C.Meens, is this home you are in a NEW home, or have you been there for a good while? If you've lived there a good while, I wouldn't worry much, BUT, IF you have just moved to your home, they likely have a spot close to your home where they overwinter. After I lost my past home in a divorce/bankrupcy situation, the guy that bought it (it's close to my present home) said there were Garter snakes living under the siding, they couldn't have been there long, so, he was able to get rid of them, OR they were living there unbeknownst to me when I lived there. BUT, they couldn't have been there for TOO long when I had been there, the double wide wasn't THAT old anyway. I wouldn't worry unless the house is new to you and keep finding more and more Garter snakes in your yard, There IS a house that was FAMOUS for having a swarm of them living in the walls and everywhere, BUT, I am sure THAT house has been deemed unfit for occupation by humans. I'd seen it on TV and REALLY IF somebody sold THAT house to anyone KNOWING the situation, they'll get sued big time. IT was MAYBE in Idaho or Iowa some place in the Midwest I THINK. Sorry, it may be the Vodka talking, but YOUR house is likely fine, I've seen a garter snake here and there, but, NOT this year yet. I've also seen a black racer snake many years ago. I am glad to see the snakes are NOT venomous ones. IF they do hang around you MAY have some rodents around for them to be hanging around your place. Do you have some animal feed that may be attracting mice? I HOPE this helps, I wouldn't worry, maybe they have overwintered in a hole in the ground near your place.

Catherine, thanks! What about spraying individual sick plants or hitting individual weeds with roundup? That's my normal method. I use an organic gardening stuff for my lawn -- is that okay? Unfortunately we have a mowing service, and they ride around at top speed on those huge mowers. There are sections of the yard that aren't mowed, though. I could possibly add a water feature in one of those areas. Re: the water feature. Would one that isn't in the ground be of any help? One of those ponds-that-are-actually-a-tub-of-water-that-stands-on-the-deck kind of things? Or does it need to be something the toads can hop into and out of and such, something at ground level? What about garter snakes? Are the two mutually exclusive? Val

Hi - it definitely is a garter snake - not sure which species, but probably a Plains garter snake. Perfectly harmless. Hope this helps! Tucker

Well, you aren't going to end up with a large den of them because densites are not chosen by where it is easy to live in the summer but rather where they can survive the winter. If you were going to have denning gartersnakes on your property, they would already have been there for decades. As for protecting them from your dogs, you could train your dogs to leave them alone. Unfortunately, trying to teach a terrier not to chase animals is like trying to teach one to read Russian. I like terriers, but this is their one fatal flaw for me. Maybe you could treat the area where the snake hangs out with a chemical that is aversive to dogs but not snakes? If you could find a dead snake and cover it in habanero chili sauce and let your dog play with it, that would teach the lesson pretty well and not hurt the dog. The other solution is to provide the snakes safe passage and hiding areas that are difficult for the dog to access. I actually knew a person who installed a plastic pipe under their dog kennel to give snakes and toads a safe path to their pond.