Durban — Local snake catcher Nick Evans has warned against the use of paraffin inside the home as a snake repellent.
“If you encounter a snake in your home, please DO NOT pour paraffin all around the inside of your home to keep other snakes from entering. It is highly flammable, and so you may not end up having a home for a snake to enter into,” Evans warned.
He said his warning came after he received a call from a man asking him about the use of paraffin as a snake repellent after a snake entered the home.
Evans said the man said he has been told that he should do that.
“Quite worrying that that myth is being spread.
“I am glad he asked. Thought I should share for those who may have considered this option,” Evans said.
Evans said that there is no repellent to keep snakes away that actually works. Not even any type of plant.
“Keep a neat and tidy yard (no, you don’t need to cut down every tree in sight, I’m referring to rubbish, wood/brick piles etc), and really, hope for the best,” Evans said.
He said that it is Africa, and so you are likely to have a snake on your property, outside or inside, at some point in your life.
Last year, the Daily News reported that snake repellents do not work, that was according to the African Snakebite Institute.
In its January 2022 newsletter, the African Snakebite Institute discussed the issue of snake repellents.
“... Snake repellents do not work,” the institute said.
It said the issue of snake repellents came up regularly and that they knew of a “snake remover” in Gauteng who seems to prey largely on old and nervous folks, charging thousands of rands to spray their premises with snake repellent to rid the area of snakes.
“Such so-called snake repellents include Jeyes Fluid, old oil, moth balls, diesel, petrol, burning tyres and some plants like geraniums and wild garlic as well as the commercially available Snake Repel product,” the institute said.
Another urban legend is that one should put a bowl of water at the edge of your property as snakes smell water and will then drink from the bowl and not enter your property.
It said other parts of Africa used Chinese solar-powered vibrating spikes that are stuck into the ground and set to vibrate every few minutes. Snakes are well known for picking up vibrations.
“Needless to say, none of the above snake repellents work and some have actually been found to attract snakes. Research done in the US showed that when snakes hatch (or are born), they closely associate with odours in their immediate environment and may well link those smells with a safe environment, to the degree that such substances could attract them. Seeing a snake on your veranda and then spraying one of the above ‘repellents’ does not mean it is effective just because you do not see another snake – there are thousands of houses without so-called repellents that never have snakes.
“As for the repellents, Wits University tested a variety of substances including Jeyes Fluid, Snake Repel, moth balls and some plants, and again, none of the snakes were repelled in any way. The results of these extensive tests as well as additional tests that were done in the wild will be published soon and will make for some meaningful reading,” it said.
Daily News