We are fortunate to have a nice population of Red Milk Snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila) in several western Kentucky counties. In our region it is possible to cruise roads and find these snakes from the time when it gets dark to the very wee hours of the morning prior to dawn. While we try to cruise under conditions that we believe are prime, often even then it is possible to not find any of these snakes…even when other snakes are being found.

The random offerings turned up by road cruising is something that's problematic and usually we prefer to have a little more control over the hunt when possible. So we also deploy artificial cover to help in locating these snakes. We have found that these snakes are attracted to layered sheets of metal, so if you are having trouble finding them, try stacking your metal up. Red Milks in our area live in forested habitat, but like all reptiles they utilize open areas where the rays of the sun reach the surface. We have found layered metal set out where the canopy is open works very well. It is a sight to behold when you peel back a sheet of metal and see such a beautiful high-contrast snake sitting on dull colored metal of the earth tones of the soil underneath. Locating a Red Milk Snake in Kentucky makes any good day better and turns even the worst of days into a nice day for guys like myself.