Beware of Snakes in the Garden

Yikes! Snakes in the garden? I don't think about it much since I've never actually seen a live snake in my yard, or neighborhood for that matter, and I have lived in the High Desert for nearly 35 years. I have seen them in Big Bear and numerous other places, but not at home. Certainly I hear about them frequently enough, but until a couple of conversations with associates at my former place of employment, and a more recent question that came in my email, I hadn't actually taken the idea as seriously as I should have.

One associate, who lives in the Baldy Mesa area of the High Desert, was out in her tomato garden when she noticed that her dog was acting strangely. Upon further investigation, she discovered that the source of the problem was a snake stuck in the netting she had placed around the tomato plant to keep out hungry squirrels and bunnies. She noticed it had a pattern in its scales, but fortunately, knowing snakes well enough, she determined it was a gopher snake - not a rattler. Just the same, it could have just as easily been a rattlesnake. She carefully snipped the netting to loosen its grip on the snake and it eventually slithered away. If this had been a poisonous species, getting as close would not have been so wise.

Another associate mentioned that she has snake issues on her property out in Pinon Hills. She said they need to keep all of their trees and shrubs trimmed up so that there are no branches and leaves laying close to the ground. It would also be good to put a mesh fence around her raised bed gardens.

The recent email was from someone in the “Victorville area” that wanted to put in a garden, but is extremely afraid of snakes, rodents and bugs. Hopefully this can help her at least avoid the snake issues.

What can you do to keep snakes out of the garden?  This Web site - http://coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Pests/snakesin.htm - offers the following ideas:

Construct a snake-proof fence around your garden. A snake-proof fence can be made of heavy galvanized screen, about three feet wide with a quarter-inch mesh. The fence should slant away from the garden at a thirty-degree angle and be buried six inches below the soil surface. Remove or closely mow any vegetation that may be near the fence.

Make your garden and landscape unattractive to snakes by eliminating any shelter or hiding places that may seem inviting to them. Remove logs, boards, rocks, and other debris that may be lying on the ground. High grass and other vegetation should be mowed closely or removed in order to control insects and rodents that are attractive to snakes. Firewood should be stacked at least one foot off of the ground.

Another Web site (http://www.allaboutlawns.com/grass-types/keeping-snakes-out-of-your-garden-and-off-the-lawn.php) includes these suggestions:

Keep your garden and lawn inhospitable to snakes. It is impossible to keep snakes from passing through your garden, but it is possible to make sure they don't stop and make a home there.

Watch out for mulch piles. Snakes enjoy snug, warm environments for reproducing and living. If you have a big mulch pile, snakes (and rodents) may try to make a home there. Try to make sure you mix it up as often as possible. You can also build the pile in a wire cage so that air and water circulates through it, making it more inhospitable for long-term living.

Trim small trees and shrubberies. Gardeners encourage that you make sure that the lower limbs on small trees and shrubberies should be a couple of feet above the ground. If branches dangle to the ground, snakes and rodents will make a happy home at the foot of your garden trees.

Cut your lawn. Tall grass can become a home for snakes. Happily, most lawn grass will have trouble getting tall enough, but landscaping grass like fountain grass or pampas grass, will provide a perfect home for snakes if not trimmed or controlled properly.

Whatever you choose to do to keep snakes away, it is still a good idea to approach the garden with care, and look carefully before you reach into a tomato plant or any other plant. You never know what might be lurking in your cozy garden environment.