Do Garter Snakes Eat Mice?

Like all snakes, garter snakes are obligate carnivores, which means they only eat meat, and can not eat plants.

While most garter snakes mainly eat small invertebrates, large adult garter snakes occasionally eat small or juvenile mice.

Garter snakes often adapt to eating whatever prey they can find in their local area.

They are very opportunistic predators and will eat almost anything they can catch, overpower, and swallow whole.

Most Garter Snakes Primarily Eat Small, Soft-Bodied Animals

Garter snakes have very diverse diets. As earlier mentioned, they will eat almost any creature they can easily overpower and swallow whole.

Their diet includes earthworms, leeches, snails, insects, frogs, toads, and salamanders, among other animals.

Some garter snakes seem immune to the toxic skin secretions of many amphibian species (such as the rough-skin newt) and can eat them without harm.

Garter snakes that live near marshes, ponds, streams, or other wetlands, also eat aquatic animals such as crayfish, tadpoles, and small fish.

Generally, the diet of a garter snake is mainly influenced by its species, habitat, and size.

Large Garter Snakes Eat Small Mice

Garter snakes do not depend on rodents for a large part of their diet, like some larger snakes (such as rat snakes, or king snakes).

However, they are still capable of eating mice.

Large garter snakes in environments where rodents are common (such as near barns, or human homes) are known to prey on baby mice when the opportunity arises.

Many garter snakes can change their diets, depending on the prey available in the local area.

Some Garter Snake Species Eat Mice More Than Others

Although many garter snake species can prey on mice, some species are more likely to eat mice than others.

For example, western terrestrial garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans), are known to frequently prey on baby rodents (such as mice and ground squirrels).

By comparison, plains garter snakes (Thamnophis radix) have never been observed eating rodents in the wild.

How Garter Snakes Find and Catch Mice

Garter snakes catch and eat mice the same way they eat other prey animals.

They find mice by using their good vision and sense of smell.

1. Vision

Garter snakes, like many other snake species, have excellent vision.

They have an amazing ability to detect the movement of frogs or any other prey.

If a mouse is moving in the grass and a garter snake is nearby, the snake can use its vision to detect the mouse by its movement.

These snakes often see prey by peering or craning to get a better view of their surroundings.

2. Smell

Although snakes have nostrils, they do not use them to smell. Instead, they smell by using their tongues.

A garter snake can sniff out the scent of a mouse by flicking its tongue through the air.

The tongue then picks up molecules, and these molecules reach a part of the roof of their mouth called the Jacobson’s organ.

This organ helps de-code the molecules into different smells.

Garter snakes have an excellent sense of smell and can sniff out mice, frogs, or any other prey animals.

How Do Garter Snakes Eat Mice?

Once a garter snake spots a mouse, using either its vision or sense of smell, it will capture it by stalking, ambushing, or actively chasing it. These snakes are active hunters.

The snake will then immobilize the mouse using its sharp teeth, and swallow it whole.

Unlike many snake species, garter snakes garter snakes do not constrict their prey, and instead swallow it live.

The saliva of some garter snake species may be slightly toxic to some of their prey. This makes it easier to handle them, as they are being swallowed.

Garter Snakes Are Natural Pest Control Heroes

If you spot a garter snake in your yard, it’s not a bad thing. These snakes are non-aggressive and generally harmless to humans.

Their adaptable diet makes them ideal natural pest controllers.

Garter snakes eat slugs, snails, and bugs – helping reduce pest damage to your flowers, vegetables, or ornamental plants.

Large garter snakes also eat baby mice, and other small rodents, naturally reducing their population around sheds, barns, or compost piles.

By eating these destructive creatures, garter snakes help reduce the need for chemical pesticides that can be damaging to the environment.

Also, the snakes don’t dig or burrow, so they do not damage the roots of any of your plants.

Many homeowners remove garter snakes they find in their yards, but now you know that keeping them around is a good idea.

Here are a few tips to help garter snakes in your yard:

• Create cover: Piles of stones, or logs can create safe hiding spots for garter snakes
• Avoid chemical pesticides & rat poisons: garter snakes eat insects and baby rodents, so using pesticides or poisons can harm these snakes indirectly.
• Do not use rodent traps: Many rodent traps (such as glue traps), are indiscriminate and can trap many animals that stumble onto them, including garter snakes.

Conclusion

Larger adult garter snakes can, and do eat mice when they encounter them in the wild.

Still, mice are not the main food source for most garter snakes. They are just one of many prey items in the diverse diets of these snakes.

Garter snakes are good to have around, as they are harmless to humans and help keep the population of rodents and other pests down.