How to make your yard appeal to snakes. Snakes? Yes, snakes

DEAR JOAN >> I’ve been delighted recently to see a garter snake in my front yard. I’m hoping he or she will stick around to eat pests. Is there anything I should do or not do to make my yard more snake friendly? — Sharon Anderson, Bay Area DEAR SHARON >> We have a number of snakes that might visit your yard. Garter snakes are but one. However, by doing a few things, you can make your yard a welcoming place for many types of snakes.

Garter snakes are seldom found far from water, whether it’s a pond, stream or marsh. All snakes will need a water source, but to keep a garter snake visiting, you’ll need to create a water feature in your yard. Otherwise, a birdbath placed on the ground and filled with clean, fresh water will suit most other snakes.

Perhaps even more important than the water is a place to hide. Stack some large, flat rocks so that there are openings and hiding places for a snake. You could even use a piece of plywood, lifted slightly off the ground.

To keep a snake interested in staying in your yard, you’ll need to adopt some green practices, including avoiding using pesticides, herbicides or harsh fertilizers. Those things can both harm the snake and remove food sources.

I’m pleased to know that you recognize the contributions a snake can make to your yard by helping to keep pests in check. You might want to pick up a book to help you identify snakes that might visit or take up residency. The only one you’d need to be concerned about is the rattlesnake.

Before mowing, check the lawn to make sure you don’t have a snake hanging out there, and if you have pets, try to keep them away from the snake.

DEAR JOAN >> I know little about hummingbirds, but a lot about molded plastics of the type that is used to fabricate hummingbird feeders. I suspect that new feeders might not be attractive to hummingbirds because (the feeders) don’t smell right.

When plastics are compounded and molded, various ingredients are mixed together before being molded under heat and pressure. Some of those ingredients are volatile, meaning that they evaporate during the molding process and continue to slowly evaporate after the item has been delivered to the customer. It is the same reason for “new car smell.”

It is also the same reason that new carpeting will permeate the room with a peculiar odor. (And, while we are on the subject, if your nose tells you it might be a good idea to set up a fan and open a window, do it!)

My guess is that the new hummingbird feeders will be acceptable to the birds after (the feeders) have been exposed to sunlight and weather for a month or two. It might take six months. — Eric Johnson, Bay Area DEAR ERIC >> Thanks for all of that valuable, interesting information. It could be an explanation for why some hummers reject a new feeder, even though it’s identical to the old.

With few exceptions, birds do not have a good sense of smell, but as hummers stick their noses, so to speak, right into the new feeder, they could be smelling something they don’t like.