RELATED: This Is When You’re Most Likely to Encounter a Snake, Experts Say. There’s nothing quite like a roaring fire to take the sting out of cold winter weather. But according to experts from Utah State University, storing firewood too close to your house might be bringing snakes into the yard and even inside your home. Whether it’s a haphazard lumber heap or an orderly stack of chopped logs, woodpiles are majorly attractive to snakes as a perfect hiding place from predators and humans, as well as a place to stay cool as the weather warms up. But other than providing accommodations for the slithering intruders, they also serve as the perfect hiding place and breeding grounds for pests such as mice, rats, and other rodents, all of which are an irresistible meal for a snake. Besides increasing the likelihood you’ll come across one the next time you go to get some logs, having your stockpile of fireplace fuel too close to your home increases the chances that a snake will find its way indoors through an unnoticed crack, hole, or opening. Let’s face it: No one wants to have to trudge far from the warmth of their house to gather wood on a cold night. But by storing your firewood further from your home, you’ll be making it much less likely that a snake will eventually find its way indoors. In most cases, picking an area on the fringes of your property, alongside a storage shed, or near a perimeter fence can provide a decent location that won’t look unsightly or disorganized. RELATED: If You Smell This at Home, You May Have a Venomous Snake, Experts Say. Even though wood piles will inherently be attractive to snakes, there are still some simple ways to make it less likely they’ll make themselves at home. The experts at Outdoor Barren suggest storing all firewood one to two feet off the ground on a store-bought or homemade rack, which will make it harder for snakes or rodents to move in and get comfortable. Covering your elevated woodpile with a tarp secured with bungee cords can offer even more protection, with the bonuses of keeping your fuel drier and making your yard look tidier overall. For more helpful home maintenance tips sent straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Regardless of how often you like to light up your fireplace, it can still be challenging to estimate how much firewood you’ll need at the start of each winter. But when it comes to stockpiling, experts say that it’s always best to aim for only getting as much as you know you can completely burn by spring. By removing wood piles from your yard entirely, you’re far less likely to play an unwitting host to rodents or reptiles as the weather warms back up.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “We know food attracts snakes,” Terry Vandeventer, a herpetologist with the Living Reptile Museum in Mississippi, told The Clarion Ledger in a 2019 interview. “Since snakes eat rodents, we want to get rid of them. Get rid of the shelter and get rid of the food, and they’ll pass right by and go to your neighbor’s ratty house.” RELATED: Leaving This in Your Garage Is Bringing Snakes to Your Home, Experts Warn.
