That's just a rat snake, I think. They're good to have around...if you don't like mice in your home. Here's a little tip, though. During the cooler months of the year, periodically check around the bottom of your hot water heater. Snakes love to stay warm in the winter and they'll come on in the house to do it. As already stated, the heads of snakes often tell the tale as does the shape of their pupils. You may not want to get that close, though. Venomous snakes (pit vipers mostly) have a triangular shape like an arrow head. Their pupils are also usually thin vertically. That's not in all cases, but most venomous snakes you'll find in eastern NC will have these attributes...with maybe the exception being the very rare coral snake. About five years ago, I found a snake by the door of the Smithfield office I worked at. Well, I really didn't think about doing anything other than killing it and I wish I hadn't. After killing it, I got to looking at its markings and I honestly believe it was a baby Eastern Diamondback rattler. Because they aren't normally found in Johnston County, I wish I had alerted someone before killing it.
DH looked up what he was online at the time, it was some sort of black snake. Completely harmless, just BIG! DH picked him up and he was well over 6 feet. (he was longer than DH is tall, 5'11") He showed up on my front porch later on that fall, getting warm. Wish he'd come back, he was very cool. Oh, and my water heater is under the house, he's welcome under there to keep the critters away, LOL
When the teen was smaller she was bitten behind our house around some trees by an Eastern Diamondback. Pretty scary and I have talked about it before on here. We were lucky that Johnston Memorial had the anti-venom. I'll ask my neighbor about copperheads. Those boys and the husband know their snakes and such. When we see one now we holler for them and they come and get it. They'll know about the safest thing to do for you and the snake. We have learned from our neighbors that their are some great snakes out in the world but we don't want them on our property...........probably never will after what happened to the kid. Sherry
We found a snake under a cooler we had sitting in the driveway draining last Friday. At first I was worried he was something dangerous. We put him in a bucket until we could identify him. He ended up just being a harmless pine snake. Then a couple of days ago our little border terrier was barking up a storm in the back yard. He had a decent sized black snake cornered. My hysband stepped in to help the snake to safety ... but the way Teddy (our dog) kept rubbing his nose in the grass, I'm guess the snake may have given him a nibble on the nose before hubby intervened.
I agree! If you believe in a god, it is one of god's treasures. Now if they tasted better that would be another story!
After I wrote this last night, my son came running in to let me know there was ANOTHER snake outside. A bird made a little nest in the corner of our front porch with adorable babies in it. The black snake was crawling up the side of the house. I'm afraid he wanted to make a little snack out of the babies?? In anycase, my husband used the water hose to make the snake fall & then put him in a bucket and placed him away from the house.
No snake is a good snake in my house or yard. Last year I had this 4 foot snake stretched out along my livingroom wall. Still haven't patched up the shovel marks I put in the wall and molding.
Yikes!!! Finding a snake in the yard I can handle; Walking in to find one in the house is an entirely different matter. I have a family member with a very old house that has a fireplace in the kitchen. One morning while they were sitting down for breakfast a HUGE snake fell out of the fireplace & on to the kitchen floor right beside her. I don't think anyone finished their breakfast before they left the table that morning. She said it was better than a hot cup of coffee to get you going in the morning. My mom came home from work one day and said a coworker found a large snake in her bathtup ... yuck. I think snakes in the yard are interesting every now & then (if they aren't dangerous). Finding an uncaged, wild snake slithering through my house would just be something that gave me nightmares (that's if I was ever even able to go to sleep again).
Most people willl likely kill a snake because they are not sure if its venomous or not and of course, snakes can move pretty fast. The fear is that a snake can very likely head into your house or stick around your yard and wind up biting you, a child or a pet. Personally, I'd rather be able to call someone to retrieve a snake rather than kill it. However, that's not always an option and I'm not that much of a conservationist to allow a venomous snake to inhabit my space...outside or inside. There are some folks that will come take a non-venomous snake like that black one pictured above off your hands. They'll relocate it to an old barn or something similar to control rats and mice. Pesonally...I'd rather have a cat than a snake to accomplish the same thing. Cats are a bit cuter.
Tell that to a friend of mine that had to get a heart transplant after complications from being bit by a copperhead. Black snakes? I agree but copperheads need to die quickly.
You know, I really don't want to sound snarky, but the snake didn't just decide to go find someone to bite. The snake was just being a snake and accidents happen. They aren't inherently "evil" and need to be killed just because they happen to exist on the same planet. However, I am very sorry that happened to your friend and wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Worked across the street from Pennington Seed in Madison, GA for a number of years and they had a program that would pay you for every snake and cat you brought in and they would work the warehouse.
