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Found the largest black rat I've ever seen and then a 3' kingsnake under the same piece of wood within days of each other. Last year the illegal dumping of debris along the trail left me only cover that stays moist (foam rubber, untreated wood and carpet) never material that gets hot, so I saw many worm snakes, ringnecks, salamanders, rarely a baby king or box turtle. Laying out wood and metal this year has increased the size and diversity of my finds greatly. Here some things I've observed...
1. The kind of ground under the cover determines whether an animal is actively foraging on top of leaves or in repose at the bottom of its burrow.
2. The amount of space underneath seems to decide whether the cover stays moist or dry more than the material itself. A lot of ringnecks were attracted to foam rubber at a specific spot where the ground is uneven, but I've almost never found one under the same cover as a worm snake.
3. Although small snakes were attracted to artificial cover on the trail much more than natural rocks and logs, they seem to favor rocks and masonry on particularly hot or wet days or out of season, so I have to go to mountain or river sites to find any before April.
4. The blacksnake and kingsnake were found under a large piece of wood where I'd never found anything in 2 years, and I've placed similar pieces that haven't yielded anything yet.
5. Although there are a lot of redbellies around here none were found under materials that attract other small terrestrials until I thought to go looking at night, and there it was.

kingsnake

Awesome finds. I do not practice, but encourage, illegal dumping!
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2 tham radix
1 Chicago Tham s. semifasciatus
2 elaphe vulpina
1 gray tiger salamander
4 Aphonopelma hentzi
1 G rosea
1 Haplo minax
1 Brachy angustum
1 Brachy sabulosum
1 Brachy vagans
1 Cent. hentzi scorp

Doing better than me down here in North/Central Texas. I have mostly several small Earth snakes (Virginia sp.)& one baby Rough Green so far in snakes. Plus severasl assorted cooters/sliders & one big old Snapping turtle..
No lizards so far...Spring got started a bit late though..

Sincerely,
Matthew

Interesting stuff!

There is a book called "A Snake Hunting Guide" that mentions similar-type info regarding the type of debris and the animals most likely to be found under it.

Back in the day, when boards left in habitat were "allowed" to just stay there, I always noticed that the big pieces that had warps and such could harbor various species. Some would like the flatter part of the board, other the warped part. Of course it depends on moisture, etc. Great way to learn about the animals though.

I can't believe I'm complaining that trash is picked up, but I can't seem to lay down any boards anymore in certain areas that aren't picked up by the following season. Just too many people monitoring these days. Makes it very hard to find anything.