Richard Evans

UGA Extension Agent

This is the time of year the Bryan County Extension office gets a lot of calls regarding snakes and related activity. Though they are unable to tolerate extreme cold or hot temperatures (much like the last couple of weeks of this heat wave), snakes will move during summer evenings, especially after rain.

Snakes eat insects, fish, amphibians, birds, rodents, eggs and other reptiles. Actually, many snakes eat nuisance animals too. In fact, one rat snake can eat two or three rats every two weeks. That is major rodent control! Therefore, one snake can greatly impact an ecosystem by reducing the potential for serious diseases, like Lyme disease.

At the first sign of danger, or human contact, snakes will usually flee. Most snakes strike in defense as a last resort and as such non-venomous snakes are usually harmless. While I can show a battle scar or two from a snakebite (non-venomous ones!), I was to blame in each instance.

There is no one universal sign to distinguish a venomous snake and a non-venomous snake, however there are some helpful traits to look out for. Head or eye pupil shape is one such distinction, round pupil generally means non-venomous and venomous have slit or cat eye shaped pupils. Then you would try to avoid triangle shaped heads.

Rattlesnakes have a tail rattle. Red and yellow bands that touch are meant to ward off predators and us as well.

To be abundantly clear, there are many exceptions, and their traits are just a starter for identification, no trait described here is to be used as a reason to pick up a wild snake! That being said, here are a few snakes commonly found in Georgia.

King snakes are found in a wide variety of habitats. Adults can reach four feet in length. Eastern king snakes are black with light yellow or whitish crossbands.

The black kingsnake, found in northwestern Georgia, is black with scattered flecks of yellow. The belly is a combination of black and yellow. They feed on the regular snake fare and other snakes too, including venomous species. King snakes are immune to the venom of rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads, making them a definite friend of the yard.

Water snakes are found in aquatic environments. However, some species have been spotted several hundred feet away from water.

Water snakes often grow to a length of four feet and are light brown on top with darker squares on the back and sides. The brown water snake is the most common and is often mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth. While the water snake frequently basks on tree limbs that overhang the water, cottonmouths very seldom do, making stories about them dropping into boats mostly myths.

Garter snakes are found in habitats that are damp, although not necessarily near permanent water.

They are usually less than two feet long, but can be longer. They have three yellow longitudinal stripes on a dark body and have black lines on their lip scales. Although this pattern is common, some garter snakes in Georgia have a checkered body pattern with poorly defined stripes and a grayish body color.

Their bellies are white or light yellow. This species gives birth to live young, sometimes having more than 50 babies. Garter snakes feed on fish, small reptiles and amphibians.

Rat snakes are most often found in wooded or swampy areas.

Adults grow to more than four feet in length. The coastal species we have here are olive with four dark stripes on their backs. Inland species range from black to light gray or brown. They feed on birds, rats, mice and squirrels. They are known as “chicken snakes” in farming areas because they readily eat caged chickens. Unless you have birds, rat snakes are another snake that does a lot of good in our yards/gardens.

Black racers are found in a wide variety of habitats. Racers are frequently seen crossing highways during the day. Adults are usually slender, three to five feet long and black except for a white chin. They feed on frogs, rodents, birds, lizards and insects. Commonly, confused with rat snakes these snakes are seen much less frequently in our yards.

Lastly, we do have the eastern indigo snake. This is the largest snake (up to nine feet) in North America and is not to be confused with a foe of any kind. It is an iridescent black and gives off attractive color patterns when sun reflects off its scales. This species is unfortunately endangered and provides us with the valuable service of controlling populations of venomous snakes. Consider yourself lucky if one calls your property home.

To answer a question everyone is thinking, there is no magic bullet to keep snakes out of your property. In order to avoid all snake species, be cautious when gardening and performing lawn chores. You can also limit your encounters with snakes by not creating habitats for them in your yard. I would recommend steering clear of products that use naphthalene (moth balls), while these products do indeed smell bad to reptiles, including snakes, they are poisonous to other animals that might consume them, such as pets or even children. On top of that, if you use a naphthalene product you might be trapping a snake inside an area you don’t want it by discouraging its exits. The best thing to do is control the food source (rodents in most cases) and try to exclude them from your property with barriers.

For more information on snakes, contact me at the Bryan County Extension Service office at 912-653-2231 or uge3029@uga. edu.