The sight of you gets your adrenaline pumping. If a snake appears in the garden, the first shock is great. This is understandable, but unnecessary. Domestic snakes are mostly completely harmless. This guide explains which type of snake it is based on important identifying features. Our tips reveal how to behave correctly when you meet someone.
How do I behave when there is a snake in the garden?
Snakes in the garden are usually harmless species such as grass snakes, dice snakes or smooth snakes. Keep your distance, stay calm and allow the snake an escape route. If you have poisonous adders, see a doctor immediately. All native snakes are protected.
Identifying common snakes – identifying features at a glance
If a person and a snake meet in the garden, it is usually the grass snake. Four other species of snakes are native to Germany, two of which are poisonous snakes. The following overview presents you with outstanding identifying features:
- Grass snake: not poisonous, 75-150 cm long, greenish or brownish. Natrix natrix has 2 yellow crescent spots on the neck, but not its own species Natrix helvetica (Barred Grass Snake)
- Dice snake: not poisonous, 75-110 cm long, gray-brown to ocher colored with cube markings on the back
- Smooth snake: not poisonous, 60-80 cm long, gray-brown in color, dark band between mouth and eye
- Adder: poisonous, 60-80 cm long, gray, brown, black, yellow or green, zigzag pattern on the back
- Aesculapian snake: non-venomous, 100-200 cm long, yellow-brown to grey-black, white spot pattern on the back
The native slowworm is neither blind nor a snake. In fact, it is a species of lizard whose legs have completely degenerated in the course of evolution. The shy animal is not poisonous, 30 to 40 cm long, gray, gray-brown or brown in color. Since the slowworm has snails and other pests on its menu, it can safely be classified as a beneficial insect.
Adder bite is not fatal
The adder is poisonous, but by no means aggressive. Rather, she always seeks salvation in flight. Only when the snake is cornered or touched does it defend itself and bite. This is painful, but usually not life-threatening. It could be dangerous for small children and older people, as well as in the event of shock reactions (e.g. allergic shock). However, consult a doctor immediately, as a resulting infection in combination with the poison can be dangerous to your he alth.
Snakes are protected – this is how you behave properly
All native snakes are threatened with extinction and are therefore subject to species protection. It is forbidden to disturb, hunt or even kill the animals. If you encounter one, stay calm and give the snake an escape route that it will definitely use. Even a firm step on the ground triggers the instinct to flee.
If you cannot get along with a snake in your garden at all, please contact the public order office and not the fire department. Here you can find experts who can professionally relocate an unwanted snake.
Tip
Aren't you keen on grass snakes or dice snakes in your garden? Then simply create a heather garden. The dry, sandy conditions do not suit the two semi-aquatic snakes. Only if you integrate a garden pond into the design plan could the native snake species still find their way in.
