Snake ID Please

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You stupid jerks!! One of Gods greatest gifts to us helping control the real varmints and pests in our world!!! A harmless black snake that lives on pests that chew up your vehicle, home, garage, garden etc!!!
Well they ain't jerks, they are just afraid of them. I love to have non-venomous snakes around to kill vermin. Mice can cause thousands of dollars in damage to machines and vehicles.
 
Well they ain't jerks, they are just afraid of them. I love to have non-venomous snakes around to kill vermin. Mice can cause thousands of dollars in damage to machines and vehicles.
Well I do feel somewhat bad now making that comment and I didn't know so many good fellows where on this thread! That might include Bill G who I do not know?
 
You forgot the giant desert centipede
View attachment 1224010
Those things will pop you hard. And you best go to the hospital if it happens because not only does the venom potentially cause seizures, the bite has bacteria and parasites that can be nearly if not just as bad!

Well... No and Yes.

The big centipedes are pretty vicious alright. But they are also very secretive, they don't have a global presence, and just not many people ever think about them. They are worthy of fear far worse than most spiders, but not as many people are worried about encountering them.

I also didn't include this lovely creature:
1733364184657.png


I'm not afraid of them either, although we don't get 'em that big around here.
https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/some-wtf-pics.128850/post-7172683
 
This California King Snake visited late one night this summer. Coincidentally, I haven't trapped a mouse since June and didn't see any Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes this year.

80-king_snake_july_3_2024_52d130c173bdf0af7166be27bfd6049930e7750c.jpg
 
Well... No and Yes.

The big centipedes are pretty vicious alright. But they are also very secretive, they don't have a global presence, and just not many people ever think about them. They are worthy of fear far worse than most spiders, but not as many people are worried about encountering them.

I also didn't include this lovely creature:
View attachment 1224152


I'm not afraid of them either, although we don't get 'em that big around here.
https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/some-wtf-pics.128850/post-7172683
They’re all over the place during the spring, summer and some of the fall where I live. Especially near trees and their root beds. And they WILL get into your house through the drains and septic system. From there they will get into your bed and your dirty laundry.

I feel the same way about those things as Bill G feels about snakes. In fact I’m more comfortable around rattlesnakes than those centipedous curses from hell. The best answer for those things and scorpions is a bunch of chickens.
 
Awww look at all the Yankees terrified of their cute little snakes :crazy2::lol:;)

We do have cute snakes by comparison, don't we?

One of my favorites:
1733364549792.png Ring necked snake.

They get about 12-14 inches long at when mature, and eat tiny bugs and earthworms.

These little guys are completely harmless. They cannot bite you, even if they tried. I've saved many of them from destruction, as they like to hide under boards and logs at the ground level.
 
We do have cute snakes by comparison, don't we?

One of my favorites:
View attachment 1224153 Ring necked snake.

They get about 12-14 inches long at when mature, and eat tiny bugs and earthworms.

These little guys are completely harmless. They cannot bite you, even if they tried. I've saved many of them from destruction, as they like to hide under boards and logs at the ground level.

We have something similar here. I found this guy under a piece of wood.

80-western_black_headed_snake_i_1c4b655bd39d8ef4bb1fb65a9287053d6e3659f2.jpg
 
Well... No and Yes.

The big centipedes are pretty vicious alright. But they are also very secretive, they don't have a global presence, and just not many people ever think about them. They are worthy of fear far worse than most spiders, but not as many people are worried about encountering them.

I also didn't include this lovely creature:
View attachment 1224152


I'm not afraid of them either, although we don't get 'em that big around here.
https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/some-wtf-pics.128850/post-7172683
 
You don’t have to explain anything to me bill and I was honestly trying to get a little laugh out of you. I’ve killed quite a few venomous snakes and I’ve been struck by them a number of times, one of them actually cut my hand once upon a time.

If you read my reply, I did say that I will not hesitate to dispatch any of them that get in the yard, in the house, and under the house. Every one of them that have gotten that close either got it with a 12 gauge, a steel pipe, a bush hog, a machete, and in one case in particular, my steel toed boot to its head.
Although I’m not carrying the animosity about snakes in general as you do, I am not against ridding them with lethal force when they put me or my family in a threatening position. No different than mountain lions, feral hogs, rabid dogs, or anything else that get a mind to be dangerously aggressive.
I know you ere just joshing with me..... Everyone has different opinions about snakes and millions of other things. There is nothing wrong with that. The person that called folks jerks for having a differing opinion is wrong

If you follow the letter of the law in Illinois the killing of rattlers is illegal as they are considered "threatened". Now with that being said I challenge anyone to cite a case in which a person was prosecuted for killing one. I have never known a conservation officer that has ever heard of it. If you are in fear of your (or another's) life you can take any action needed. I know in southern Illinois folks dispatch Copperheads regularly. We do not have those up here just Timber rattlers and Massasauga rattlers. I live right on the Mississippi River bluff and we own close to two miles of the rocky bluff that they call home.
 
