google >> snake launches & jumps at motorcycle video

All black snakes get a pass from me. When I was a kid, a black snake killed a copperhead in my parents yard. Neighbors came over and watched the show, Can't believe nobody got a picture of that but we were poor and the was probably no film for the polaroid.

Good for rodent control, bad for ground nesting bird eggs. Like anything else the need kept on check, grouse and turkeys are having a hard enough time around here as it is.

We have some huge black rat snakes around here.

There was an overabundance of them at a resort worked at in the Poconos. They are great climbers and showed up at the most unusual locations; in the rafters of the wood shed, above the ceiling tile in the guest houses, etc.

Almost every evening when we'd close the big overhead shop doors a black snake would plop down onto the shop floor as the door got about halfway closed.

Thankfully, they are pretty docile and usually won't strike without a good deal of provocation.

I agree with COOP, it does look like two snakes......jk

Big beautiful snakes.I miss seeing them.

I would leave em be...great for rats and to fight off poisen snakes.

same! Use to catch them about 5 ft never 7...wew.

Rats are excellent climbers with amazing traction skills. Wish I could find a set of tires with that kind of grip.

Here is one you don’t need to worry about. They love cockroaches

Seems to be common to have an unreasonable fear of snakes. I have never understood it. Spiders will make a lot of people wet their self too. You would think people would grow out of it but they don't.

I remember reading about studies done on young (<2-yr-olds) humans where they were presented with snakes. No natural fear at all. Thus, the fear of snakes seems to be a learned behavior. On the other hand, I suspect that if a person dug deep enough, you could probably find a "scientific" study that shows just the opposite. Anyway, I truly think snakes are beautiful, elegant, and superbly interesting.



Jack

I have long suspected if a 2 year old is outside with mom or dad, and the parent see's a snake, grabs up junior while screaming hysterically, or runs away screaming hysterically for someone else, then junior will have a life long unreasonable fear.

Gulo, that snake looks like the prairie rattlers we catch around prairie dog towns on warm winter or spring days.

danny -

Precisely sir! The image was taken in my back yard. It is indeed a prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis). There are 2 counties here in Idaho that have the prairie rattlesnake and I assume they got into this country thousands of years ago over Lemhi Pass (where Lewis and Clark first came over the continental divide from Montana only a few miles from my place). The rattlesnake throughout the rest of the state is Crotalus oreganus, the pacific rattlesnake.

If you live in venomous snake country like I do - dog bayed this timber rattlesnake on my front steps last week - you almost have to scare young kids to get them to be cautious around snakes. When you have five year old kids playing out in the yard, you cant depend on them to know the difference between a venomous and non-venomous snake. Two days ago, I was at my daughter’s house and there were four or five 3 to 6 year old kids running around the back yard and climbed into the playhouse and found a snake. If they werent fearful of that snake, they may well have grabbed it up. I have to train my dogs to be fearful of a snakes - when they are puppies - they have no fear of snakes. A dog wouldnt last three months at my place if they werent cautious around a snake. A big rattlesnake or cottonmouth can kill a dog pretty quick. My son had a field trial quality 90 lb black lab male. Got bit in the groin area by a three ft cottonmouth and was dead in an hour. My neighbor has had full grown bulls permanently crippled by a snake bite.

I dont usually kill a venomous snake - but when they are in my yard - they receive no compassion.

Dont blame you White Cliffs on killing rattlers in your yard. Plenty enough of them to go around. I wont take time to catch and move one out of town.

I taught my kids to leave snakes alone, to come and get me when they were little. I wanted them aware that some snakes could be bad news.

They taste good too