Do not kill that garden snake! Garter snakes and Brown snakes are very hard to tell apart but they are both wanted in a garden. It is spring time and they are coming out of brumation (hibernation) now.
Did you know that garden snakes eat slugs? Garden snakes are very beneficial to pest control in your garden and are not harmful to humans. Unfortunately my cat Dora loves to hunt snakes and brings them in the house where I have to save them and release them outdoors. I feel bad when I find a dead one but I also know that the female gives birth to 3-20+ baby snakes so the population is not in danger.
Garden snakes are carnivorous and eat earthworms, slugs, crickets, and even small rodents (to name a few pests that are found in a garden). The picture I believe is a brown snake and I have spotted many slithering in and out of my Liriope and daylilies. I am okay with it because I have never seen them longer than a foot.
Do not kill the garden snake! I know there are some people who have a real fear of snakes and here in Virginia I am always on the lookout for the venomous/ poisonous Copperhead. I always wear gloves if I am pulling out thick patch of weeds or tearing out a patch of ivy because snakes like to huddle under logs and thick weeds. Just remember snakes are just as scared of you as you are of them.
So remember garden snakes are your gardening friend. One tip I was always told about snakes: if they have round eyes and a flat ‘mouth’ they are not poisonous. Venomous have diamond shaped eyes and pointed ‘mouth’. Unless I know what kind of snake it is, I do not just reach over and grab it. Take precautions when dealing with any critter of nature.
Thanks for stopping by.
Creating. Inspiring. Gardening without the rules!
2016 copyrighted material C Renee Fuller @The Garden Frog Boutique
Snake scares the sh**t out of me… but I always tend to avoid killing them, specifically the non venomous snake. they can help get rid of unwanted pest.
Hi Renee,
Snakes creep me out especially when they are being sneaky. We used to get them around my home. BIG ONES that were pretty darn scary looking. Of course, we “disposed” of them. Bleh! However, in the back of my home down by the woods we usually have 5-6′ black snakes sunbathing. I don’t mind if I’m not walking my dogs there but EEK!! Creep me out!
LOL Just had to share my “fear” with you! Good kitty!
Bren
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Black snakes are good they eat a lot of rodents. I have not seen any of those here but with 2 dogs and 3 cats critters do not hang around much