Do you kill snakes you find in your yard?

[DutchHerp]

That's nice, but perhaps you should explain why for the people on here who don't know. They're less likely to take advice if it's just yelling at them in big bold letters without anything supporting it...

I won't kill any snakes I find in my yard, venomous or not. It's good to be familiar with local herp associations or clubs in case you find something venomous (especially here in Phoenix) cause they can send people out and deal with it properly.

Snakes, especially the ones that use communal hibernacula, usually do not fare well when relocated. The reasons range from not finding suitable places for hibernation, not finding enough prey, competition with other snakes/wildlife, etc.

However, baby snakes that do use wintering dens generally do better than their older counterparts.

Later, Matt