Attracting Salamanders

Alrite so I just got back from spraying the garden and around my deck with water hoping a salamander will arrive. First of all, when should I go check? And any other ways attracting them would help. Thanks!

Waiting for them to arrive is not the best option. Simply wetting the area around your house won't help much. The best way to find them is to take a walk in the woods, and flip some logs over (But watch out for snakes while doing this). If you're intent on them coming to you, building a backyard pond would probably be the best option.

I'll try that out today. Thanks for the help =)

Try looking at night, or dusk. Bring a flashlight, and bug spray (there are certain kinds that will harm caudates so make sure yours won't) and go to a forest and flip logs and rocks! Best of luck!

I'll try that tonight! Thanks for the help! I have tigers and blue spotteds in my area so do you think I will find any tigers?

You'll have trouble finding Tigers in the middle of the summer. Try late Fall, or early Spring.

What about blue spotted?

The best time to go look is a rainy night. During a hot-dry spell, they all stay far underground where it's cool and moist.

And be certain if you do flip logs/rocks, you put them back exactly how you found them. You don't want to destroy anybody's home.

Will do

I was talking to someone from the local University the other day about finding Salamanders in the area.

The University has property of its own for study and such and he says they actually dig holes and place buckets in them to collect numerous types of animals for study.

I wouldnt do it myself but I also dont have a large amount of land and the ability to check the buckets multiple times a day. You gotta stay on top of checking the buckets cause the wrong animals might get stuck together and eat one another. Plus, you never know what your gunna get. This is something they do for a all around type of deal thats not animal specific.

BTW, its called pitfall trapping or pitfall traps. Apparently its more widely used than I thought. Its said to also be something practiced in areas that are high in endangered wildlife when surveying teams are laying out plans for roads and new home developments to determine if such endangered species use the area. Sometimes its a requirement by the wildlife commissions when building roads and new homes.

Your best bet for finding tigers right now, would be to net some good looking ponds. The larvae are advanced larvae now(4+inches). You may have to net a pond for a long time(30min-1 hour) before finding any at all though. I find blue spotted salamanders under logs by a breeding pond after a good rain, especially in the spring time. I havent found adult tigers for almost ten years and when I did find them I found them in a pitfall trap.

Ltdanicecream said:

go to a forest and flip logs and rocks!

Click to expand...

But please place the logs and rocks CAREFULLY back into their original positions.

Here's a nice article on microenvironments and the disturbances we humans can cause.