If you have a healthy ecosystem, you have predators.

Snakes are some of my favorite predators:

I caught this 3′ long yellow rat snake after discovering him under a pile of branches in my food forest.

I’m always amazed by people that complain about birds, squirrels, mice and other pests… and then kill snakes.

Do you not understand how nature works?

If you kill a snake, you might as well have bred a few hundred rodents and released them.

Snakes keep pest populations in check. Leave them alone, or better yet – create habitat! Rock piles, stick piles, logs, tall brush, ponds and woodland… these attract and keep rodent controlling reptiles on your property.

Florida only has a couple of snakes worth worrying about: the Eastern diamondback and the water moccasin.

Coral snakes are pretty inoffensive creatures, as are pygmy rattlers. Just don’t try to kiss them and you’ll be fine.

It’s been estimated that only 5 people die each year from snakebite in the US. That means you’re roughly a zillion times more likely to die from your crummy diet than from a snakebite.

Quitting McDonald’s makes more sense than cleaning up a stick pile in your yard.

Unlike snakes, Ronald “You So Fat” McDonald doesn’t kill the squirrels that take my peaches.

Snakes are your friends. Snakes are natural pest control.

They are.

Just accept it, move on, and enjoy the decrease in varmints.