Snakes: Maine IF&W

Snakes: Maine IF&W:

Tips for Attracting Snakes

In addition to the persecution snakes experience routinely at human hands, they have suffered greatly from our activities that alter habitat. Snakes fare poorly when we break up natural lands for urban and suburban development and isolate animals that cannot easily move across inhospitable terrain. To provide safe spaces on your property for snakes:

Figure 7: Drawing Credit - Jenifer Rees

• Protect hibernation sites and other retreat areas such as rock piles and downed woody debris.
• Mow at a slow speed and be ready to step on the clutch or brake. Leave grass un-mowed in places that adjoin a wet area, sunny forest edge, or any other suspected snake habitat. If the grass has to be cut, survey the area and move or "herd" snakes to move to a safe location prior to mowing. Set the mower blades as high as possible, or use a weed-whacker and leave grass six inches or higher.
• Build a fish-free pond. Many snakes feed on tadpoles, adult frogs and invertebrates found in and around ponds. Because fish compete with snakes for amphibians, making the pond fish-free will provide most snakes with the best opportunity for feeding. (See "Additional Resources" for more information about landscaping for wildlife.)
• Build or maintain a rock wall or a rock pile with crevices for snakes to escape from severe weather and predators, to find food and to give birth (Fig. 7 ).

Figure 8: Drawing Credit - Jenifer Rees

A rock wall or pile of rocks provides snakes protection. (Fig. 7)

• Create a "snake board" by laying a sheet of plywood or corrugated sheet metal on the ground in a sunny location, propping it up on three sides with three-inch rocks, lengths of plastic pipe, or similar objects (Fig. 8). In cool areas, paint the top black or cover it with dark asphalt shingles to increase the temperature below the board.

Snakes will seek out the shelter of a "snake board" in areas where a similar type of shelter is lacking. (Fig. 8)

• Place habitat-enhancement features, such as snake boards and rock piles, away from driveways or heavily traveled roads.
• Discourage cats from using your yard. Cats are effective hunters and can severely decrease the snake population.

In addition, you can encourage your friends and neighbors to protect snakes too, especially on property that adjoins yours. More generally, you can support public acquisition of greenbelts, remnant forests, and other wild areas in your community and join a local conservation organization, land trust or habitat enhancement project.