STORM2K

I was planting some more flowers when all of a sudden I heard a rustle in the leaves of a hosta, looked up and saw a looong black tail slithering into my bayberry bush. I fell over backwards and ran for my garden hose. I started to spray the plants and I saw him move through my bushes and into my garden (it's along a fence) away from me. I thought it was about 2 feet long or so. I had a shovel and swatted at it (which now I feel bad about) and it turned and coiled up! It wasn't a rattler, but I had no idea what the heck kind it was so I ran and got my neighbor, Paul to help me chase it. When we got back, it was gone. Actually, it was probably more afraid of me than I was of it!

Anyway, I looked it up on the internet and it seems to have been a Black Rat Snake that are from 34" - 101" long (I would've had a heart attack if it was 101" long!). They're non-venomous, but are constrictors that feed on rodents, birds, etc. They are climbers and are also found in trees! AAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!! I've got the willies just thinking of it!

Aww Steph {hug} it's ok.. Just be more careful in the garden.. but if the same snake comes back.. try not to be afraid of it.. and especially don't kill it at least not with a shovel lol

Oh Stephanie!! I feel your pain - I HATE SNAKES. As far as I am concerend, the only good snake is a dead snake. yuk.

I feel really bad that I went after it - especially now that I know it's not poisonous!

It just gave me the creeps knowing it was only about 4 inches away from me.

When I was about 5 years old... a snake got into OUR HOUSE in the middle of summer(it was about 100 degrees out). My mom was petrified of them and was very pregnant with my sister at the time. I walked in and she is standing on THE TABLE(she's pregnant remember) and I had to call my grandma at work nearby to come over and catch it(dad was at work). I can just barely remember that.

It was a chicken snake... we used to run a golf course(for about 8 years) and we saw all kinds of snakes in the creek there and in the deep grass.

My closest call with a snake came when I was about 11-12.. I ran over 1 while riding my bicycle..

Small black 1.. but it still scared the jeepers out of me when I realized what it was..

I was trapped by a water moccasin when I was 11. 'nuf said!

I was in Florida on vacation with my mom and some friends of hers when I was younger. Just after I walked from the kitchen through the living room (where the front door was) to the bedroom where I was sleeping, I heard my mom scream, "Stay in that room, okay, sweetie? STAY THERE!!" When the "all clear" was given, I came out to find one of the guys standing over the severed body of a coral snake. That's probably the closest I've come to seeing a real live (because he wasn't anymore ) venomous snake.

I've held pythons. No biggie there. Hope I never encounter a water mocassin.

Snakes are supposed to be our friends...but like you, Stephanie, not in this household! If we see one, we need to know where it went.

The only ones I can pick up and handle are the common garter snakes...but I'd rather not do that either.

Back in Illinois, it was somewhat rare for Kathy to mow the lawn, but on one of the few occasions when she did, a snake crossed in front of her mower. Well, for the first time ever, we went from a crosshatched pattern in the yard to one that resembled a mountain roadway. She chased that snake with the mower until she finally gave it a trim.

The yard sure had an interesting look until the next time we mowed!

Almost forgot to mention... dad killed two in the backyard only 15 feet from the back door last week. Defintely that time of year.

I understand how startled you were, Steph. I really do like snakes, especially black racers, but a water mocassin under my boat last month had me running.

It helps to look up snake identification so you can learn to quickly ID them.... or just yell and run!

I lost count of the number of snakes I have seen/killed over the years. I remember vividly our cats bringing snakes onto the back porch when we lived in Gulf Breeze and had woods behind us. That is where I learned my first cuss word-shit-which is what my mother would scream everytime she would come to the back door to see what the cat was wailing about. Many of them were rattlers or coral snakes which she had to kill with a shovel.

The rest of the snakes I have dealt with, mainly moccasins I encountered when I was surveying, didn't usually survive the range pole or the machete. A few got away, but I have had more than one rear up and confront me too. I think the longest was a 6 footer that was about as big around as my forearm.

Killed more than my fair share of slithery things, too; last one was a 4-footer, pinned down by my oldest stepson and personally dispatched with my sub-hilt 9" fighting knife.

Sometimes, I LOVE THIS JOB!

Anyone ever encountered a swamp snake? He was as big as an Anaconda and hissed, he was very aggressive until a Moss Point policeman ran over him (who is now our sheriff). lol.

Here is a guide to identify venomous snakes.

http://www.kcma.net/snakes/venomous_snakes.htm

As much as you don't want to hear it...don't kill that snake...it's a "good" snake and with him around you won't have rodents!

I like snakes.Last summer we had a very rare King snake to come up the steps!!I pick him up and move him to the other side of the house.NOW spiders I HATE!!!!!

BUD wrote:I like snakes.Last summer we had a very rare King snake to come up the steps!!I pick him up and move him to the other side of the house.NOW spiders I HATE!!!!!

I totally agree. I have no problem with snakes as long as I see them first. Had a very scary encounter with a water moccasin once though. I was trudging around the perameter of a swamp with a fellow officer, trying to locate a dog that was whining in the swamp. I stopped to move a branch out of my way, and felt something large hit me in the shoulder and then fall at my feet. It was a large moccasin, and he just layed curled around my foot for what seemed like forever. The other officer turned and saw what happened, and pulled his gun and aimed it at my foot. Not sure which would have been worse, being bitten or shot. I was so scared, I couldn't even move. Took that stupid snake forever to slither off of my foot.

I just can't bring myself to kill any critter if I can help it. I have to remove snakes from the pool on a regular basis, and on more than one occasion discovered that I had a baby copperhead in hand instead of a brown garden snake.


I also regularly rescue the wolf spiders from drowning in the pool. Can't help it: for some reason one of my worst fears is drowning and if I can spare another creature from that fate, I'll do it.

For you peeps who like to work in the garden and dont like snakes. Plant society garlic. Snakes will not come near it. I have it near my porch doors to keep the critters outside.

I have had my fair share of encounters with snakes. I have a very large VERY fat rattler living under my shed, a LOOONG black racer likes to sun himself close to the garden spicket in summer. The rattle snake had babies and I went to go put the garbage out, and I kid you not there were about 12 of them (lil guys) all over the place. Now I know the babies are just as venemos as the grown ups so I kind of ran at Mach4 back to the house. Animal control rounded up the babies, but Mom was no where to be found, so my guess is she is still hanging around the shed. Oh and I found a bunch of baby water moccosan and a mom 2 years ago.... Must be my maternal instinct to find baby critters.

Stephanie the exact same thing happened to me last week. I have NEVER seen a snake in my gardens. I was checking out my fern garden behind my shed and knelt down to pull a few weeds and there was a 2" diameter about 3 - 4 foot long black snake laying there. He didn't move, but I sure did. For the past few years I have really had a problem with moles furoughing thru my gardens making an unsightly mess and loosening some roots to the point where some of my perennials died. I noticed this year that I have NO MOLES. I guess that's why BLACKIE is so fat. I don't like snakes but I hate the damage that the moles did.