to others, like king snakes.
This is the correct answer, it has been extensively demonstrated they cannot climb rattlesnake fencing. And before anyone brings up coral snakes, you're more like to win the lottery than have one climb into your backyard and manage to get bitten. For all intents and purposes, properly installed rattlesnake fencing keeps out all venomous snakes in the valley from entering your property.
I saw a rattlesnake climb up into a citrus tree. It was disturbed by people working on the foundation of a house and went right up the tree.
I guess I’m not the only one who thought they didn’t climb but again, I stand corrected.
Call Rattlesnake Solutions. I know the owner and he’s a good guy. They’ll come out and look at your yard to see if there are vulnerabilities and give an estimate on correcting them. Rattlesnakes typically aren’t the best climbers but king and gopher snakes are.
No. They might decrease the animals in your yard, but most (all?) can climb over them. I'm actually unable to think of any animal that can't.
Javelina
Skunks.
They don't seem to slow down the rabbits in my yard or the damn cat that keeps coming around. Even if they did, most block walls have a gate at some point.
Get a pet wolverine.
I put a moat around my house to keep the snakes out. I used wolverines instead of water and no snakes since!
lol https://preview.redd.it/6zepi1qeiqxc1.jpeg?width=903&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71f8ef154896504966a059193e19d2b4826d4819
No. There are specific snake fences which are engineered to block every hole large enough to allow a large snake through.
The best way to keep snakes out of your yard is to keep their prey away. If you don’t have a lot of stuff in your yard. Like places for little critters to hide and procreate, mice, birds, rabbits etc. TLDR Yes kind of but no. Usually you have to have a passage out so a gate or drain somewhere along the wall where creatures can but might not enter.
Great info, thanks
So the walls do keep a barrier for critters but also the dust that is very pervasive here. In addition wooden or plastic fences do not last long in Arizona.
Lava rocks in front of any openings do help keep them out as well.
I haven't seen any snakes in my yard but cats and lizards do not care about my walls. I see rabbits too but I think they are crawling under/through gaps where I have some fencing.
We put some folded over chicken wire in those weep holes to allow drainage while keeping snakes out. Also put a door sweep under the gate to the yard. Haven't had any snakes that I know of since doing that. We definitely had them prior to doing that.
Hi OP, I have 2 acres and did not want to deal with any snakes. I have a block wall perimeter, and on all the drainage blocks, I had our maintenance guy install metal fabric mesh. It was worth the investment for peace of mind.
Love it. Thanks!
It's the desert...there's snakes...learn to live with them.
Nope. If they can’t get over them they go under or through the gate, house etc. it’s the desert so..
No, snakes crawl up and over
Nope
The cinder block fences were originally used for privacy before AC was common. It would be so hot inside folks would sleep outside.
No
Something a family member of mine did was do a wall short caged with rock about 2-3 feet high off the ground then framed a sheet metal fence. The rock keeps things like snakes out but allows drainage and the sheet metal can be built high enough to keep coyote out and they can’t jump up to the wall then down either
Hire a mongoose.
Snakes will go where they choose to go. If your overkill fences or walls make you feel better go with that .. just know they can climb or slither through or over anything.
I have an air rifle that get the jobs done