With all the press the cicadas are getting lately, it easy to forget some of the other critters that residents can see crawling though the neighborhood.
Recently, Jessica Leigh Nolan of Hayfield Court encountered a 6-foot long rat snake in her back yard.
“It ate the woodpecker babies in a nest... this tree is between my house and a "tot lot" that is behind the townhouses,” Nolan said in a Facebook post. “Needless to say my kids are not using the tot lot anytime soon.”
Others have shared their experiences with the creatures, which included encounters in gardens, under porches and even in basements.
“My Yorkie Russell had barked at something for an hour before I finally went down to see what he was doing. My three-pound Chihuahua followed me and when he went to go out the doggy door, the snake sat up and bit him in the face,” Rebecca Rosenblum Dittrich said. “I ended up opening the back door and it went on its way, but I hope it doesn't come back thinking that my Chihuahua is dinner.”
Black rat snakes, which begin to appear in the spring, are harmless according to the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
“Juvenile black rat snakes are by far the most common species found in and around homes,” they said. “Rat snakes feed on mice and other rodents, making them beneficial around barns and storage sheds. They are excellent climbers and will rob bird nests.”
Experts say adult black rat snakes can average 3-4 feet in length, but occasionally specimens do grow larger.
Ultimately, they are docile and non-venemous, but rat snakes may “vibrate their tails and strike aggressively” when approached.
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