Can you see it? Identify it?

[N80]

It can be hard to tell a brown water snake from a water moccasin. Both live in the water. Both can be quite large. Both are very aggressive but the brown water snake is probably the more aggressive of the two. They are mean as....well...snakes. Both have triangle shaped heads. The water moccasin's head is much more triangular and if you see two of them together (they are often found sunning on the same log) there is no doubt which one is the water moccasin. But alone it can be a little tough to tell unless you see or work with them all the time. The water moccasin's tail is usually fatter and more blunt than the water snake and the one in the picture looks pretty fat.

The best thing to do is leave both of them alone. A brown water snake will bite the heck out of you and have a nasty bite. Ask me how I know.

No need to kill either one of them if they aren't in your space.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I had no trouble identifying this as a black snake. No tractors or humans were harmed in the production of this picture.



I would need clean shorts if I was that close to a water moccasin.

 

[gwstang]

Looks like it has the pits on the snout like a mocassin would have. Pit viper?

 

[lucky llama]

Cotton Mouth

 

[N80]

I had no trouble identifying this as a black snake. No tractors or humans were harmed in the production of this picture.



I would need clean shorts if I was that close to a water moccasin.

Killing a black snake (intentionally) should be a crime. Just pointless and counterproductive.

 

[DaveNJ]

By killing snakes I assume you love mice and rats infesting your property.

 

[Gunny]

I used to have several snakes hanging around the farm, especially around the shops and garage. Then someone dropped three kittens down there one day and I fed them out of pity. Within a year, the snake population dropped to almost nothing, the last two years I haven't seen the first snake down there. I did have to have the kittens neutered, too hard to give away cats, but with the help of the animal shelter, the neutering just cost me a few dollars out of pocket. Now I just spend about ten dollars a month on cat food and they still hunt the mice down, so there's nothing there for a snake to linger around for.

I have seen a few cowsuckers and blacksnakes out in the fields, but as long as they're down there, I see no reason to mess with them.

 

[k0ua]

Killing a black snake (intentionally) should be a crime. Just pointless and counterproductive.

I think that one accidently went thru the bush hog.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I think that one accidently went thru the bush hog.

Correct.

While I understand the value of black snakes, and tolerate them, they still make me uncomfortable. My wife on the otherhand, is flat out terrified of them, any size, any type, big enough to see, big enough to draw a scream and run from...

We have cats around, so snakes seem to steer clear of the house and barn areas.

 

[N80]

I don't like snakes, but I'm not scared of them either. I took a herpetology course in college. Enjoyed it. I'll certainly dance a jig if I step on one by accident. Not long ago I stepped right next to a huge black snake in the fall leaves that rattled his tail in the leaves and I jumped about 5 feet.

I do not kill any snakes, poisonous or not, if they are in their territory. And sometimes I will remove a copperhead or coral snake if it is my yard if I can do so safely. We were watching TV one night in my previous home and I heard my wife gasp and there was a 6' black snake climbing down the outside of the chimney. I have no idea how it got inside. I put some leather gloves on (they will bite you), grabbed him behind the head and took him outside and let him go. Black snakes that big will eat squirrels as well as mice........and that's a good thing. They also eat a lot of baby birds in the spring, which is not a good thing.

We are now starting to get timber rattlers in our area. Some are over 5'. I'm not going to mess with one of those in my yard; I'd have to kill it.

Recently was moving some wood underneath the front porch of the cabin and there was a snake underneath. I jumped back but saw that it was a king snake. Not only was it beautiful to look at (amazing colors), they also eat other snakes. I let him be.