Specifically To: "larryl 7 Southern Oregon"... Your reply was a bit thoughtless regarding your comment referring that 'you built a pond - deal with it' attitude. I am deathly afraid of snakes, just the sight and I go into a panic attack and vomit - all because of just the sight whether it be non-poisonous or poisonous, doesn't matter. Everyone understand having a water garden brings in all types of wildlife...being a lover of ALL animals, including reptiles, I get an emotional attachment to the various creatures that live in my pond. It is obvious snakes have to eat, but I don't necessarily want them to eat from my personal, nurtured pond. You wouldn't want animals eating veggies or flowers from a garden you worked hard at maintaining? So instead of dishing out attitude to those of us that love the pleasure and beauty the ponds and the inhabitants bring to us, try instead giving us useful info, not flippant, sarcastic comments that help no one. This is a forum for us to ask for help and get 'real' advice, not a platform for your opinion. And don't forget, snakes can be a real problem for a lot of people in a lot of different ways.

Unfortunately, snake phobia is really really common. With a lot of people it just seems to be built-in and they can't help it, or can't easily help it. I can understand that for most of our evolutionary history, there would have been no advantage to seeing snakes as our cute scaly friends, and a lot of people are also deeply imprinted with the adult reactions that they saw when they were little. If someone's really phobic, it's not something they can just "change their minds" about. Just so long as you don't use your fear as a rationale for killing snakes out of hand, which is an awful thing to do and almost never justifiable (especially when you don't *know* if the snake is even dangerous.) My guess is that most people who indiscriminately kill snakes are not actually phobic, but just have some twisted idea that it's a good thing to do or that it makes them bad-ass or something.

Why do I keep coming back to this post? I have to close my eyes when the first pic comes up, then ya'll post more pics!!!!!!!!!! My mom was afraid of snakes, therefore made us afraid. There is no reason for me to be freaked out, just that. I also have forced myself to look a pic's and even watch shows with them. But when I find them in my yard, that's another story! A few weeks ago I posted how to get rid of one because we had a black racer in our yard. It was sunning itself, and I even went out to look at it, from a good distance! Then later I went out and it was gone. I looked around and here it came, right at me! I freaked, ran inside and got my son up. He couldn't catch it but I haven't seen it since.

Beautiful snakes!I see plenty of corals and a scarlet once in awhile. It amazes me how many snakes employ that coloration.