Snakes don't really dig holes, but they will make use of holes that are already available. Filling in the holes probably won't have much effect though since they can slip into very small openings and will find a way to get around.

Snakes do not dig holes. I, too, was told as a child that every hole in the ground was a "snake hole". Later, I learned that this is not true, though that's not to say that a snake wouldn't occasionally take advantage of a pre-made hole, or go down inside one in search of prey. Most of the time, the holes turned out to have been made by rodents, or even large beetle grubs. I've "fished" some really big, fat grubs out of holes that were fairly large in diamter. Pepsis wasps will also dig such holes to stash their larder of paralyzed spiders, caterpillars, or other insects, to lay eggs on, and sometimes the hole's covering gets brushed away, revealing the little "cavern". I myself LOOK for snakes, and I've never found a snake in such a hole. Of course, snakes would be FAR better to have around a garden than either beetle grubs or rodents, since unlike the latter, snakes won't eat the fruits of your labor, or cut through the roots and kill the plants.

pitbulllady

About a week ago, I was walking in the woods behind my house and saw a Rough Green Snake about half way into an old mole hole. It wasn't going any farther in and then he poked his head out of the hole. He then turned back around and pushed for a little bit, and then slowly disappeared into the hole. It was a little early for green snakes to be going into hibernation in Central Missouri, so maybe it was looking for a hibernation spot.

I don't mean to split hairs, but correct me if I'm wrong - I think the research has shown that Pine snakes actually do excavate holes to create a nest.

We have a one acre pond in the backyard that has perpendicular slits all along it that are about 10 ft. long. This previous spring, water snakes emerged in droves and dispersed far and wide. The pond was like a snake highway for weeks. We are about 35 mi. south of St. Louis and the weather has been quite nice. I'm waiting for them to return.

In all probability, the snakes that you are finding in your garden are keeping the grasshopper, cricket, mice, moles and other critter populations down, spelling for a nicer garden. They want nothing to do with you. Try to overcome your fears and enjoy the benefits the snakes are providing.

For 4 years I have loved my time in the garden at the lakehouse, but this season I have had several encounters with snakes and it has ruined my motivation and delight to garden. Weeds are growing and I just can't get past it.....I know I need to suck it up...but is there anything I can do to eliminate more coming ??? Yes, I've read the comments about how good they are for the garden, but my plants were doing just fine without them!

No, there's no "magic potion" that works to keep snakes away, especially from a highly attractive environment, and what you described, lisa_gaynort, is a highly attractive environment to snakes. You said that there are weeds, and that provides cover for both the snakes AND their prey. Your phobia is creating the perfect environment for both. THAT is what you should deal with first-the phobia. I cannot imagine having to give up anything I enjoy because of an irrational fear, and a fear of snakes that bad is irrational, because it's way out of proportion to any actual threat that they pose. I'm not trying to sound mean, but I am blunt and to the point. If you knew that you had a physical ailment, you'd seek treatment for it, right? This is the same thing. Phobias CAN be conquered and it's even possible to turn that fear into enjoyment. I should know, because I used to have a borderline phobia of spiders, but I refused to let it take control of me or the things I enjoyed, so I set out to learn as much about those animals as possible, and took up macro photography. I now have owned over 70 tarantula species and many species of native spiders, even Black Widows. Knowledge defeats fear, every time.

good point! I could have a few new slippery friends. Something to work on.

Lisa ... Learn which snakes live in your area and which ones you need to be wary of.

Even the venomous ones will move away from you if they hear you coming - they don't want a confrontation any more than you do.

I have no fear of green garden snakes or black snake, but am terrified of rattlesnakes and copperheads (venomous) which we have in abundance where I live. Like Lisa above, this has impacted my enjoyment of gardening. I have run into a copperhead in my yard before, so it seems realistic that it could happen again (and what if I don't see it this time)? Would like to overcome the fear, but at the same time it seems kind of rational and adaptive:) Anyone have thoughts?