Marly5 You are right about some people never changing their mind about snakes!! I once stood next to a old farmer who had just killed a big black snake!! He was grinning like a possum on a dead horse!! He had a corn crib right next to us and he had screen wire around the bottom! Holes were in the screen where rats could come and go!! In fact while we were standing there a rat came out and ran under his shed!! I said did you see that! That snake was going to kill that rat and others to give you more feed for your cows and hogs!!! He didn't get it and said I kill them when ever I can! You can't kill stupid man!!!
The snake had a chance to "kill that rat".
It failed.
 
Yeah a black snake or common water snake are pretty plain looking and have no real beauty like the Corn or Red rat snake!!! Some snakes are absolute works of art by the greatest artist of all!! In nature there are many such works that can not be explained and need to be appreciated by us!! This includes Birds, Butterfly's, Reptiles and Amphibians!! These are all put here for us to enjoy and benefit from their way of life!! Killing any of them from stupity or just the pleasure of doing it is a sin and you will pay for it down the road my friend!!
So what is your view of sparrows, pigeons, cockroaches, rats, mice, and coyotes?
Are they here for us to enjoy and benefit from?
 
This is all true and many years ago I saw a video where a King snake attacked a copperhead and was bitten! He continued the fight and killed the copperhead by constriction and ate it!! My thing here is that I've aways liked snakes and when I was 12 or so I caught and collected them! I studied them by reading everything I could find about them!! I turn 81 in January and own a tree farm in Maryland! Someone commented about my calling anyone who killed a snake a jerk!! Well I was responding to the comment by Bill G that the only good snake is a dead one!! The comment I made was exactly how I feel about anyone who feels the way he does!! I'll bet that Bill is a great guy and nice as can be!! He is not by himself and probably raised to hate them just like the farmer I talked about earlier!! Its like a lot of things in our world today and lack of proper education about these creatures is the problem!!
Anytime you want to challenge my education I am right here.
 
Sully, I agree with your perspective completely, and share your youthful interest in snakes. Bill G is a well-known snake killer, and has been largely renounced in this thread.

On a separate note, however: Please consider using a few less exclamation points. I kinda got wore out trying to figure out what you really wanted to emphasize, or if you were just yelling at us.
Incorrect
 
I
Well... No and Yes.

The big centipedes are pretty vicious alright. But they are also very secretive, they don't have a global presence, and just not many people ever think about them. They are worthy of fear far worse than most spiders, but not as many people are worried about encountering them.

I also didn't include this lovely creature:
View attachment 1224152


I'm not afraid of them either, although we don't get 'em that big around here.
https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/some-wtf-pics.128850/post-7172683
Had one of those giant centipedes crawl right over my bear chest one night while I was asleep at my house at about one in the morning. I felt it get on me and I thought it was just a cricket bug at first. But as I was dozing back off, I just got this unexplained, icy, soulless anxiety wave that hit me and I woke up, turned on the light, and one of those carnivorous nightmares with 50 legs was making his way across the floor. It was about as long as can of OFF bug spray.

I’m a grown man but I did lose about three drops of urine when I screamed. I picked up a combat boot and commenced to beating on him about 30 times before he finally stopped. He wasn’t really dead or injured, he was just stunned. Those things are TOUGH! I got a leather glove on, grabbed a BBQ grilling fork, stuck him in the sink, chopped him into pieces with a Camillus Becker BK2, and then lit the pieces on fire. It was still moving and squirming as it burned. It smelled like an unidentifiable meat, combined with the smell of dirty socks burning.

I moved out of that house for a good 3 months after that. I would visit the place, only to bug bomb it once a month before I moved back in.

So I made a poem in memory of that horrid night….

THE CENTIPEDE CRAWLS:

The centipede crawls.
Up the walls.
Down the halls.
Out of bathroom drains
Into shower stalls.
Check your shorts.
He’s on your balls.
His crawl strikes horror…into us all.
Thank god they die at the end of fall.
 
Identifying snakes can be fascinating but requires careful observation of key features such as color patterns, head shape, eye characteristics, and scale arrangement. Knowing the region where the snake was found also helps narrow down species possibilities. For accurate identification, it’s best to consult a reliable guide, an expert, or a reptile identification community. Always prioritize safety and avoid handling a snake if you're unsure whether it's venomous.
 
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