True, it may be a rat snake, but... do rat snakes rattle the end of their tails like a rattler would? That's what really threw me (after I thought about it). I mean... do ALL snakes do that when aggrivated? O.o?

That is a Texas Ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoletus). They are one of the more commonly seen snakes in the eastern half of the state and into central Texas. They are harmless predators of rodents and birds.

It was a harmless nonvenomous Diamondback Water Snake (Nerodia rhombifer). Diamondback Water Snakes are one of many nonvenomous water snake species and are not at all related to the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (which is venomous) or the Western Cottonmouth (the venomous snake commonly referred to as a "water moccasin."). There isn't much you can do to deter snakes other than remove their habitat (which usually isn't practical or desirable). There are lots of urban legends about the deterrent value of mothballs, lime, sulfur, etc. but none of these products deter snakes. Neither does a product called Snake-A-Way which should really be called Dollar-A-Way because it separates people from their money rather than from snakes. The good news is that the snake species is nonvenomous and poses no danger to pets and small children.

Yeah, kidhorn2, WHY? Is it THAT difficult to simply learn something about snakes, and how to ID them? Seriously, I've taught second graders to do that, and we have quite a few venomous species in the Southeast where I live. You aren't exactly making yourself out to seem very intelligent by that statement. Explain to me this logic: if you know for a fact that dogs kill an average of 30 people per year in the US and send another 3 MILLION to the hospital, whereas snakes kill less than 5 people on average per year, why does it make more sense to hate snakes and not dogs? I can look at a snake and tell right away if it's venomous, and therefore potentially dangerous, but even a lifetime growing up around dogs and breeding dogs has not allowed me to be able to glance at a random dog and determine if that dog will bite or attack. I have far more reason to be concerned about a dog, than a snake. Even with a venomous snake, I have tools that allow me to safely pick it up and relocate it. It's easier, believe me, to pick up a large rattler than an angry 30-pound dog, and I've done both.