What Kind of Snake Is This?

11 years ago

Anyone know what type of snake this is? It is a baby that got caught on the glue trap in my basement. Not sure how it got down there but I'm concerned it's mom is close by (i.e., either in my yard or in the basement too). I need to figure out if it's venomous because I have 3 young kids. I live in Harford County, Maryland if that helps. Thanks!

Featured Answer

User

11 years ago

That is a harmless baby Black Rat Snake. They are very common in residential neighborhoods and pose absolutely no threat to humans. In fact, they are good at pest control (i.e. rodent control).

You might want to do some research on glue traps. They are generally regarded as barbaric due to the slow agonizing death the provide to any animal unlucky enough to get trapped in them. While you might not care about the insects or even the snake, you may not feel that way when you find a live mouse fatally glued to the board and slowly dying there. The "natural anesthetic" they claim to have is clove oil and it is present only as a sales gimmick to make the slow death they dish out a bit more palatable to consumers. You might consider whether there are other means of insect control that aren't as cruel.

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Comments (6)

Sharon McKenzie
11 years ago
I agree with fhfchrish. Those glue traps are horrible; imagine a kitten or puppy caught on one of those if it were bigger, thrashing and only getting stuck worse, dying slowly, in horrible pain. Snakes feel pain just as much, perhaps more so, than mammals like cats and dogs do, due to having a more-developed sensory nervous system. There are humane alternatives, like diatomaceous earth, to deal with insect pests, that don't harm non-target animals.
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Box Turtle
10 years ago
Thank you fhfchrish & Sharon McKenzie for speaking out against the glue traps. I have NO idea why they are still legal and it is one of the reasons why I don't think we have the right to call ourselves "civilized." Civilized humans would not torture to death living creatures just because they can. Look at that poor snake! It's SICKENING!!!
Sharon McKenzie
10 years ago
Even more disturbing is that there are "professional" snake removal "experts" who recommend and use these awful traps as a "humane" alternative to killing snakes! What's humane about what you see above, please tell me? Even if the snake is found and released, a tedious process involving pouring oil all over the animal and waiting for it to break the connection of the glue, very often the snake has already been injured internally if not visibly, and now it's nostrils are clogged with thick oil. Its release usually just means it will go off and die elsewhere. Due to their metabolism, reptiles die much more slowly and feel pain for a longer period of time than a mammal or bird exposed to the same sort of abuse. No animal, not even a pest rodent species, deserves this kind of torture.
Box Turtle
10 years ago
"Professional” HA! Like that implies anything. “Professional” doesn't speak to someone's moral character or ethics or compassion or empathy or intellect even! All “professional” means is that someone is willing to pay you to do something for them...no matter how sickening it is!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
Yikes! That's quite an assortment of critters! I'd love to know the identity of the large creature cut out of the frame in the bottom of the picture. The legs are arachnid-ish.