Will Bleach Kill Snakes? – can bleaching powder kill snakes

Snakes, The wiggly creature many can’t stand. Most people will want to quickly “get rid” of an intruding snake with anything they can.

Imagine a scenario where you suddenly come across an intruding snake in your surrounding, like most people, the first thought that comes to your mind is to get rid of this creature as soon as possible. You may have used bleach to kill other insects before, but now you’re wondering, Will bleach kill snakes? Let’s find out.

Will bleach kill snakes?

Yes, bleach will kill snakes. Bleach contains chemicals such as chlorides, sodium hypochlorite, and Hydrogen peroxide. These chemicals are very harmful to snakes and have the potential to kill snakes.

Bleach is a versatile household chemical that is commonly used as a cleaning agent in many homes. It is used to get a whiter laundry, it is used to disinfect surfaces and now you already know that it can be used to kill snakes. Let’s see how this Popular cleaning agent (bleach) kills snakes.

How bleach kills snakes

Bleach has been known to kill not just snakes but different reptiles and aquatic animals. 

Bleach can kill a snake through bleach poisoning which could be incurred when snakes inhale or ingest the chemical. Bleach poisoning can occur in snakes in two major ways

1. Inhalation

2.  Ingestion

Theoretically, bleach can kill snakes as long as the snake ingests or inhales the bleach fumes in a sufficient amount.

How long does it take bleach to kill snakes?

The answer to this question depends on how much bleach is ingested or inhaled and how strong the bleach is. In most cases, snakes usually die from bleach poisoning within one hour.

Can Bleach Repel snakes?

Instead of using bleach to kill snakes, you should instead repel them. Yes, repel snakes with bleach instead.

There are some countries with laws that protect wild snakes. To avoid getting into trouble, you should check the law regarding snake protection in your country. To be on the safer side you should only use bleach to repel snakes.

Bleach can repel snakes but only for a short period. Bleach gives out strong fumes that snakes hate. These fumes will keep snakes away for as long as it lasts but unfortunately, it doesn’t last long.

It is important to note that snakes do not have a sense of smell, instead, they rely on their forked tongue. By poking out their forked tongues in the air, they collect particles that give off certain scents. The scent collected can either entice or repel them from moving in a particular direction.

How to use bleach to repel snakes

To protect yourself while trying to repel a snake using bleach you should consider soaking a rag in the bleach and putting the rag around where the snake was spotted or in any potential snake hideout.

Before using bleach to kill or repel snakes, you should consider that bleach could also be harmful to your pets, children, or the soil if not properly used. So instead you should check for other less harmful chemicals.

Chemicals that can repel snakes

There are different items that can repel snakes. Some of them work by giving off odors, some have the potential of irritating the snake’s skin while others use high-frequency sound that irritates snakes.

Some of these items include Garlic and Onions, Cloves and Cinnamon essential oil, Powdered sulfur, Hot pepper, Lime and peppermint, and Vinegar.

For example, garlic and onion contain sulfonic acid. Snakes cannot stand sulfonic acid fumes. This is the chemical that makes one cry when cutting onions.

Similarly, essential oils such as Cloves and Cinnamon are also disliked by snakes however the scent given off by these essential oils do not last long.

The next in our list is Sulfur. Sulfur repels snakes by irritating the skin of the snake. To effectively use sulfur, it is best to sprinkle powdered sulfur around your surroundings.

Vinegar is also a very good snake repellent. We have dedicated a whole new article on this.

Conclusion

You already know that Bleach can kill snakes however, we wouldn’t recommend killing a snake because of the legal protection and other laws protecting wild snakes. Instead of using bleach with the intention to kill, it could be used to repel snakes off your property. To do this we recommend that you soak a rag in a bleach solution and place it in hideouts and areas where snakes can hide. Apart from Bleach, there are other ways to deter snakes from your property.