Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anybody have any tips on snake catchin any traps or any tip would be appreciated.

Thnx, Mike

Snakes are not usually captured by traps. Any trap a snake can crawl into it can crawl out of. Most herpers locate areas that are likely habitats for the kind(s) of snakes they may be seeking and go there in appropriate weather (spring, summer or early fall) at the right time of day (some species are diurnal, some nocturnal) and use hooks and other items to flip logs, rocks, etc. looking for snakes. Some folks locate likely areas and leave pieces of tin or plywood sheets or such around and return to flip those, since many species will use them for cover and shelter. The first step is a good knowledge of what species live in your area and where they are likely to be found, then go apply soime old fashioned shoe (or boot) leather to ssking them out.

I know all the species I've done real good this year and ended it with 2 S.C. Coral Snakes under some tin after a rain storm but I meant somthing like funnel traps and drift fences and I've gotton quite a few from tin and boards.

Thnx, Mike

All of the drift fences I've used for amphibian monitoring are also rigged with funnel traps for snakes. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. It's a little harder to predict when they will be moving and where to put the fences. In either case, if you use a funnel trap with a drift fence the trap should have a narrow opening and you'll probably want to place a board over it so the snake is under cover and will feel like it needs to escape with less urgency... I don't know what sort of luck you'll have -- I don't use the traps for collecting I use them for monitoring. I've never caught enough snakes like this to really do anything with the data and in general it's much more productive to just actively search the habitat. If you are collecting, make sure to have the required permits if your state even regulates the collection of non-game species. Be prepared to deal with some dead shrews and don't leave the traps open for too long without checking them. A snake may be able to live in something like that for a few days but many mammals that end up in there won't make it more than a night. Shrews... I've never had a live shrew.