Not a day goes by on this website where I dont read a thread about someone who has a massive fear of snakes (ophidiophobia). Noone takes the time to learn about them, noone even wants to. Most people couldnt tell a harmless snake from a venomous snake, yet feel the need to brainlessly hack any snake that comes around.
For gosh sakes, people, LEAVE THEM THE HECK ALONE!!!!! Theyre not out to get you, theyre not gonna hurt you unless you agitate them, which is what EVERY animal on earth would do.
They wont hunt you down, they wont chase you, etc, etc, etc. Why do people believe all the ridiculous wives-tales that surround poor snakes? I really cant believe how gullible some people really are when it comes to snakes. Ive had people ask me if its really true that rattlesnakes hide in trees and nip at you when you walk by.
Ive had people ask me if rattlesnakes can really jump over 6' tall walls.
I even had a lady ask me what a "toilet snake" was, and if theyre in Illinois. I couldve responded humourously to that one, but didnt, I only assured her that no snakes live in toilets and bite your arse when you sit down.
Really, cmon!!!!
Snakes are probably the most persecuted animal on earth, hands down. Ive never seen an animal thats so hated, so misunderstood, so maligned, so persecuted, so unknown, and its sickening to me.
I HATE cats. I think theyre murderous, curious, mischievous little cruel beasts. However, Im not gonna walk around hacking them with hoes just because they come on my yard, Id get jail time just because theyre considered "nice pets".
Whatever. Ive seen neighbors cats raid and pillage robin nests, bunny holes, aquariums, etc!!!! Its nature, deal with it, right? Well, the next time a snake comes onto your property, its just looking for a meal or passing through. DONT HACK IT TO DEATH because you just "dont like them". Its rude, thoughtless, cruel, stupid.
Some quick snake bits....
1. Snakes are beneficial to the environment. They eat disease-spreading rodents. The more snakes you kill, the more vermin problems youll have, the more diseases youll encourage to spread.
2. Even venomous snakes can eat up to 9 lbs (!!!) of rodents every year. Leave em alone.
3. Snakes wont chase you, hunt you down, stalk you, bite you, etc, unless you realllllllly agitate them.
4. Most venomous snakebites occur to drunk, young males who are harrassing the snake and/or attempting to handle the snake. Yet people continue to think that venomous snakes bite anyone and anything that goes near them. BS.
5. If you live in snake country, take the proper precautions when outdoors. Remember, its YOU who lives in THEIR territory. They were there looooong before you were.
And if you get bit because youre out running around w/o a care in the world, its your fault to begin with.
6. Train your children and dogs to leave them alone, too. There are classes for dogs to recognize and avoid snakes to avoid getting bit. Simple as that.
7. Keep your yard free of clutter and junk, keep the grass cut low, etc. Removing junk keeps mice away, which will attract snakes.
8. If you see a snake, simply go around it. If you hear a rattle when outside, freeze and look around. Once you have spotted the snake, simply take 2 steps backwards and go around it. Simple as that.
9. If a snake is in your house/yard/etc, call animal control. Theyll come and remove it for you and relocate it somewhere else. No need to kill it.
10. Spend some time learning about snakes, including venomous ones. Once you learn a little about them, youll be less likely to be afraid of them.
11. Venomous snakes in the USA have vertically eliptical pupils, non-venomous snakes have round pupils.
12. Kingsnakes eat rattlesnakes, pretty neat eh?
13. Venomous snakes in the USA have heat-sensing pits, which are located on their faces, below their eyes (resemble nostrils). They use these at night to track prey after theyve bitten it. Its similar to infrared devices that the military use. What it does is show the heat signature of the animal, giving the snake a picture, if you will, of how big the animal is and where its at.
14. Snakes are deaf, they have no ears. Snakes also have no eyelids, their eyes stay open their entire lives.
15. Snakes are ectothermic. Outside temperature regulates their body temperature, hence the reason snakes love to sun themselves to warm up.
As you can tell, I LOVE snakes. Like many of you I was once ophidiophobic until I actually got to hold one, and from then on it was love. I spend alot of time in the outdoors looking for snakes and researching them in many different states. Theyve become somewhat of a "hobby" of mine, and Im here to help answer any questions about them that you might have. If I feel Im qualified to answer, I will. But in the meantime, leave the poor things alone, they want nothing to do with you and are just as beneficial to the ecosystem as the next animal.
Thanks for listening.
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I try to leave them a "safe area" of old leaves and such piled under my Wisteria Bush and they seem to like it here. 
Ive seen snakes hacked, run over, skinned, etc, just because people dont like em. 
