Building Snake Habitat?

[Caitedid]

Hey all! I've just been given about 3/4 of an acre to work in our community garden at school. We have a serious rodent problem, and have lost lots of snakes because people are tilling road to road. I found one large snake living under a box when I went in to rototill. I'm considering building some habitat in to the unworkably wet part of my space. Any ideas on how best to do this and how to convince other gardeners that it's a good idea? I found some plans on a Canadian conservation website for putting pieces of plywood up on 2" runners with rocks around the edge. Have any of you done anything like this? We're in central Iowa, so I'm not really worried about attracting lots of dangerous snakes. Thanks!

[mnn2501]

Originally Posted by Caitedid

Have any of you done anything like this?

Dear Lord - NO!

The rational part of me understands snakes are benefitial but the practical part of me...........

[Danaus29]

Get as many big rocks. concrete chunks, concrete blocks, and bricks as you can. Dump them into a pile. Then cover with branches and brush. Grow vines over the pile and shrubs all around. It needs to be a good sized pile, at least 20 feet across. Such a pile will attract all kinds of wildlife; birds, turtles, rabbits, mice, and snakes. You will need to add brush every other year or so because the branches will decompose.

Habitat construction is very simple. The brush pile is one of the best habitats. What I create is not the way we were taught in wildlife management class. I spent quite a few years creating and observing wildlife in different piles and habitats. The way I build them attracts many different species of critters. If you do some research on local butterflies you can select flowering vines and shrubs that also provide food for the caterpillars. You can also choose plants that provide nectar for hummingbirds.

I have seen huge snakes in my brush piles. And I've found shed skins under branches left laying on the ground for a long time.

You could attract snakes with just a piece of fiberglass rippled roofing laying on the ground but anyone could lift the roofing and kill or steal the snakes. Or the roofing could get stolen or blown away. Very few people will disturb a brush pile.

As for how to convince others that snakes are beneficial and good...... Beats me. I've been trying to do just that for 30 years.

[chickenista]

Don't forget to place a small pan of water at ground level. Dig a shallow hole and place the pan with some small rocks. That will draw beneficial insects, toads and give the snakes some water.
If you can hang a jug of water from a post or a tree limb with a pinhole in it to slowly drip water into the pan, all the better. everything is drawn to the sound of dripping/running water.

[fishhead]

I just found a nice little copper belly between 2 sheets of roofing that I laid around the perimeter of my garden.

Don't forget to make some houses for the toads too!

The snakes I found were almost always under something that was close to the ground. They don't seem to like a lot of headroom.

I've considered building a winter pile for them too. Something on the order of a sturdy rot proof chamber with some small plastic pipe leading to the chamber and the whole thing buried in a heap of soil.

[Danaus29]

I'll admit I never had any sheeting of any type to work with. I used big rocks and concrete blocks and found plenty of snakes hiding between and under the big rocks, especially if there is a bit of space between that and the one under or next to it. Maybe the best would be a rot-proof chamber (a shallow something so critters couldn't fall and not be able to get out) burried under the rocks and blocks, topped by some sheeting, then brush, then the vines. Surrounded by shrubbery with a little pool in a gap between 2 shrubs.

But, snakes will eat toads.

Is this wet area in sun, shade, in between?

[Caitedid]

The wet area is in full sun, but it is over an old drainage tile, so it is the low point for about 40+ acres. I don't want to do anything that will attract mice or rabbits, because this is in the gardens. I want to attract snakes to get RID of rodents and the like, not to encourage them to come closer. There are plenty of places for bunnies to do their breeding, I want to encourage the eating of bunnies! Think there will be plenty of water available as the wet spot hasn't been dry in almost three weeks, and we are talking several inches of standing water over a fairly large area. Caite

[Alice In TX/MO]

Stack of wood and brush. That should do it.

[ronbre]

a compost pile is a perfect snake habitat..esp if you use some sticks and branches on one side of it..for a coarse pile..and then use the less coarse stuff as you go away from the sticks side..also near the sticks set a few flat stones and a pile of round stones with spaces between (or other rubble) for them to sun themselves and run to to hide.

any brush pile and rock pile will also work, and a woodpile will suffice if the former isn't avail.

