Surprise!!!

[billb3]

We used to have lots of black racers around here when I was young.
They'd be in the yews around the house basking in the sun.
On piles of wood, too.
They usually senesed someone coming and would slither away pretty quick.
We were told not to mess with them because they would bite ( not harmful) if you teased them with sticks.

They must also have helped keep the chipmunk population down.

 

[Crabby]

"I ain’t getting no cat. I hate cats, one is roaming around my house and scratch the crap out of my truck. that cat is dead now."

My neighbor's dog scratched the driver's side door on my truck. I didn't kill the dog...guess I'm not crabby enough.

if it was my neighbors i wouldn't have killed it.

 

[Cascade Failure]

Please send me some of those black snakes. My wife just flipped out about an Eastern Milksnake. This could be fun.

 

[Jutt77]

Honey Badgers love snakes!

I wouldn't worry too much about a Racer snake. As others have mentioned, they are pretty good to have around and usually wont strike unless cornered. Even if they do strike, its non-poisoness.

 

[jimosufan]

Get a Jack Russell Terrier, the snakes won't stand a chance!

of course you"ll need surgery on your throwing arm because they can"t stop fetching.

 

[Woody Stover]

Black snakes are harmless so I would let him be. You said you brushed against him and he didn't do anything so that proves they aren't aggressive.

Some people just don't like snakes, weather they pose an actual threat or not. My wife mistakenly grabbed one of these black snakes (King Snake, Black Rat Snake?) and didn't get bitten. They're not poisonous, so if the child somehow gets bitten, it'll be an important lesson in being more observant. :cheese:
My philosophy is 'Don't kill the snakes, whales, dolphins or baby seals.' YMMV. :cheese:

 

[Woody Stover]

Get some barn owls!

You may need to build a barn for this.

Would a Bard Owl work? Where do I get a bard?

 

[Ratherbfishin]

A Big LMAO on Samuel Jackson...Funny S#!t there. Seriously though when we moved into our house we had garter snakes all over near the foudation and I am completly petrified of snakes. I am 6'3 and 270 lbs...Garter snake...scream like hell and run. That black snake would send me into an out of body expierience. Anyhow after exterminating about 40 of the damn things with more still hanging around I caught an episode of "Billy the exterminator" and he had to rid an infested barn or something full of snakes. Since he doesn't kill them he stated that Garlic oil was the best way to keep them away since they hate the smell of garlic. Well I sprayed garlic oil around and I'll be dammed I haven't seen a snake yet this year. I have been moving my stacks around to make room for new stuff and no snakes (yet).

Cheap and worth a try. That snake on my pile would send me back to burning oil lol.

Steve

 

[Loco Gringo]

Toss mothballs under your stacks. They cant stand the scent cuz its rough. I use em when we hatch chicks. Never a problem, and black snakes are like fireflies here in the mountains. Not exactly ratttlers or copperheads but I dont want em around my girls either.

 

[jimbom]

Get some barn owls!

You may need to build a barn for this.

Would a Bard Owl work? Where do I get a bard?

I am not a professional bard, but I work cheap. After a little of my poetry, even the snakes will get up and walk out. :bug: How about, I am a poet, My feet show it, They are Longfellows. Try the veal. I'll be here all week.

 

[soupy1957]

Black snakes are harmless so I would let him be. You said you brushed against him and he didn't do anything so that proves they aren't aggressive.



fv

Really? Harmless? The wife said they are poisonous. I dunno...........

-Soupy1957

 

[Woody Stover]

After a little of my poetry, even the snakes will get up and walk out.

Snakes with legs...now that's a scary thought.

 

[fireview2788]

Some things I found on black rat snakes:

Fun Facts
Rat snakes are very useful around barns and in farming communities because they help control pest populations. Their habitat is slowly being reduced due to land development and the cutting of trees. However, they continue to maintain a healthy population. Due to people's lack of knowledge and fear of snakes, rat snakes continue to be the victim of human persecution.

Common rat snakes tend to be shy and, if possible, will avoid being confronted. If these snakes are seen and confronted by danger, they tend to freeze and remain motionless. Some adults attempt to protect themselves. They coil their body and vibrate their tails in dead leaves to simulate a rattle. If the snakes continue to be provoked, they will strike.

The black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta) — also called pilot black snake or simply black snake[2] — is a nonvenomous colubrid species found in North America.


fv

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I was cleaning up an area where we had wood stacked. We had burned all so I just had to clean up the area and move the roofing that we use on the wood. This is one that I found. Milk snake. They really look mean and act somewhat like a rattler so they scare folks.

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And here is a garter snake who had a rather large appetite.

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We also have a good number of blue racers here.

 

[smokinj]

I was cleaning up an area where we had wood stacked. We had burned all so I just had to clean up the area and move the roofing that we use on the wood. This is one that I found. Milk snake. They really look mean and act somewhat like a rattler so they scare folks.

(broken image removed)

And here is a garter snake who had a rather large appetite.

(broken image removed)

(broken image removed)

We also have a good number of blue racers here.

Had one chasing me as a kid...That was the only day I could have beat Chris on the 60yd dash! :lol:

 

[certified106]

Get a Jack Russell Terrier, the snakes won't stand a chance!

of course you"ll need surgery on your throwing arm because they can"t stop fetching.

That's for sure!! Ours would literally play fetch until we make her stop for fear she is gonna kill herself.

 

[Constrictor]

black (rat) snakes keep away venomous snakes as they will kill and eat them. So that black snake sitting there is a welcome site indeed. Of course if i want to see a venomous snake all i have to do is go into the back bedroom and look in the cages.

 

[Remmy122]

black (rat) snakes keep away venomous snakes as they will kill and eat them. So that black snake sitting there is a welcome site indeed. Of course if i want to see a venomous snake all i have to do is go into the back bedroom and look in the cages.

No offense... I think your crazy.

 

[lfunk11]

I have had a few big black snakes around my stacks, but I just eased them on their way back into the woods. I like having them around since we get mice in our house from time to time. My wife was messing around with some plants and went to throw a stick out of the way and realized it was a snake before she touched it. Lucky she realized it since it was a copperhead. The thing stayed coiled up all day until I got home from work and then I cut it up with a shovel. I would rather have relocated it, but I have two kids as well and do not want to mess around with a rattlesnake or copperhead. We have been here about 2 years and I have only seen one copperhead and 3-4 dead rattlers on the road. I have seen a 3-4 black snakes as well, but like I said I let them do their thing. Same thing with the wolf spiders (or huntsmen?) unless I see them in the house.

Now those darn stink bugs get taken out any time I see them - they are basically swarming right now near our house

 

[GAMMA RAY]

I can vomit just looking at that snake pic.... :sick:
I have conquered most of my fears in life....and there ain't much that I am afraid of but...
snakes suck....
I will probably have nightmares tonite about snakes...in my bed, in the house, everywhere :shut:

I saw a garter snake one year in the yard and made Mr Gamma go and get that "Snake Away"...and put it all around...I think it is just moth balls crushed up, that is what it smells like. I never saw a snake after that, at least I did not SEE one. I am sure those buggerz are out there....