Racers and King Snakes will eat other snakes, including venomous ones. King Snakes are particularily prolific in this regard. Black Rat Snakes are sometimes credited with being good insurance against Rattlesnakes and Copperheads but truth be told, they pretty much stick to rodents and rarely if ever eat other snakes.

Well, we have Black Rat Snakes, and that is the purpose my family keeps me intact!! We live on a farm and let me tell you, with grain and other feeding minerals, it is difficult to use other means of Rodent control..We love Dogs and have many that are like family, dare not use Hawk or other agents like them..thanks for your reply ..A Racer or one of her off spring has lived in my Peony bushes directly side by side of my front steps for years..she suns and slides on my front porch like she owns it..use to scare the life out of me..but at least..I can say.."have you had your rat today"?? Hope she has also eaten her cCopperhead..we really have a probem with those..any clues how to get rid of them?
Have bought out wallymart with Sulfa..does not work..Just glad I do not have a "heart event" every time I see one, at his time of my life!
Thanks for your kindness for us who are so afraid of them and keep on educating us!!!! The more we know, the less we are FEARFUL!!Merriss

Proof that king snakes eat rattlesnakes. :)

Eastern King eating a canebrake rattler.
{{!gwi}}

Since copperheads also eat rodents, having black rat snakes around is a good thing insofar as the rat snakes will hunt the rodents down and eat them, meaning the copperheads may have to hunt elsewhere. Rat snakes seek out rodents whereas Copperheads are ambush predators and lay still on rodent trails...thus in a competitive environment Rat snakes may have a comparative advantage over copperheads, though both species can coexist and may even den together.

Most snake-a-way type products don't do much to repel snakes. Wathcing your step and wearing boots is probably your best defense, though fortunately copperheads are usually not terribly aggressive (their camoflouge is good however making them sometimes easy to overlook) so your risk of actually being bitten isn't high as long as you don't try to handle them.

Wow! Awesome picture Mitchell. Did you take that yourself or find it on the web?

Eastern Kings and Canebrakes are two of my favorite snakes. Looks like that King is eating a snake as big as it is. Very impressive photo.

Oops. I should have credited that photo. It was from BWSmith at another forum. I wish I would have taken it. That would have been quite an experience! Eastern kings and canebrakes are two of my favs also, probably in the top five.

Merriss,

Thanks for a great post! It really makes my day when folks who initially greatly feared snakes begin to appreciate them. I really enjoy your posts and your curiousity and your willingness to learn new things. It's great that you're eager to ask questions rather than feel initimidated by folks who are as into snakes as many of us on this forum are.

Thank you for all of the great support and you are so right on the money..I still like for them to stay clear and give me a rather large path to tread! On the other hand, I can see the useful benefits of having them.(Did I really say that?) Leaps and bounds above where I started.. My husband kept trying to tell me to focus on the head shape..WELL...forget that! I still would never get that close!
Thanks and make sure you get your DT shots up todate..those little bites, can still transmit Tetanus..
Good luck in your Herping excursions!
Merriss