It is very easy to learn how to distinguish the venomous species that you have from the non-venomous ones, and very easy to avoid either. No snake, venomous or not, has any interest in "going after" people. They will avoid us whenever possible. As long as you can SEE it, and know where it is, it poses no threat at all, no matter how venomous it is. It's not going to attack something it cannot possibly eat. 78% of all venomous snake bites in the US occur when the bitten person is deliberately interacting with the snake, either trying to kill it or pick it up without proper tools, like snake tongs. Just by avoiding that kind of behavior, you cut your chances of being bitten by 78%. The other 22% of bites occur when the person is not aware of their surroundings and steps or puts their hand in places where they cannot see what is there. You cannot blame an animal for biting to defend itself if something much larger is trying to kill it, or is stepping on it. Don't walk or step in areas where you cannot see everything around and under your feet, like in overgrown, weedy areas. Don't walk around outdoors at night without lighting to show you what is in your path, and don't reach down into grassy, overgrown brush where you don't know what is lying underneath. If at all possible, avoid wearing flip-flops or sandals when working outdoors, since most of those 22% bites that weren't deliberately provoked occur on the feet. Those are easy things to do, but very valuable things, as well. Snakes are not the only outdoor potential hazards that can be present while gardening, so if you just are aware of your surroundings, you will be safe from all of them.

Thanks for the advice... really helpful. I would feel bad if I accidentally stepped on a snake and hurt it. Now that you mention it, almost every snake sighting has been in tall grass or overgrown areas... I've happened upon them numerous times, always either in the tall grass or heading toward the tall grass (I guess because it saw me before I saw him?). The one exception is once there was one just chilling on my back deck (and it was venomous i'm pretty sure - diamond-ish design on its back). Otherwise the big issue around here is ticks - probably way more dangerous than snakes, really!

Indeed, ticks are MUCH more dangerous than snakes, and snakes actually consume ticks when the eat the rodents that are hosts for the blood suckers and reservoirs for diseases like Lyme, which affects humans. About the "diamond" pattern, though-that's not a reliable way to ID a snake as venomous at all. Many people mistake rectangular or even rounded blotches for "diamonds" and kill harmless snakes. I've often seen people describe the pattern of Corn and Rat Snakes as "diamond-patterned". People have it ingrained in their minds that all venomous snakes have a "diamond" pattern, which isn't true at all. Many people who don't even live within the range of either Eastern or Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes will still insist that the snakes they see have a diamond pattern. Rattlesnakes are lousy climbers, unlike Rat, Corn and many other snakes, so if the deck was raised, it probably wasn't one of those. Where do you live, eliza33? That can really help narrow down the species of snake that was on your deck.

The "trick" to avoiding snakes is to make a lot of noise as you garden. They will leave.

IF my yard were in an area where I had reasonable chance of blundering into a snake, I'd agitate the grass with a rake or something before walking through it, and keep the perimeter clear of brush and weeds.

The noise only counts if it is against the ground. Snakes cannot hear air-borne sounds, but that is good advice to use something to agitate the grass or brush ahead of you, since that will at least get any snakes to reveal themselves, if not leave.

My neighbor has created the perfect habitat for snakes under two small garages he built and supported on landscape ties which are beginning to rot and the snakes go under and live there. I garden and am in my yard daily my fear of snakes is totally irrational, I know that, does not help me, I carry a small revolver called The Judge, it shoots .410 shot gun shells, that is my solution.

I have a Judge, too, but its use is reserved for two-legged, REAL threats, not imagined threats from harmless animals. Killing something that you ACKNOWLEDGE can't hurt you makes no sense whatsoever. That's not a "solution" because you still have that irrational fear; it's merely using violent behavior to express that fear.

Have only killed one rattlesnake, threat to my dogs. Have a .9mm for two legged threats, sorry I even need to think about that, but with grandchildren and frequently being alone in a rural area, reality is what it is, can remember never locking a door, unfortunately those days are gone.

I "stumbled" upon this thread as I'm reading quite a bit on snakes lately. I moved into an area in Alabama that is known to have Copperheads, (unknowingly until AFTER we closed on the home) and there are other snakes (Cottonmouths, rat snakes...) as well. I haven't seen Cottonmouths but I have seen other snakes. I have eliminated quite a bit of the things that provide food and shelter for them. I plan to expand quite a bit of hardscape (concrete, crushed aggregate, river rock, pavers/patio) and ALL monkey grass, jasmine, pine straw, and other ground cover including shrubbery will be history. The goal is to keep everything clean and green and incredibly unpleasant for snakes. I have also found rodent holes and filled them with crushed aggregate, and rocks. I make certain to use long garden tool handles to push the rock into the holes and pack them to the point where no further material can be packed. We have killed two Copperheads to this point. one was under my vehicle as I headed out one morning. We have younger children, visitors, dogs and cats... that may not be aware of the dangers. The Copperheads are particularly dangerous as they can be aggressive and may not be easily seen by an unsuspecting visitor... We want to decrease the likelihood of an encounter but we also don't allow the snakes to live once we discover them on the premises.

