It is great you have such diversity in your yard. I also frequently relocate critters to provide them a safer home. I hate hurting things with my mower.

Thank you for spotting the turtle and taking the time to move the tiny snake out of harm's way.

We have snakes, lizards and frogs here, but I've never seen a turtle around here. I've heard they can be found in ponds and near the river.

How nice! I'm on the other side of the mountains from you, but I have yet to see a lizard or skink around here. We do have tiny little salamanders, though.

You're a better man than me, bob. I don't do reptiles, most especially not snakes. l'm happy to avoid the places they like and hope they will return the favor.

How wonderful! I rarely see reptiles in this neighborhood, sad to say.

A few weeks ago as I picked up sticks to prep for mowing, I saw a weird zig zag stick and commented to my husband 'what a weird stick'. I was inches away from grabbing it when I realized that it was a snake! It turned out to be a very thin Texas rat snake, we rarely see any in the yard. I'm wary of it's whereabouts since we chased it into my potting supplies storage. Believe me, I watch where I put my hands now.

I like reptiles....of all kinds and I never bother them. If I see a snake first, I go around it. If they see me first, they will usually get out of the way. The most common snakes I see here are broad banded water snakes. I used to see a lot of cotton mouths but I think they avoid the yard due to the number of cats and dogs. I see one maybe a couple times a year. I used to see them all the time. I never kill them, or bother them. My favorite reptile are alligators. I like turtles too. I like the little geckos....counted 6 on the outside of the bathroom window night before last.

I like all these creatures, yes, even snakes. My Mom taught me by example to live and let live when possible. I just don't 'get' the aversion many people have to some creatures. Spiders are among my favorites.

When we were kids we used to handle the little brown snakes like the one you moved to the woodpile. They don't even have teeth or fangs. We would give them small leaf worms to eat. They were very tame.

How marvelous that Box Turtles are being seen! My son saw one yesterday here in northern Virginia, and I was so pleased as they'd gotten very rare.

We have these green anoles and lots of toads. There are snakes, but mainly small non poisonous ones. They caught about an alligator in our neighborhood ponds last year, but we haven't become overrun with them yet.

We mostly have alligator lizards. They grow to be about 8-9 inches long, but when we had dogs we only had small (2-3 inch) lizards because the dogs caught all of the big ones. They lay their eggs in the dirt and rocks and the dogs became very good at finding their nests and digging up the eggs. Now that the dogs are gone, the lizards are making a comeback.

"Dog-gone good thing", say the lizards, as they peacefully reoccupy their until recently fear-inspiring territory.

o j

Yea, OJ. While I miss the dogs, I don't imagine the lizards do. I, too, am happy to see them recovering from the dog years. :-)

Snakes. I love 'em.

Snakes consume about 99% of the insects listed on insecticide bags.

Brush.....snakes as a major pest insect predator is not something I've heard of. A minor role, certainly. Interesting.

Considering the huge number of insects around and the small number of snakes that eat them, I can't imagine snakes play a noticeable role in limiting insect populations.

Elmer, I don't especially "do" reptiles either, I am somewhat phobic of them. Something about them simply reaches into a deep subconscious part of me, even when it is one I know is non-venomous. However for the tiny snake I picked up, it was so small and so cute that it never even occurred to me to be frightened. My biggest concern was that I might drop it as it wriggled around on my glove, and it might be injured by the fall.

I like to think that I'm enlightened enough that although I am unsettled by seeing one there is no need to reflexively kill all snakes I see. Given the number of snakes I've seen over the past several years, many in relative proximity to my house, and given how you can see one and then just a few seconds later it disappears, that there probably have been snakes near you as you go through your yard far more often then you would guess.

Just yesterday I arrived at home and saw this at the base of the steps to our house:

Bob he wants in your house!!!!! ........shiver........

Happens to me often.

Snakes and insects, I didn't imply that snakes eat 99% of the insects. Snakes consume 99% of the listed insects on an insecticide bag. My garter snakes do a great job throughout my landscape. Of course they can't consume an entire insect population, but their efforts are appreciated by me.

I encourage snakes to stay on my property by providing simple habitats, like firewood, a garden fountain and ornamental grasses.

Iris S. it is a good chance you see the same one every year as he travels from his hibernation area to whatever body of water he heads to later. bob (op) nice that you have all those creatures. Keep an eye out for that box turtle they live a long life (if not hit by a mower or run over) and have a small home range. Take some photos of the pattern on its shell if you are unsure if you are seeing the same one or different ones. Once common they are becoming increasingly rare.

We have black snakes mostly, and lots of lizards. The lizards love our brick house for the heat. Blue tails, and ones like adella posted above. Last fall, I had three of them enjoying the window frame in my living room. There is a slight crack between the frame and screen, and they would be lined up top to bottom, sunning in the west-facing window. I learned quickly not to open that window!

Snakes are fine outside. They startle me, but I give them wide berth and we co-exist. My walking buddy is deathly afraid of snakes. We walk on a paved path around a lake, and many times he has tried to climb up my back when he sees a snake. It's my job to play lookout, and alert him well ahead.

I don't like snakes. I prefer to never see them if possible. I would never live in an area, and most especially not in a neighborhood, where snakes are regularly present and visible. That's my preference.