Garden Garter Snakes and Slugs
Caught in the Act, or How to Swallow a Slug in 10 Minutes.
I'd heard it said many time since we moved to our homestead 11 years ago that garter snakes are good guys. They eat bad guys like slugs. I'd just believed it, like I did with many things neighbors and other gardeners told me.
But it wasn't until June of this year that I witnessed the miracle of a snake swallowing something fatter than itself.
First off, I want to assure my readers that garter snakes are harmless. Once you get over the initial fear of have of snaky things, they actually look really cute, this small, long creature that can swim as well as slide & glide, all without the help of fins or feet.
I was doing my chores in the garden one afternoon when I saw the familiar garter snake sidle across the garden, and very quickly too. I was curious to see what it was up to as normally snakes in our garden are pretty slow moving things.
When I got closer to take a look, I saw that the snake had a big black slug in its mouth!