[brody]

I have an old plastic tarp beside my potatoes (was there to get a new bed ready)
the snakes LOVE it - and hang under it absorbing the heat - I think simple will work just fine ... you can probably be a lot prettier than my "habitat" though

[midohiogal]

Originally Posted by brody

I have an old plastic tarp beside my potatoes (was there to get a new bed ready)
the snakes LOVE it - and hang under it absorbing the heat - I think simple will work just fine ... you can probably be a lot prettier than my "habitat" though

That is where we found several snakes. We had a tarp to kill the weeds and the snakes found it and used it for the warmth. We moved it and the snakes moved to another area of the yard. I hate them personally but I understand the need for them.

[Danaus29]

No way possible to create a snake friendly habitat without creating a mouse haven. Mice dig tunnels that snakes use. Mice make more mice which some types of snakes need to live. As for bunnies, you need BIG snakes.

Since this spot is the low point with standing water you will need lots of rock and concrete block to raise the brush level. Any wood in contact with water and soil will rot quickly. There isn't much hope for getting snakes to den in the wet area.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Toss a couple dozen sacks of plastic trashbags full of household trash in the area you want to keep yer snakes. the mice will be drawn to the food scraps, they become food scraps for snakes.

[Micheal]

Never made anything special to attract snakes, but they sure do love living in my stacked supply of wood. Had some concrete block work done last year and where the workers left 6-8 left over blocks also seems to make for the ideal "playground" for them slithering things.
Personally, it wouldn't bother me a bit to NOT have them around!

[ronbre]

cats will eat bunnies and basically only play with the snakes..so how about a cat..or a small dog for the bunnies..

[ozark mike]

And here's how to cook 'em...

DEEP-FRIED RATTLESNAKE

1 medium-sized rattlesnake (3-4 lbs.), cut into steaks
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper

Mix dry ingredients. Whisk milk into beaten egg and use to dip snake steaks.
Then coat them with dry ingredients. Fry, uncovered, in 400 degree oil until brown.

[Sheripoms]

Ummm, I don't think you are talking Rattlers, cottonheads or mocassins right?
Down here we try our best not to make habitats for them.

[Caitedid]

Oh h-e-double hockey sticks no we're not talking big poisonous snakes! Mike if I find anything that suits your recipe I'll be moving further North... I can say that I haven't seen a bunny, rat, or pocket gopher on our farm since I moved here, but we have 7 cats and 2 dogs. However, the space in question is part of a community garden, so although I do take my dogs when I go to work, there is no way to keep them there all of the time. Hence the snakes!

[Megabeth]

We had a pile of concrete chunks in a sunny spot since last fall, and finally got around to moving them last week. Holy Moly, I've never seen so many snakes! Nice big garters of all kinds and descriptions. Now if I could just convince the ones living in my garden beds to move down to the concrete "snake condo" area ...

[Little Quacker in OR]

First of all you want to find out what species of snakes you have in your area and what each species eats. Then what predators will eat these snakes. Snakes need protection from predators.

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 as you know.

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.

Available food will determine what species of snakes your garden attracts. If you know you have snake prey in the garden but no snakes, there are probably lots of snake hazards in your area. Cats love small snakes as do many dogs and birds. My dogs are death on snakes of any size so I have to provide safe areas for snakes to keep them away from my dogs. I fence off areas of space and plant them with heavy flowering ground covers. Some of the best from the viewpoint of both the snakes and myself are Vinca Minor(or Major if you like the larger leaves) and St Johns Wort or even Ivy if you don't mine not having flowers. All are evergreen here and bloom very prettily except the ivy. IT has no flowers. I also save pieces of plywood and put them in these planted places(the ground covers do grow over them so you won't see them after awhile)and in my garden for warm places to hibernate. I do this in my mulch pile too. lay down plywood and put mulch over it. Old Fiberglass roofing is good too, not only snakes will like this but it will provide a home for hibernating bats too. I set in a drip pan from a pot plant in there then when I water or it rains the pan gets filled.

Rock piles are good protection for snakes too and for lizards who eat their share of slugs and snails and also ants. 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.


I also make brush piles here for nesting birds and snakes will seek refuge in them if you lay down old wood and then pile on the brush.

Have fun.. LQ