Disadvantage of Killing Wild Snakes
May 9th 2009 15:35
Not many people like snakes, especially wild snakes in their yard and garden. It can really be a surprise to walk outside, try to plant a few flowers and a black kingsnake come creeping out from behind a bush. It's just not pleasant, but what you don't want to do is take your shovel or gardening tool and chop off his head. For one, it's not nice, and for two, that kingsnake is helping to keep down your pests as well as other snakes.
Not all wild snakes are bad, which is why you shouldn't kill the ones that you find in your yard. In most areas, the snakes that you'll find slithering around are going to be non-venomous, and you don't want to kill those. Now, if you spot a venomous one, by all means, for the safety of yourself, your family, friends, and pets, kill it or trap it and have animal control come pick it up. Just be safe about it because you don't want to get bit.
As for wild colubrids and other non-venomous, cannibalistic snakes, you'll find that by leaving them slither around your yard and neighborhood, they'll help keep down the population of rodents and snakes.
In some areas, that have native colubrids and venomous snakes, the colubrids (milksnakes, cornsnakes, kingsnakes, rat snakes will keep the population of venomous snakes down.
Remember that in the United States there are over 250 species and subspecies of wild and native snakes, but there are only four that are venous.
* Copperhead
* Coral snake
* Rattlesnake
* Water moccasin
Also, remember that just because a snake rattles its tail, that doesn't mean that it's venomous. The king, milk, and rat snake, will all rattle their tails in dry leaves to scare off potential predators, but all three are non-venomous colubrids.
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