by Karen Bledsoe

Created on: January 28, 2008

If you're living in rattlesnake country, you'll want to use my advice in reverse, because I'm going to tell you how to attract snakes, not drive them away. If you understand what sort of environment snakes like, you can use that information either to attract or discourage snakes.

Why in the world would you want to attract snakes? If, like me, you live in an area with few or no rattlers, coral snakes, or cotton mouths, snakes can provide valuable pest control in the garden. Garter snakes in particular are useful creatures to have around. They'll gobble up the slugs that would otherwise mow down your vegetables and prize flowers. Larger snakes will keep the rodent population in check.

Snakes and other small reptiles are attracted to habitats that provide food they like, protection from predators, and safe places to warm themselves in the sun. If your garden provides all three of these, chances are good you will soon have snakes working for you if you don't already.

The food, of course, is provided by nature. I wouldn't recommend scattering mice and slugs around the garden just to attract snakes! Chances are these prey animals will find their way to your garden all by themselves.

If you know you have snake prey in the garden but no snakes, there are probably lots of snake hazards in your yard. Cats will prey on small snakes, so where cats run free, snakes will be few. If you have cats, consider keeping them indoors or limiting their outdoor time. There are many good health, safety, and environmental reasons for keeping your cat indoors, or at least enclosing part of the yard with cat-proof fencing for a safe outdoor run. If the neighbor's cats roam in your yard, consider using special fencing to exclude them, or try various safe and humane cat deterrents such as predator urine that can be purchased from garden centers.

Rock piles are good protection for snakes and small lizards. You'll need large, heavy rocks that cats, raccoons, and other predators can't move easily. Stack them loosely in a sunny location, allowing enough space between the rocks for small reptiles to get into. The rocks provide both a safe burrow and a sunning spot. Log piles can work well, too, if the logs are heavy enough. In addition to protecting reptiles, rock piles and log piles tend to attract insects, which in turn attract birds that prey on the insects. Hence rock and log piles are great features for nature-scaping in general.

To make the rock pile even more inviting, set it up near a concrete walkway, or lay some slate or other flat stones on the south side of the pile. The concrete or flat stones will warm in the sun, providing a good basking area for reptiles. Prop one end of a large slate up with a smaller stone to provide another hiding place for snakes.

Ground cover is important for small snakes, too. Vining ground covers, like ivy or vinca, are especially valuable since they tend to form dense leafy covers with open crawl spaces underneath. Ground covers not only give snakes a place to hide from predators, they also provide hiding places for the animals that snakes prey on. A thick patch of vinca is a great hunting place for small garter snakes.

If you live in rattlesnake country and are trying to keep snakes out of your yard, think about these snake-attracting tips. Are you providing good snake habitat in your yard? Look around for hiding places such as ground cover, thicks shrubs, stacks of firewood, or rocks piled up around ponds or rock gardens. Look at how much hardscaping you have, and if it's attractive to basking snakes. Eliminate good snake habitat and you'll make your yard much less inviting to snakes.

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