Learn These Little Known Facts About Snakes

Most people suddenly become edgy when they see a snake, dead or alive. Some literally feel the shivers run down their spine while others immediately pass out. Others still may freeze wherever they are while others bolt away like a bullet released when the trigger is pulled. All these are normal biological responses to fear; the fight or flight mechanism. But have you ever dared to take a closer look at snakes, or tried to understand them a bit more? This post will help you do just that.

The role of snakes in the ecosystem

Believe it or not, if some strange thing happened and all snakes were wiped out of existence, there would be crazy ripple effects. The animals that snakes feed on would suddenly increase and lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem.

In the intricate web of life, everything is connected to everything else. Snakes are not on top of the food chain: they are mesopredators, hunted by other predators such hawks, skunks, eagles, and even other snake-eating snakes species, such as the king cobra. In essence, snakes control the population of their prey, while also serving as food for other animals. Thus, the loss of snake populations would consequently affect the population of their predators, and thus the balance of the entire ecosystem. Read more at IVInt

Snakes with rodent names

Rodents, like mice and rats, are a great delicacy for snakes. But isn’t it interesting how there are snakes that have rodent names as their middle names? Read more about them in the following post:

There is around a total of 45-55 species of the rat snake genus Elaphe. Rat snake species are divided into two groups broadly one is the Old World species which are from Europe and then the New World species who are from eastern, and central North America and and the gray rat snake is one among them and if part of the new world species category. These rat snakes are seen in forests and grassy areas sometimes even near agricultural fields where pests like mice and rats exist. They climb trees in order to search for prey and are nocturnal in nature with excellent eyesight to search for prey at night.

A few varieties of the same family include the black snake, eastern rat snake, Baird’s rat snake, Trans Pecos rat snake, Japanese rat snake, rhinoceros rat snake, mandarin rat snake, white oak gray rat snake, yellow rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata) among others. Gray rat snake ranks number six as the best 20 pet species ranked by popularity. Read more at Kidadl

Snakes and rodent control

Now, you may want to think of snakes as a great partner in rodent control- well, some people do. These slithering creatures may be helpful if they are not poisonous.

Although people are often fearful of snakes, the much-maligned creatures are one of nature’s most important natural predators, playing a significant part in a healthy ecosystem. While most snakes are non-venomous and present no danger to humans, they effectively keep populations of rats, mice and other rodents in check. All snakes are carnivorous and many eat as often as once every three to four days.

Because snakes have hinged jaws, they can eat prey three times wider than their heads. Although small snakes feed on grubs, snails and slugs, larger snakes eat rodents such as gophers, mice, rats and voles. Without snakes to control populations, rodents would reproduce freely, soon growing out of control. Snakes are significant allies of farmers and gardeners, decreasing the rodent population in fields, gardens, barns and grain storage facilities. Read more at Homeguides

Clearly, there is a lot to discover about snakes. However, in a residential area, or at your home, snakes are not welcome guests. You’d rather have other rodent control measures than consider having snakes around your yard. If you need help with a snake problem at your home, don’t hesitate to call Backyard Bug Patrol. We will be right there to handle any pest control issue at hand.