Garter Snakes have many Aliases. The common garden snake also called garter snake or gardner snake. They are not venomous. They have longitudinal stripes, usually red, yellow or white, resembling a garter as from a garter belt. They eat anything living, but rodents are considered the favorite gardener's snake food. Although these snakes help us with rodent control, we don't want them to get out of hand, and also with common garden snakes we may also be attracting venomous snakes. What to do? I'd say the best approach is to prevent snakes altogether, and use rodent traps as your rodent solution. Poisonous snakes are too dangerous.

Dog Bitten by Poisonous Viper - real story

My friend's dog, "Buddy" was bitten by a poisonous viper snake. My friend and I then successfully managed to kill the viper ourselves, without the assistance of a professional snake catcher. I wouldn't suggest you do this yourself though. Ok, here's our real story: we heard Buddy barking incessantly as we were hanging out watching a movie in the tent. We ignored the barking, as we thought it was probably just an opossum. About a half hour later Buddy comes in limping and licking his front paw, which was swollen. He was sluggish and layed down near us licking his paw. Ok, it's a snake bite, damn. It was night time so we were careful as we searched for the snake, which we did find, holed up in a tight space. To make it a short story.... I shined the flashlight on the coiled up viper and my friend speared it; he just happened to have a spear laying around, really. He then chopped off the snake's head, and we took it with us to the vet. Buddy got good care and survived fine.

Garden Snake Pictures

When you look at some garden snake pictures,or garter snakes. Notice the markings. Although they are not considered venomous, they can have some venom, and can bite, but they are not considered too dangerous, and generally will not bite unless you are playing with them and bragging to your friends or kids about how friendly they are.

How to prevent snakes in the Garden?

Generally, if you let snakes alone, they'll leave you alone. Here are some simple tips to prevent snakes from visiting or cohabitating in your garden:

Don't leave out rotting fruit in your garden; rodents love fruit, and snakes love rodents. Collect your dropped fruit and cover it in your compost pile. Also, grains, pet food, and bird seed should be kept in sealed containers if stored outdoors.

Snakes love tall grass; be sure to keep your grass short, mowed frequently.

Remove wood piles, junk, and piles of rocks.

Fences may keep them out. Use a small diameter wire fence, 3 feet high and buried 1 foot. The bottom edge should be bent outward at a 90 degree angle to prevent snakes from slipping under fence.

Is that your Garden Hose or a Garden Snake?

Large gardens need a long garden hose to reach every corner. Many gardeners have been known to leave out their garden hoses, sprawled in every direction. "Where's the hose?" Have you ever gone out in the early evening, about to pick up your hose, and it was a snake? I have. Its very scary. Besides the fright and garden hose / garden snake paranoia that develops, leaving out your hose is also dangerous. You may trip or run it over with your mower, damaging it. It can also get dryed out and bitten by the dog. The best method I know of maintaining your garden hose is by using a water powered automatic hose reel, by www.no-crank.com