Read this before you decide to kill that snake in your yard!

We've all been there. You finally get around to tackling the yardwork only to be rudely interrupted by an unwelcome reptilian intruder. Your first instinct may be to reach for the shovel and quickly dispatch it, but did you know that you could be committing a crime by doing so?

That's right. Killing non-venomous snakes in the state of Georgia is illegal, and odds are the snake you have encountered could very well be non-venomous. In fact, 35 of the 41 snakes native to Georgia are non-venomous and considered harmless to humans. Even if you are certain a snake is venomous, it's usually best to leave them alone. Snakes are not inherently aggressive towards humans and are more than likely as afraid of us as we are of them.

If you encounter a snake in your yard in Northeast Atlanta and would like help identifying or relocating it, please give me a call at 678-249-0102 and I'll be happy to help out free of charge if I can.

If you aren't local to Northeast Atlanta, feel free to reach out and I'll try to put you in touch with someone knowledgeable in your area, or refer to the interactive map to find someone near you.