I can't imagine how you can make it unpleasant for them. Perhaps you can make it unattractive.

I would agree Copperheads are the most likely issue, they don't announce their presence, and are more likely to be stepped on.

Though in general snake threat is probably over exaggerated. I roamed the woods as a child and never was bitten by anything, and we had at least three species of rattlers, copperheads, and cottonmouths.

Frankly, I'd never seen a wild copperhead till I was in my thirties, though I suspect many had seen me. Rattlers give warning, and have never been aggressive, though I understand they may be during molt. Cottonmouths simply hate me, and unerringly head my way. They've never been as fast as me though.

Avoid making the territory attractive to rodents and you'll go a long way in clearing the snakes out.

I lived in Houston once...I understand the heat :0 I remember seeing snakes, but none venomous. And I loved the house geckos...which I could never catch.

Recently I had dug up a new section for my garden. As I was digging holes for plants i saw several inches of the tail end of what I hope was a yellow rat snake several inches below the surface. It quickly disappeared. I had seen a perfectly round hole on the surface of the garden nearby where I ended up seeing the snake but didn't know what had made it. The next morning there was another perfectly round hole nearby where I had seen the snake. My husband cleared more area for the garden the next day where I had seen the last hole. The next day there was a perfectly round hole again in the same area I had seen the snake. If snakes use other critters holes and not make their own, what could be making this hole that appears to be the same diameter as the snake. It is not unusual to see a rat or black snake in our back yard in Central Florida and I'm not afraid of these helpful snakes. I didn't know they lived underground though

I believe those holes I see in my garden are made by voles, which eat the roots of plants. If you want to save your plants from voles you can bury cages around the roots or plant them in perm-til/vole bloc (it's like sharp gravel). Snakes eat voles. I have many holes and see dead voles as well as snakes lately. On the other hand, I have seen yellow jackets emerging from holes. So I never mess with them.

I was tending my flower bed yesterday and decided to sit down and take a break. I looked up from reading the backside of a seed packet to notice an Eastern King Snake just staring at me a few feet away. I got up and let him have the garden. I don't have anything against these king snakes and I'm glad they are around. I just don't like being surprised by them like that. The flower bed I am working on is an old bed that I let grow up over the years and after about 10 years of doing nothing with it I have started back working it. I see some holes and mounds where the snake could be burrowed at times. Don't want this snake to leave my yard permanently but I am going to need to dig up these holes and add compost and garden soil. Was reading earlier that they don't actually live in the holes, just use them for hunting. I have no idea if this is a male or female snake, don't know if it could have babies or what. What do y'all think? Should I leave these holes intact just in case and work around them or will the snake find another spot to use? What if I dig up some babies? I know my questions may seem silly. I really love gardening and nature but I have not spent a whole lot of time reading about snakes until today.

Snakes generally don't live in "holes" in the ground. The will live in burrows, but those generally have fairly large openings (as big as your fist or so). But many times they "live" under surface structures (rocks, etc), in hollow logs, in tree hollows, up in rafters of an open building etc.. And the snakes that do occupy burrows/holes don't usually dig them themselves. They will live in burrows/holes other animals dig but the small holes people find in their gardens are rarely if ever associated with snakes.

I'm pretty sure the holes in the ground are from moles or mice, I've never seen a snake use any of the 1"-1 1/2" holes I see occasionally in the yard. I understand the folks that do not want snakes harmed, really I do! However - you have to take into account the fact that when there are snakes living in areas where there are children and pets it can become a problem. I essentially live in town, but there are woods behind the house and garage. Some summers you literally can not walk the 1/2 yard without stepping on, moving away from or seeing a snake. And yes, they sometimes give me quite an unwelcome surprise. In Ohio these are usually harmless blacksnakes or brown-snakes - but man can those blacksnakes get big. I have tried trapping and snake repellent, both of which are a fail. If the population gets ridiculous, yes I take a shovel to them. It gets really tiresome to have 5 foot snakes basking on your storm door in the sun. I don't know why I have so many, beside the wooded areas I keep the grass low and I'm a weeding fool along the house, garage and flower beds.