A Mazing - Pic-of-the-Day

Mike Maze of WRAL weather in Raleigh, NC recently posted this picture from his Pic of the Day on Facebook:

Here's an up close and personal look at a snake in a bird box from Annette Huetter of Raleigh. She opened the bird house Tuesday morning after she saw 'something white' in the opening. She had just cleaned it out a few days before so she was curious about what was inside. I think I would have jumped if I saw this. 

Thanks Annette for sending us the Amazing Pic-of-the-Day. I was reminded by a viewer from last week that not all snakes are bad...here is what she said in her email.

"The amazing pic you showed last night was of a NC black snake, sometimes known as black racers, among other names in NC. People have a tendency to want to kill these beautiful creatures, but they are very beneficial. Their main prey is copperhead snakes. 

I have seen these snakes tangle with copperheads and usually win every time. If people see these black snakes, leave them be. They are very helpful to keep the copperhead population down, especially if you live in a rural area. Please pass this on to your viewers."

Some sound advice I would say!!

Here is a comment on this post:

Lynn Johnson These are called chicken snakes on the farm--they eat eggs. I would probably have fainted if I'd seen one in the birdhouse, but I had a black snake living in my crawlspace for several years. After my initial panic, I talked to the "snake guy" at the college, who told me that so long as he was there, I'd have no mice and no other snakes--like poisonous ones. He also told me that if he bit me, I wouldn't be able to find the bite the next morning.

I named him Slinky and told him that so long as he stayed in the crawl space, I'd have no problem with him. During the four or so years he lived there, I did not see ONE trace of a mouse. Unfortunately, he decided to go outside to sun one day and the neighbors killed him.

I know farmers who put a black snake in their barn to protect against mice. The "snake guy" said he took two home with him and put them in the crawl space of his house. I did warn anyone going under the house to "watch out for Slinky".