Gardener's Best Friend is the Black Snake

There is an old saying, "Beware of the snake in the grass!" Snakes are a daily part of our country life. But some species of snake are non-venomous and very helpful to farmers and gardeners. The Black Snake also called Racers or Rat Snake keep the mice and rat population down in barns and near by garden sheds. To the gardener they are invaluable in keeping away rabbits, moles, and shrews from destroying your fruit and vegetable gardens. These destructive creatures can go through a garden leaving it virtually in ruins. All your hard work gone to seed!

Most people have difficulty identifying this peaceful snake; often confusing the Gray Rat Snake with venomous rattlesnakes or juvenile copperheads. It is dangerous to approach any snake until it's been correctly identified!

Description: The Black Snake [Elaphe obsoleta] is a slender black snake measuring 36-60 inches. Black racers are glossy black on the top and bottom with a white throat and chin. Young racers are patterned with brown or reddish patches on a lighter base of gray.

Black snakes can be territorial. Once they set up residence in your sheds they tend to stay. We have two: a large 5ft. rat snake that live in our barn and a smaller one that stays in the garden shed. Because we store horse feed, pasture seed and hay in the barn mice were regular visitors. Once a black snake moved in the mouse population diminished considerably. I also store my gardening seeds the shed which attracts rabbits. The smaller 3 ft. black snake we've affectionately named, "Licorice" keeps them from nibbling at my starter plants. Another interesting fact about black snakes is that being members of the constrictor family they keep the more venomous snakes away.

It can be a frightening experience stumbling upon a black snake for the first time. They generally stay quietly coiled in a corner or behind hay bales. After your initial scream they slowly uncoil and move to another quiet location. During the day they prefer shaded areas of the barn or shed. If they come out during the heat of day most likely they are chasing prey or need water.

In the garden they tend to cool themselves under large leafy plants such as cabbages, greens, i.e. kale, collards, mustards. Be very careful when weeding near these vegetables. Though they are non-venomous they can still give a nasty bite when cornered or handed incorrectly. They can form their body in to a series of kinks before striking. This is a friendly warning to larger predators to stay away.

Recently we discovered that a rather large racer had taken up residence behind my office computer station! My granddaughter had neglected to close our back porch screened door and it decided to pay us a home visit. Thankfully, with the encouragement of my husband and a very long stick it decided to leave. I later found smaller one sunning itself around my large outdoor Yuca plant. Black snakes generally prefer minimum human contact, but for some reason our black snakes seem to enjoy socializing with us. Excellent climbers when threatened they retreat to the safety of trees. This is also where some species of black snake's mate intertwined in the higher branches.

It bears repeating that approaching any snake can be extremely dangerous until it has been correctly identified! Find out what species of snake are found in your region and learn how to identify them. Your State Wildlife and Game Commission or State Nature Center is happy to help you learn more about what snakes [both venomous and non-venomous] reside your area.

Remember gardening can be a rewarding experience and respecting the creatures that assist us with our bountiful gardens is vitally important to our environmental eco-balance.

Source(s):
Wikipedia
www.wildwnc.org/education
http://www.ncwildlife.org