Hello Jeanne,

I have recently started my position here at UVM Extension and see that your question never got answered. Our apologies.

If you are still curious about the issue you posed, let me know by responding to this post or pose your question at: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener/helpline

With thanks, Deb Heleba, UVM Extension Master Gardener Program Coordinator

Thank you for contacting the UVM Master Gardner Helpline with your question about encouraging snakes into your community garden.

You have already taken some great steps to encourage snakes.  I found a few articles that might give you some additional ideas.

This PDF contains information about attracting reptiles and amphibians into your garden. https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/ec1542.pdf

The University of North Carolina has an article entitled “Reptiles and Amphibians in your Backyard” (https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/reptiles-and-amphibians-in-your-backyard).  This article contains information about not only encouraging them, but retaining them. In particular you might find the section entitled “Sharing the Land with Amphibians and Reptiles” interesting. I pasted in a few paragraphs below.   Note:  I see they recommend use of a flowering vine on top of your pile, obviously you will want to use something native to Vermont and avoid using anything invasive.

Good habitat is wasted if your yard is otherwise unsafe for herps. To reduce hazards to herps, you should:

• Limit chemical use. Remember that storm drains lead directly to streams. Apply herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers only in the smallest amounts necessary and only when absolutely needed. Always follow the instructions on the labels. Avoid using any chemicals near water sources and storm drains, unless labeled for such use. Rinse excess or spilled fertilizer off your driveway onto the lawn so it does not wash into storm drains when it rains. If your car is leaking oil, repair it and clean up the spill so that the oil does not wash into streams.

• Control household pets that might harm herps or their habitats. Outdoor cats and dogs prey on lizards and a variety of other wildlife. Studies have shown that up to 90 percent of outdoor domestic cats’ diet can be wild animals. Dogs trample leaves and disturb garden pools. Keep your cat indoors and restrict your dog from wildlife habitats to maintain healthy herp populations in your yard.

Providing Shelter for Herps

Log and Brush Piles

• Firewood or logs stacked in an organized arrangement provide shelter.

• Brush piles consist of a variety of sizes of sticks and limbs and are not as orderly as log piles.

• Put larger diameter logs on the bottom to create bigger hiding places. Criss-cross smaller branches on top, and add a native flowering vine such as Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) to cover the pile.

• A finished dome-shaped brush pile about 5 feet wide at the base provides effective shelter for a variety of wildlife species.

Rock Piles

• Place larger stones on the bottom to create pockets and caves. PVC pipe can be added to the interior to create tunnels.

• Making a rock wall (essentially a long, narrow rock pile) provides shelter and a protected corridor for travel.

• Placing rocks in a sunny area will provide basking sites for turtles, snakes, lizards, and butterflies.

Amphibian Houses

• Children may enjoy creating houses for amphibians out of upside-down clay flower pots that have a small section of the lip cracked off for a door. Place these in a shady section of the yard for toads and salamanders to find.

• A larger shelter can be constructed by digging a 2-inch-deep depression in a shady area and covering it with a piece of untreated plywood. Prop one side of the plywood up with fist-sized rocks to provide an entrance. You can cover the plywood with mulch or old leaves, and plant native wildflowers around it.

I hope this information is helpful. If you need more information, please feel free to reach out.

Laura, UVM Master Gardner Helpline Volunteer

Addendum:

After responding to your question, I was looking at other recent questions and discovered some more information that would be helpful for you.

In addition to encouraging snakes, you also want to encourage raptors that prey on voles. The New Hampshire Extension published articles about managing voles in fruit orchards and controlling bird damage by encouraging raptors to nest nearby.

Managing Voles in New Hampshire Orchards and Highbush Blueberries: https://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/migrated_unmanaged_files/Resource003424_Rep4893.pdf

Bird Damage Prevention for Northern New England Fruit Growers: https://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/migrated_unmanaged_files/Resource001797_Rep2514.pdf. In particular the section entitled “Nest boxes for hawks and owls.

Good luck!

Laura, UVM MG Helpline Volunteer