Garters are harmless but it seems humans are conditioned to fear snakes. I've started getting garters in my garden this year and it's always a bit startling initially to come across one.

I was sitting on the grass in my front yard one day a few years ago -weeding or something - leaned back and put my hand down in the grass - and the ground moved. The garter snake was as startled as I was...

I am thrilled to have them in my yard. I hadn't seen one for a while so thought they had "disappeared" but I saw one in my brush pile when I went to add some more dead branches to the pile last week, so I know they are still around.

I think they are pretty, very good for the ecosystem in my garden, and not "yuck" at all - :-) But maybe that's because where I grew up there were no poisonous snakes so I never had to worry about them.

Now spiders, on the other hand.... Also wonderful creatures, as long as they aren't walking on me!!

Holly

We were out at a class on Saturday & walked out to look at some branchling great horned owls. I heard a rustling behind us and two bull snakes - each about 4ft - were mating.

Dan

Got my own, thanks!
{{gwi:478173}}

I've got plenty of my own. I wouldn't mind them if they didn't eat so many of my leopard frogs and fish.

I get garters, bulls and rattlers. Problem being that some of the bulls are so alike in color to the rattlers that I am not sure sometimes if I should let it go... or let it go headless.

I wouldn't mind a few more around my place, I can pick them up at the swap lol.

If you think about the phobia issues in this country there are quite a few: snakes, spiders, rodents, roaches, geese, horses, cows, dogs, etc. I think there is a phobia for just about everyone. I try not to let phobia get to me, but every so often, it sneaks up on me too.

oakiris - holly- did you grow up in Maine? That is the only state I have heard of that does not have a poisonous snake. Just curious as to where else gets to make that claim. I grew up in AZ where I sometimes thought we had the most different types of poisonous snakes known to any region. Don't know if its true, but the one website shows 18 and somewhere around 50 non-venomous.

Billie - Belinda

Billie - no, I grew up mostly in R.I. and Vermont. If there were poisonous snakes there, I never met up with them! I don't think there are any in Rhode Island:

Venomous snakes of Rhode Island and though there are timber rattlesnakes in Vermont, I never saw one - I imagine they don't go out of their way to make themselves seen by humans.

There apparently used to be timber rattlesnakes in R.I. as well but apparently they went extinct. Now, don't ask me how the northern copperheads and timber rattlesnakes that are in Massachusetts know not to cross the state line!!

Holly