I spent some time enhancing my terrestrial cover sites over the winter with natural materials and things people will not steal, which resulted in just a single find this year. Modern doors it turns out are made of a cardboard material that disintegrates, and water levels rose over a metal site thanks to beavers. I’ve been inspired to try something different this time based on a find someone posted: Black landscaping fabric folded over and secured with rocks near the water’s edge. I’ve seen this used in stream restoration projects and could easily be mistaken for one esp. in the right location.
I used to think N. sipedon didn’t use covers at all because of the scarcity of materials at the water’s edge which are almost always moved. Then I discovered a site where some rusted metal serves the dual purpose of providing a home for a family of snakes and visitors are completely unaware of their presence. The owners moved these about 4 feet and no snake has used them since; instead they are using an ugly sheet of plastic that is closer to the water, but only on days when it has dried out completely from rains. I think this means they want a dry space that is covered both above and below, and possibly smaller spaces where they can escape to the water easily. This is why I thought of folding the material to make a pocket and placing rocks to make spaces around them. I don’t use minnow traps because I can’t monitor every day.

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