Need help catching a snake?

Question

I walked in my shed last night, with a flashlight because I don't have power out there. All of a sudden I hear this loud noise like a loud cricket sound or a the sound from the move The Grudge. So I turned around wondering what it was, well like 3 feet from my face was this mean looking snake just hissing at me. So I back up to get a closer look at it but I couldn't tell if it was posioness or not. It looked like a Praire Kingsnake or either a Copperhead but didn't exactly resemble either one that well. I searched on the Missouri Conservation site and they were the closest to what it looked like. I didn't want to kill it and I didn't exactly weant to mess with it at night because my flashlight was going dead but how can I catch and move this thing somewhere else. I have a few questions so I'm sorry.

Will it hang around in there? and How do I catch this thing? Without actually grabbing or touching it or even be in the building.

Any ideas of what it might be?

Answer 1

Isn't there some kind of special people you can call that do things like this? sorry i don't know what they are callled, thats best if you don't know wether it posionous or not, it might hang around in there if it likes it but then again it might just go back out the way it came in! good luck  

Answer 2

I do agree that it was probably a black rat snake.  They do hiss and they hiss loudly.  (Owner of 2 black rats).  Their patterns can vary a lot from solid black to almost a banded look.  I disagree when the others are telling you that this snake will move on eventually.  I know from experience that as long as there is a food source, or easy meal for the snake then it is gonna hang around.  The only way that I know of to tell you to get rid of it is to get rid of its food source, which is probably mice.  If you don't want to harm the snake that I would suggest a live rat trap because he can eat the mice that has ate the poison and you could kill them both.  Also you can use moth balls to deter him away without harming him.  And no I would not suggest grabbing the snake whether it is poisonous or not because a bite from a nonpoisonous snake can lead to infection also.  Hope this helps and good luck and BE SAFE!!

Answer 3

Just go grab it by the throat, wuss. You're bigger than it, and have arms.

Answer 4

Its more then likely just a rat snake. Its not a copper head the live in swamps and rarely strey to far from the water. I wouldnt worry about it, if anything it is keeping your garage free of rats.

Answer 5

I agree that it is most likely a rat snake, such as a young black rat snake. I breed kingsnakes, including prairie kings, and have five different subspecies of kings, and they don't hiss. I've studied coperheads and owned them and bred them, and they don't hiss either. Rat snakes, on the other hand, hiss like crazy. Plus they're more likely to be in a shed than kings or copperheads. Honestly, the snake will leave on its own and you really don't need to do anything. It was either looking for food or just taking a break from the heat. Snakes aren't territorial and once it leaves, there's a very good chance it won't return.