Snake in my backyard!!!

megadeth · #1 05-20-2008, 10:33 AM

My wife just called and she saw a 2 and a half foot black snake in our backyard. She is really freaked out because we let our dog out there. She saw the snake burrow too.

I am in Tallahassee, FL and I would like to know that can I do to get the snake out of my yard.

PS - Snakes creep me out.

jb4674 · #2 05-20-2008, 10:38 AM

Call a pest control company and have them get rid of it. Once that's done, clear out any large bushes/trees you may have in your backyard.

Jimmy

ScottB · #3 05-20-2008, 10:56 AM

Black snakes are harmless to humans and dogs. They will terrorize mice, moles and chipmunks! I say keep the snake where he is.

**moebius** · #4 05-20-2008, 11:09 AM

Make sure you know what species you have. Some are harmless, like the black racer and indigo snake. Some not so much, e.g. water moccasin.

megadeth · #5 05-20-2008, 11:25 AM

It's a black racer. Some dude helped it out of the yard. I got confused and told him that it's a speed racer.

mike570 · #6 05-20-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb4674

Call a pest control company and have them get rid of it. Once that's done, clear out any large bushes/trees you may have in your backyard.

Jimmy

+1
If it's the snake I think it is I've seen it too and it's relatively harmless. Probably a black racer.
There are, however, about 6 poisonous snakes in Florida IIRC. Google poisonous+snakes+florida and see if your wife can ID the snake.

megadeth · #7 05-20-2008, 11:43 AM

^^
Yep, we did that. It turned out to be black racer.

Phew!

megadeth · #8 05-20-2008, 11:44 AM

My friend also taught me this little "song" to identify snake...

If it's black over yellow, go and say him hello.
If it's yellow over black, just step back.

mike570 · #9 05-20-2008, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megadeth

My friend also taught me this little "song" to identify snake...

If it's black over yellow, go and say him hello.
If it's yellow over black, just step back.

That song is how to identify a coral snake, which are poisonous.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_snake

According to wiki, racer mating season is April-June. Your snake was probably out looking for a little sumthin' sumthin' when it encountered a human and was firghtened off. You might see more of them this time of year.

ColinMmmmm · #10 05-20-2008, 12:22 PM

Yeah if it's not poisonous I'd have kept it around. There are worse things to have running around your backyard (like mice!)

**moebius** · #11 05-20-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megadeth

My friend also taught me this little "song" to identify snake...

If it's black over yellow, go and say him hello.
If it's yellow over black, just step back.

I think you got that a little mixed up. Your rhyme does not make sense since both have black against yellow.

I think it is:
Red against Black your okay jack.
Red against Yellow will kill a fellow.

And it is used to determine a Coral snake from a king snake. The coral snake being Venomous. And both having red, black, and yellow bands.

megadeth · #12 05-20-2008, 12:45 PM

^^
Yeah, you are right!

waylay00 · #13 05-20-2008, 02:27 PM

I had to kill a water moccasin in my back yard once with a shovel. I hate killing animals but I had to do it for the safety of all the small pets and babies/toddlers in the neighborhood that often play in the yards.

johliatay · #14 05-20-2008, 03:48 PM

Moth Balls work great. Just get a box of them and spread them around the perimeter fo your yard. I used to live in Florida and we did it every spring. We would never see snakes once we started doing this.