Snakes - best repellents for non-venomous?

I did not let them flip snakes for fun. Both dogs & cats seem to enjoy the chase & not be able to restrain themselves from it. Nor can I. I pin it, pinch behind the head, & lift to slip my hand down. Right until the musk spews. I’m done.

 

We had two meat goats killed by snakes the past summer. It got pretty ugly, both were struck in the face while grazing.

 

There are some awesome snakes we have here in Texas called Indigo Snakes. They hunt and eat Rattle Snakes and they are absolutely beautiful. They're HUGE and a really dark iridescent blue that just shines all kinds of colors in the sun. Saw a 6.5' one on a huge ranch I have for sale in South Texas near Harlingen while showing it to a potential buyer who turned out to be a con-man. (Grrr!) Anyway, what was I talking about?

 

I live in California, along the American River in Sacramento, and every year we kill rattlesnakes, some of which have been very large, 8 feet plus. We have always had cats since the cats do a wonderful job of clearing out rodents, etc. that the snakes feed off of, and it has significantly reduced the snake presence around our house. Also, make sure there is plenty of light along paths at night, and during the summer I don't go out on our property without a flashlight or shovel. Back in June I killed a 5-foot pacific rattlesnake that was snooping around my backdoor and going to hide under a wagon toy that my wife hadn't put away. Without having turned on the lights, the little ba$tard would have gotten me right in the leg. Shovel made short work of him, but he put up a fight.