There's been several mentions of "snakes in the garden", lately, and I just read an entry on the AIS blog concerning i.anguifuga, or "snake bane". Give it a read, if you haven't, it's quite interesting!http://theamericanirissociety.blogspot.com/ http://theamericanirissociety....

I read the article Arlyn. Thanks for the link. I can learn something new every day.

I wonder if anyone has tried it and seen any results. I have some places it could be quite useful!

Well, it says in the article it's an "old wives tale" ! And old wives are pretty sharp!.........or ,at least, that's what MY old wife tells me ....Arlyn

Snakes eat rodents which eat irises. If they are non-poisonous snakes, I see no reason to get rid of them. they can make you jump when suddenly appear.

I have copperheads which are definitely not in the friendly category.

No MAM!!! Don't be wantin' any part of those Copperheads. Those are the snakes that I most commonly come across in my neighborhood. Don't like it one bit!!!

I rarely see a snake around here, If I do it's a harmless grass snake.

Same here...thankfully.

Our dog [a Westie] is very jealous of her territory. Snakes would not make it. All 22 pounds goes after any invader, so in first months of her being big enough to roam the yard she got 3 mice or voles to use as toys. Unfortunately for her the toys stop working and she gives up on them. Had a groundhog cornered in a wood pile a few weeks ago. I did not let her use that one as a "toy" as it was about her size with bigger teeth. Could not catch a fox or the many rabbits but did chase them away. She either has no fear or thinks like a teen-age brain.

That teen-age brain will lead you astray every time.

Any snake around here would be of great interest. We do have blue-bellied lizards. Tons of frogs. We used to see gopher snakes and would welcome them again.
Further north of us, a friend had a rattlesnake problem. She had to have someone come in and roust them from under her deck.
Our dogs keep most critters at bay.

We have the occasional bear.

Jan, which Iris is that in your avatar?

These snakes are often found in my yard:
Sharp Tailed snake (small and harmless. I have them everywhere)
Gopher snake (has a bad temper if bothered, but otherwise harmless. They will also shake their tail to act like a rattler)
Rattlesnake (get them regularly, killed 4 last year)
and
Pacific Ring Neck snake (a few, but haven't seen one in a few years)
Kingsnake (I used to see them regularly, but sad to say I haven't seen one in years)

Debra, that's Tiger Honey. She's given me a bee seed pod, which I'm watching every day for signs of opening. Hoping to collect some seeds.