Written by: Dr Frannie Koe, MD, MPH
As a doctor who farms, I’m no stranger to having animals, both wild and domestic, on my property. This includes snakes! The accompanying video shows my rescue of a black snake found in my garden.
My partner Tim and I left some plastic netting out on the ground after we used it for our raised beds. A snake got caught in it. She had a baby nearby who was only about a foot long, so I worked hard to get the webbing off the mom. I am assuming she was female. We caused the problem in the first place, so it taught me a great lesson! I am going to work hard to eliminate as many plastics from my farm and homestead as possible and am trying to clean up as I go so there is no potentially harmful debris left behind in the future.
I am a scientist and have a deep respect for snakes, but I am not terrified of them as many people are. I don’t want to kill any snakes, and I certainly don’t want to cause good snakes to die because of my carelessness. If I had to protect my life, I would kill a snake, but otherwise I would try not to do so.
Before handling or approaching any snake, it is imperative that you know if it is poisonous or not. I knew the snake I found was not poisonous. I had some education on snakes in my training as a rural medical scholar at the University of Alabama! On our farm, we have only seen rat snakes, chicken snakes, king snakes and other non-poisonous snakes. I know there are poisonous snakes on our property because our dogs have occasionally come home with a swollen face from a poisonous snakebite.
If you are unsure as to the identity of a snake on your property, it is best to leave it alone for safety. There are many resources, including online databases and websites, to help with snake identification and general information. Some require that you put your email in, but there is a cool app called Snake Snap ( https://www.snakesnap.co/ ) that was developed by someone in Florida. Because of our proximity to Florida (I’m in Alabama), much of the information will be pertinent to us.
I want to encourage everyone not to kill snakes just because you are afraid. Give it your best shot to learn about snakes and try to have respect for all the animals we share our space with. I get frustrated when snakes eat my baby chicks and steal my chicken and duck eggs. But I know they need to eat just like I do.
I don’t know if the snake in our video lived, but she left as soon as we rescued her and we left her alone. We’d love to hear what you think about our blog and video. Please contact us and sign up for more content!
