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i WAS IN MY YARD TODAY WHEN I CAME ACROSS A SNAKE .I AM VERY AFRAID OF THEM AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT KID IT IS SO I CAN GET IT OUT SOME HOW.IT IS ABOUT 3 FEET LONG DARK BLACK WITH YELLOW SPOTS .IT WAS NEAR A SHED THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN UNDER . THE AREA HAS HIGH GRASS WITH A FIELD ABOUT 15 FEET FROM WHERE I WAS NEAR . NO WATER AROUND .I HAVE TWO SMALL CHILDREN AND TWO PETS THAT I WOULD NOT LIKE TO GET BITEN .IF YOU COULD TELL ME WHAT KIND IT IS AND WHAT I CAN DO TO KEEP SNAKES OUT OF YARD .WE LIVE IN THE TALLASSEE ALABAMA AREA .

a black king snake. There arent any venomous snakes that are black with yellow spots.
Here is a pic of a black king snake from KY, they look almost the same down there in AL. They are variable from locale to locale, and some can have more specks and patterns than others.

Hope this helps.
Brian

>>i WAS IN MY YARD TODAY WHEN I CAME ACROSS A SNAKE .I AM VERY AFRAID OF THEM AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT KID IT IS SO I CAN GET IT OUT SOME HOW.IT IS ABOUT 3 FEET LONG DARK BLACK WITH YELLOW SPOTS .IT WAS NEAR A SHED THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN UNDER . THE AREA HAS HIGH GRASS WITH A FIELD ABOUT 15 FEET FROM WHERE I WAS NEAR . NO WATER AROUND .I HAVE TWO SMALL CHILDREN AND TWO PETS THAT I WOULD NOT LIKE TO GET BITEN .IF YOU COULD TELL ME WHAT KIND IT IS AND WHAT I CAN DO TO KEEP SNAKES OUT OF YARD .WE LIVE IN THE TALLASSEE ALABAMA AREA .

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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Yellow rat snake "Wolverine" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

Im from Alabama it was a speckled or black kingsnake, not a very common snake and harmless you didnt kill it did you?

Jess,
Even though you don't like these kingsnakes, they are very beneficial. They help keep the rodent/vermin population in check in your area, thus doing their ecological niche duties.

To discourage encounters, keep the grass mowed and trimmed, and flower beds weeded in the areas you frequent. Don't leave piles of lumber, kids toys or scraps of building material lying about, since these are favorite hiding places for snakes.

My brother had a large black rat snake in his yard in TN. This girl's favorite basking spot was on the split rail fence in front of the house, right next to the gate. His wife, who is deathly afraid of snakes, was very diligent about "snake-proofing" the yard, to no avail. She swore that she could SMELL that ratsnake the minute she stepped outdoors. If it was sunning, she would climb over the fence at a different spot. His wife hated the thought of mice in the house worse than the snake.

However, this mama black rat snake decided to deposit her eggs in a hole at the base of a post. This was more than my sister-in-law could handle, so I ended up relocating the mama snake, and hatching the eggs myself. All lived happily in my yard, the moles disappeared, and my sister-in-law bought a cat to deal with her increased field mouse problem.

If you leave the snakes alone, they will avoid you as well, and provide more service than heartache. Just my opinion.

regards,
althea

Your opinion could save snake lives & educate. Bravo to you!

I agree with everyone else, your children and pets are at far greater risk of injury and desease from the rodent population that these snakes control. If however you wanted to keep them out, put up some plastic owls or other birds of prey and the snakes will find some place else to bask.

Plastic owls......? (Lol)Snakes do not recognise plastic replicas. Their eyesight is usually poor and besides, it lacks the scent-which depending on the snake might still smell more like food than foe.

Clean up your yard and if you are that worried-Put up a wood fence (making sure the boards are snug to each other and the bottom slightly below ground level. That should keep out all but the best climbers and those would be harmless species anyway.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

some snakes have better eye sight then others, and they are very sensitive to outline of birds of prey, Of course getting one that flaps it's wings in the wind is even better.

My mother had a plastic Owl in her garden (which had a hole in it's side) which for years served as a hideout for our resident Southern racer.

Down here in "the glades" snakes are a staple of bird and gator. I have seen many times the ease with which snakes are captured by these hunters. Most snakes require some movement if they cannot scent what is near them. otherwise they are indifferent.

I did animal rescue in Fla for many years, so over the last 40 odd years I have worked with and kept (sometimes in the same room) hawks, owls, rattlers and other snakes.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I know, Frank, I am just screwing around. My next suggestion was going to be to play a tape of owls hooting, but I didn't want to send you into a rage!

Naw...that only happens when when you play Rap music backwards...

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I'm in Montgomery and Speckled kingsnakes are actually fairly common here. There are one of the most frequent snakes I find around here. They are harmless to people and like others here have said, the do eat venomous snakes.

The best way to get rid of snakes in your yard is to keep it clean of debris and high grasses.