Garden Snakes

Often with the coming of spring flowers, you begin to notice the classic slip of the tail as your garden snakes arrive. Snakes sleep all winter and when the weather warms up, they slither into our yards, grass, streets, paths and gardens.

Identifying Garden Pests

There are actually 2,000 different kinds of snakes, but they all share some common characteristics.

• All snakes hunt prey to eat. There are no vegetarians in the snake world, which actually makes your local garden snake quite a beneficial animal. Many garden snakes eat rodents that do love to delve into your vegetation. The snakes which tend to be the problems are those who eat the wrong animals, like pond fish or beneficial wildlife such as birds or earthworms. Plus, some are downright poisonous, which is a hazard to the gardener as well.
• Snakes hunt with their body’s senses. Whether they use their nose, tongues or touch, snakes find their food with a keen sense of smell and ability to feel the body heat of another animal.
• Newly born snakes are hunters from their first flick of the tongue. Baby snakes are either born live or hatched from eggs depending on the snake’s species. As a reptile, they need to gather food on their own right away. Younger snakes usually eat worms, insects and smaller reptiles.
• Snakes hibernate underground in the winter.
• Cold-blooded reptiles, snakes must lie in the sun to keep warm.
• All snakes shed their skin as they grow.

Slideshow! What Do Garden Snakes Eat

The most common garden snake is the Gartner snake. This species is found throughout most of the Americas and can live in a variety of climates. It loves ponds, wetlands, forests, fields and even your yard.

They are best identified by the long horizontal, body length, stripes – the most common being three yellow stripes. Being smaller snakes, they eat small animals such as earthworms, frogs and fish. Often they become food for other animals, like owls or raccoons.

Gartner snakes hide when afraid. They have live births in the summer. Although these snakes are relatively mild natured, they have been known to bite a gardener who picks one up to show off to their kids.

Gopher Snake

Gopher snakes are often mistaken for poisonous snakes like rattlers. Although they do bite, they leave nothing more than a mark. As its name implies, these snakes eat small animals like gophers. They are a burrowing snake, but are sometimes found hunting on the ground or even in trees.

Rattlesnake

In the United States, these are some of the most feared snakes around. Luckily, they are nice enough to send off an alarm before they strike. Most common in the desert areas of the Americas, if you do live in their territory, it’s in your best interest to learn the classic sound of their rattle.

Rattlesnakes hide easily in sand or leaves due to their camouflaged skin. They shake their tail when an intruder gets too close. Thick skin rings at the tip of the tail create this rattling sound. It is intended to be a warning, as the snake actually prefers to not have to bite.

Snakes are quite adept at hiding. Most gardeners will not actually see any snakes at all, but instead only spot signs like their skins left behind. Most snakes common to your garden have skin the color of their environment. They are only observed when your footsteps disturb their sleep, and then you often just see a flash as they move quickly out of sight again.

Garden snake varieties are scared of humans and larger animals. They will leave you and your pets alone, and simply go about their business when you have moved on. Unless you have a poisonous snake take root in your yard or have problems with your smaller pets, it is best to just let a garden snake be.

If there ever comes a time to remove a snake from a yard or garden, it is usually best to hire a pest removal service. Especially if a snake is poisonous, the risk is not worth the effort.

Looking for more tips for successful gardening? Check out the following slideshows:

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