Christie, Yes, it sounds like a very typical garter snake den. You will tend to see the biggest numbers around this time in March when they start to emerge (one or two may even come out on warm days in January or February but they won't stray far from their holes then). They'll hang around the den for about two weeks and then disperse. Of course one or two might go to the den in August or some other time to escape the heat, but for the most part most will migrate away from dens later in March and return in mid to late October. The hole is probably relatively deep and probably holds many more than 5 snakes..maybe 30 or more. I have a den in my yard too and know of several in my residential neighborhood. It doesn't take much of a hole, a rock wall, or a stump for a garter snake den. Some of Missouri's other snakes require more extensive communal dens in deep cracks of bluffs. But garter snakes have pretty minimal den requirements. They don't need a back entrance although there could be one..but what you see could be their main, and maybe only, way in and out. All of these are guesses based on the typical dens I am familiar with. Obviously there can be great variability. You may see the snakes in mating balls this time of year near their dens. If you see 3 or 4 smaller snakes racing around and trying to get on a bigger one, you're most likely looking at a few frisky males trying to get with a female. Unlike humans, among garter snakes the females are usually larger than the males.

In my opinion best advice is to seek treatment for phobia. I had a severe phobia of dogs that I had to get treated and it is very worth it and I think a lot of people that have more "socially acceptable phobias" (e.g. spiders or snakes rather than beloved dogs, people thought I was evil for being scared of dogs! even though I have been up to cottonmouths before and been fine, didn't bother me,... but as a kid I got CHASED DOWN by dogs and attacked so...). We share this world with a lot of creatures, it's something to get used to. Desensitization&exposure therapy is best to build yourself up first before you ever see one. That being said, eliminating brush piles in areas you frequent/maintain a lot, keeping it open will keep snakes out of those areas and make them favor more wild spots. Keeping things open tends to be best for the more cultivated areas of the garden anyway, to maintain airflow. ALSO snakes are often not very active in the day except after rains. They don't like being out in the open especially in the day because one of their main predators, hawks, can see them. I rarely see snakes around my house and I have a bunch of brush lol I've only seen them out at night (there's the cutest baby kingsnake but i digress). avoid times when snakes are most active and you'll be a lot less likely to see them. anyway best of luck treating your phobia, it's a hard road but very worth it to be free of it

First off, let me say that I love herps, having collected my first one like 50 years ago. I have been an active member of a local herp organization in the Midwest for 40+ years. You have some very good points; however, us folks that love these misunderstood animals must take a more realistic approach to trying to save what species that still exist. First we need to realize that whenever it comes down to the survival of man verses a snake - the snake will loose. And the truth is, I put a higher value on mankind. Change is going to happen - we can't stop it. You can manage it though. A good example might be white-tailed deer in the U.S. Midwest. The deer population is higher in many areas now that when I was a child. We can set aside areas of land to keep some animals going, but snakes will never get great press like a big cat or beautiful bird of some type. Education is the key answer to slowing things down. It can help to change peoples view of snakes. A great example might be India. There, many people die each year from snakebites, yet the locals don't go about killing every snake they see. Even there, in time, the habitat will be eliminated. My whole point is that we must be smart about how we try to protect snakes. Condemning everyone who doesn't like them won't gain us much favor. We are going to need creative ways to protect these under-appreciated creatures. What might be some idea?

That's awesome! Congrats on a great find. It's always a rush when you find a new den or a really cool spot you didn't know about before. Actually you had the range of experiences when exploring: one spot that turned out to be a jackpot and another that turned out to have less of the desired habitat than expected. When you explore some new places you never know quite what to expect. That's what makes it all the more fun when you discover a hot new spot like the first one.