SNAKE!!!

My dogs went running out the door after something....I figured it was a bird or rabbit.  I was standing at the door trying to get them to come in.  Then I saw what they were after!!!  I was a F*#$^&ing SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!  It slithered right past me, under their water table and into a hole at the retaining wall....RIGHT OUT SIDE MY BACK DOOR!!!!   It was about 16 inches long if not longer and was black and yellow...i am pretty sure the yellow ran the lenth of its body.  Um....do we have poisionous snakes here in Chester County (SE PA) ?  Or does it sound like a garner (or is it gardner??) snake?  He's not going to start coming out to hang out with the dogs and the frog is he????  Ok, im not a big fan of frogs, but a SNAKE????  I am terrified of snakes.

HG

I know NOTHING about snakes 'cept that I am terrified of them as well....

eeeewwwwww

now see, that might be a deal breaker for brian buying your house, lol

Good luck!

Pam

I think you have a common Garter Snake.  Non-poisonous, just scary!.  LOL  Saw one for the first time in 7 years at new house, but it was only 6-7" long.  Scared me pretty badly.  LOL 

I hope your dogs get it for you!

Carol

I hope he doesn't eat mr. frog No more sitting out on the patio with the dogs and frog at night.....no way!!!  I can't believe I sat out there all summer and never knew he was out there.  I saw the wholes in the dirt, but I thought they were for the frog!

I think you are right about it being a Garter snake....I still don't like it!!!  I hope he doesnt eat our frog  The dogs would end up playing with it I think...thats what they did with baby bunnies 3 years in a row.  Maybe he will move out

Hi Heather!

If you have a frog or frogs near by, well then, that's gourmet food for snakes!  Truly!  Okay, if it has yellow stripes it sounds very much like a garter snake, very common type of snake, not harmful but can be startling for sure.  Even if it has different yellow striping, it still sounds like a common type of snake, like a ribbon snake.  They like wetlands areas and will all of the rain they are bound to come out!  Snake go dormat when the weather cools or dries up, saving their energy for hunting later on.

Good luck, doubt they would come into the house, they like the outdoors far more!

Jan

Heather,

Catch and skin it.  You can sell it as a Marc Jacob knock off.  OK maybe a dollar store change purse.   I can relate to your fear, my dog and few of the other neighborhood dogs were flipping out a few weeks ago.  Here there was a loose cat chasing a rat in the street.  I was terrified, even though I live in the city, we don't usually see those during the day. 

Hope snakey is far away by now.


Jeanne

Ok...I think a rat would be just as disturbing!! 

Hehehehehehehehehheheheheh.    Excuuuuuuse me for laughing but 'Welcome to MY World!!!"   I killed a baby in my garage last week.   Sorry!  but if you don't pay my rent you don't live free in my house!   I HATE, HATE, HATE SNAKES.   Swore when I moved to the country here that I could deal with just about everything but that and everyone told me I'd never see one....I think that was the 5th one I've had to deal with....I'm starting to lose count.   I KNOW it's momma is around here because we saw her in the garage too last year but she slithered out; she's about 3.5 feet long and an Eastern Milk snake I believe as I got one of her babies (a 12") in my basement last year.   It must have come up through the sump pump, and this one I just got last week (9") looked exactly the same.   I've also found skins around.  Then I had a garden one, greenish with the yellow stripe about 16" last year; very pretty.   I have a contractors shovel that does quite the number on them and lest Sister thinks I'm terrible, at least know that I say an "Our Father" as I'm wacking them.   I hate doing it, they are beautiful creatures but if I don't at least stun them I can't move them to the woods or creek nearby.   Besides, they'd  find their way back....http://www.fish.state.pa.us/factsnake.htm  that's the website.   The quick and dirty on snakes is that we do have copperheads around here but more towards the Poconos and deeper in the woods.  If they have pupils they are ok, if they have slits like cat's eyes they are poisonous....personally I'm not getting close enough to tell the difference!

oh crap!  I have to crawl under the crawl space to check how much oil I have left....its right next to the sump pump.....you had to mention them slithering up the sump pump didn't you LOL ewwwww......I think I am going to have night mares over this!!

hg