'Slithery' friends may not be welcome guests

I know several individuals who are cool, calm and collected… that is until they see a snake. And I, like them, are terrified of snakes. In Kansas we have 33 species of nonpoisonous snakes and four poisonous species.

We have a number of non-poisonous snake species that will bite humans -- but no more often and for no other reasons than a raccoon or fox would bite. Kansas has only two kinds of poisonous snakes, both of which are fairly easy to recognize:

* Copperheads -- the most numerous poisonous snake in the east.

* Rattlesnakes (with the timber rattler predominant in the extreme east, the "pygmy" massasauga in the eastern two-thirds, and the prairie rattler -- now often called the western rattlesnake -- in the west).

"We've had a few isolated reports of water moccasins and western diamondback rattlesnakes, but officials suspect those snakes were brought in -- probably to be passed off as something new for the record book. Kansas isn't prime habitat for them," Charlie Lee, Wildlife Damage Control specialist for Kansas State University Research and Extension, said.

Fortunately, according to Lee, three things always are true for those trying to identify native Kansas snakes as poisonous or non-poisonous:

1. Longitudinal stripes running from head to tail mean a snake is harmless.

2. Heads that look like an oval or cylinder belong to harmless snakes.

Some nonpoisonous snakes and all poisonous snakes have big "jaws" that make their head look like a triangle.

3. Harmless snakes' eyes have round pupils. Poisonous snakes have "cat's eyes" with a vertical, slit-looking pupil, and they have an indentation or "pit" between each eye and nostril.

There are many products out there that claim to repel snakes and other varmints using the same ingredients found in moth balls. Research has proven that these products have no effect on where snakes went in a room.

Unfortunately, the only way to exclude snakes is to bar their way with a fence they can't climb. In Kansas, that means a 36-inch-high barrier of small metal mesh (screening) or solid galvanized tin. This also means, if a snake gets in, it can't get out!

To discourage "slithery" visitors, however, homeowners can eliminate cool, damp, cover-providing places in their landscape, garage, and accessible areas in or around the house. Snakes look for such hiding places to help them escape summer's heat -- especially when wilder habitat choices are dry. Keeping grass clipped short also discourages snakes, plus if one is in your yard, it will be easier to see.

Another good practice is to eliminate dense foundation plantings, put gravel or decorative rocks next to buildings, and seal or screen off any cracks or openings. This reduces the odds for termites and other insects, as well as for snakes.

Snakes have proven to be the most effective and efficient mousetraps by killing and eating a variety of rodents. Snakes can not completely eliminate pests, but do keep their numbers down. And some will eat other snakes -- even some poisonous ones. Snake venom is also being used for blood pressure medicine and to treat heart and blood problems.

The Extension Office does have a guide to Kansas snakes, which includes information on myths, behaviors, benefits and types. Or it can be accessed at www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/ by searching for "snakes."

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Editor's Note: Delta George is a K-State Research and Extension agriculture and 4-H extension agent assigned to Bourbon County. She may be reached at (620) 223-3720.