same reason chimps do

Yep, pure stupidity & ignorance. A chimp has an excuse.

All pit vipers (rattlers, cotton mouth, copper heads) will have a triangular shaped head. Coral snake is not a pit viper....they are multi striped...red, yellow, black. If red is next to yellow then it's a coral...red next to black it's non poisonous. "Red and yellow...kill a fellow, red and black, friend of Jack"..

The snake in the pic is not a pit viper. Could be a released or escaped Python as there are all too many in Fla. thriving in the swamps and wetlands.

In some parts it would considered lunch...

What do you do with bitey children?

The bites really don't hurt from run of the mill, non-venomous snakes. As was already said here, you're better off letting them kill the rodents that are more likely to cause you more harm than snakes ever will. It's very rare for someone to get tagged by a venomous snake they weren't messing with. Leave them alone and they leave you alone. It's really that simple.

I don't like snakes. I have a deep phobia about them that I know is irrational, but they still creep me out.
I built a garage with a south-facing, aluminum overhead door that collected snakes on sunny spring days. They would lie on the ledge next to the ground at the bottom of the last panel. I found out they like to do this one day when I whipped the door open, walked in, and several (I wasn't counting) garter snakes fell off. One or more landed on me and one got caught briefly in the neck hole of my shirt (which was also occupied by my neck). I got in the habit of flinging the door open, jumping back, and watching the snakes fall. Creeped me out every time. I found some granular stuff that smells of moth balls and I keep the door and the area around it well coated with it. It helps.

My worst concern is kids, as adults we know better, young ones are curious. My 4 y/o found the snake and came to me to let me know about the cool find she had made.

I understand about them helping control rodents and others now, if they only controlled the muscovy ducks.....

Just so you know, even non poisonous snakes can inflict a nasty bite and infection is always a concern. Reptiles can have some nasty bugs in their system. Always take care of a bite to prevent infection.

We had copperheads in our yard when I was a kid in TX. I knew how to ID them by the age of 7 and to leave them alone. Once in a while we'd get them with our bb guns, but we knew not to handle anything.

there is very likely a genetic propensity for primates to hate snakes - Some people don't like snakes; recognize that they have a deep phobia about them that they know is irrational, but they still get creeped out by them.

This can happen even after education about them, depending on how strong it is, and what happened to them as a child for example.

If you find a snake you need to get a certain ID on the snake - best would be from the state Fish & Wildlife Dept. office -- likely one nearby.

1. if dangerous - then kill or release far, far away
2. if a non-native invasive, then kill it or give to a zoo
3. if a native snake, then re-release nearby - as per above, snakes kill undesirable wildlife like rats, slugs, etc. -- some even kill poisonous pit vipers

We seem to all posses the same fears of snakes, it is how we use that info that separates us from our hairier cousins.

Evolution Of Aversion: Why Even Children Are Fearful Of Snakes

Had an encounter with a Black Racer in AL when I lived there briefly. If I ran towards it, it would slither away. If I moved back, it would come towards ME!

Back and forth until I got tired of the game. Kept my eye out, though.

http://www.leonandsondra.com/albums/...er%20snake.JPG

Really too fast to kill.

that is a cool snake, milt.

They are actully pretty friendly, just leave them alone, they leave you alone.. Here is the smaller of the 2 that live by my front door.. He guard my Fed-Ex packages;)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303869469.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303869664.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303869778.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303869852.jpg
And this is one of the guys who guards my stuff at the farm.. No if I could train him not to crap in the barn when he is in the rafters or my headers,,,
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303870101.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303870252.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303870330.jpg
No this isn't my mine, but I would like to see some of the guys that are scared of snakes ride in this 930... http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1303871571.jpg

I rode a horse in Arizona that was afraid of snakes. If a 1500 lb horse can bolt at the sound of a rattler I don't feel so bad that my 200lb carcass was on his back and glad we were leaving the area.

That one in the rafters is pretty impressive Byron. You probably don't see many mice with him around.

A family friend of mine bought an old farm in TX. The farm house had been kept habitable by the former family even though no one lived there for years. He was using the house as a weekend cabin and base camp for hunting and getting the farm going again. One weekend he got up with his morning cup of coffee to sit on the front porch. He saw a rattler right by the house so he grabbed his shotgun and killed it. The next morning there was another rattler near the same spot. He killed that one as well.

When he went into the local town he mentioned it to the guy at the feed store. The guy said all the local kids called that place rattlesnake farm because there were so many snakes. Last I heard he was looking to find a supply of King snakes to bring into the area.

some of you might enjoy reading a book "Vertebrate Life" by Harvey Pough, et al.

it's a textbook and can be had cheaply

will change the way you think about "lower" vertebrates

Snakes are very cool. I grew up in MD and we had all sorts of local snakes in the local woods which we lived up against. My dad let me "keep" a few as pets when I was growing up. Black snakes, indigo snakes, king snakes, ring neck snakes, etc. Bitten a few times of course. Never a big deal then. He would stop by NIH (National Institute of Health) and get mice to feed them. Fl has its share here as well as their cousins the alligators.