Snake ID
Posted by Jerome Rigot on July 25, 2007
Q: I recently and unfortunately killed a snake out of fear. Could you please ID it? I can upload a jpeg picture so you can see it. Let me know where I can do that.
Thanks, Jerome
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: Pennsylvania
Habitat: suburban/yard
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A: I'm afraid you killed one of our allies in the "war" against rodents. Your snake was an Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum). In the past, since they were often associated with barns, farmers believed they were milking their cows; hence the name. Actually, they were there because there were lots of rats and mice for them to eat. This is a reasonably common snake and certainly a harmless one for humans. I understand your initial concern but now that you know, hope future snake encounters will not be so deadly.
Thanks for asking and thanks for sending such helpful photos.
John Wiessinger ( July 26, 2007)