Garter snakes are common, non-venomous reptiles found throughout North America that provide natural pest control in yards and gardens. Attracting these beneficial snakes requires mimicking their specific environmental needs for thermoregulation, security, and winter survival.
Attracting garter snakes begins with providing suitable areas for them to regulate their body temperature. Because they are cold-blooded, or ectothermic, they rely on external heat sources to function. Flat, dark-colored rocks or patches of exposed, dark soil positioned in sunny locations make ideal basking sites, allowing the snake to absorb solar energy efficiently in the morning.
Secure daytime cover is necessary for protection from predators and extreme heat. Garter snakes often seek refuge under dense, low-growing shrubs, thick ground cover, or small piles of natural debris like leaf litter and loosely stacked firewood. These areas provide the necessary shade and concealment during the hottest parts of the day while still being close to foraging grounds.
For survival through cold weather, garter snakes require a deep, safe hibernation site, or hibernaculum. This shelter must extend below the local frost line to prevent freezing during their dormant state, known as brumation. Creating a rock or brush pile with deep crevices, or ensuring access to abandoned rodent burrows, provides necessary insulation.
Garter snakes require a shallow, clean water source nearby for hydration and hunting amphibians. A shallow dish sunken into the ground or a small water feature meets this need. Ensure the source is easily accessible, with sloped edges or rocks inside to prevent accidental drowning.
Managing Prey Availability
Garter snakes are opportunistic carnivores, and their presence is directly linked to the availability of prey. Their diet consists primarily of small, soft-bodied invertebrates like earthworms and slugs. Maintaining a healthy population of these food sources is an effective attraction strategy.
To encourage earthworms and slugs, avoid excessively tilling the soil, which disrupts their subterranean habitat. Maintaining consistent moisture under mulch or dense ground cover provides the ideal damp environment where they thrive. These conditions ensure a stable food supply close to the snake’s shelter and basking areas.
Garter snakes also consume small amphibians, including frogs and salamanders, especially in damp environments. Creating a small bog garden or shallow water feature attracts amphibians, offering a richer food source. This feature must be maintained without chemical treatments to ensure the health of the local food web.
Avoiding chemical pesticides and herbicides is paramount to managing prey availability. These chemicals harm invertebrates and amphibians and pose a risk of secondary poisoning to the snakes. A naturally managed yard supports a robust and sustainable prey base, making the habitat more appealing.
Protecting Snakes from Common Threats
Once habitat and prey are established, reducing common threats ensures garter snakes remain safe residents. Many yard maintenance practices inadvertently pose hazards to these reptiles. Eliminating the use of all chemical controls, including pesticides, herbicides, and especially rodenticides, is a protective measure.
Rodenticides are hazardous because garter snakes can suffer secondary poisoning by consuming poisoned rodents or slugs. Relying on the snakes themselves to manage garden pests provides a natural, risk-free solution instead of chemical control. A proactive approach to yard maintenance mitigates mechanical dangers.
Care should be taken when using power tools like lawnmowers and string trimmers, which can inflict serious injuries to snakes hiding in tall grass or debris. Mowing grass at a higher setting and checking areas before trimming significantly reduces the risk of accidental harm. Snakes move slowly, especially when cold, making them vulnerable to fast-moving blades.
Reducing the threat posed by domestic animals, particularly outdoor cats, is important, as they are non-native predators that frequently attack small reptiles. Keeping pets indoors or supervised, especially during dawn and dusk when snakes are most active, protects the local snake population. Removing hazards like fine-mesh netting or landscape fabric prevents snakes from becoming trapped and injured.