Black Snake Education Settles Terrified Customer

A lot of people are terrified of snakes.  To some customers a harmless black snake, king snake, rat snake, or other non-venomous snake is a slithering terror waiting to attack.  I had one such run in a couple days ago.

A Harmless Black Snake Can Seem Dangerous To Some

The customer called in to the office in hysterics.  She had just seen a huge snake moving across her patio when she was leaving for work.  No longer was she going to work, or outside the house for that matter.  Not with certain death waiting just outside her door.  I pulled up to the house not sure what kind of snake it would be.  It was huge, that’s all I knew.  I walked around the house and found the massive, extremely deadly predator!  It turned out to be a completely harmless black snake.  I snapped a couple pictures and put the snake in my snake bag.  I then went in to talk to the customer.  She was extremely relieved to know I had caught it.  I eventually was able to convince her that it was harmless after showing her pictures of the snakes that are venomous and a picture of a black snake.  After some more coaxing, she even consented to letting me show her the snake while still in the bag.  After being around it for a few minutes and being educated on the harmlessness of this particular snake and most others, while still uncomfortable, she wanted a closer look.  I took it out of the bag and continued talking about how they are a fundamental part of the ecosystem, just as every other animal has its purpose.  After answering all her questions and putting most of her fears to rest, I left with her once deadly menace.