My daughter came running into the house crying so hard she could barely explain what had happened. In this fictional account, I rushed outside expecting to find an aggressive animal near her play area. Instead, stretched across the grass near our garden was a long striped snake—the second one we had discovered in our backyard in only a few weeks.

The snake appeared to be a garter snake, recognizable by the long light-colored stripes running along its darker body. Garter snakes are commonly found around yards, gardens, sheds, and areas with thick vegetation. Despite their frightening appearance to someone who isn’t comfortable around snakes, they generally avoid people and aren’t considered dangerous to humans.

Finding two of them, however, suggested our yard was offering exactly what snakes look for: shelter and food. Tall grass, thick vegetation, piles of leaves or wood, gaps beneath sheds, and populations of insects, frogs, or rodents can all make a property attractive. Simply removing one snake doesn’t necessarily solve the problem if those conditions remain.

The safest approach is to make the yard less inviting. Keeping grass trimmed, clearing unnecessary debris, storing firewood away from the house, sealing accessible gaps around structures, and controlling rodents can reduce places where snakes hide and hunt. Children should also be taught never to grab or approach an unfamiliar snake, regardless of what species it appears to be.

After cleaning up the overgrown areas around our garden and closing several gaps beneath an old shed, the repeated encounters finally stopped. The snake hadn’t been stalking our family or trying to attack anyone—it had simply found suitable habitat in our backyard. The experience taught us that removing food sources and hiding places is usually far more effective than trying to chase individual snakes away.