I found this Eastern Kingsnake in the garden, since I did not want him hanging around I caught him into a postal bin. This Eastern Kingsnake was every bit of 5 foot long and aggressive. He stood up at me several times, he acted like a king and did not want to be bothered. Kingsnakes give off a smelly musk odor when captured and they also vibrate their tails to scare you.
As you can see the Eastern Kingsnake is a black snake with a banded pattern on its back and the bands are yellow to white color.
Kingsnakes use constriction to kill their prey. They will eat other snakes, including venomous snakes like rattlesnakes as well as lizards, rodents,frogs, birds and eggs.
I took this kingsnake about a half a mile away from the house, I sure hope he doesn’t come back!
Do you have a lot of snakes in your area? What kind of snakes have you seen this summer?
Check out my blog post from last year about all of the Copperhead snakes we have in our area.
Michael's Woodcrafts 
Oh my you are pretty brave, that snake is scary. No snakes here in Brooklyn as far as I know. Rats, raccoons, possums yes snakes no.
thank you but I knew from previous experience that they are aggressive so I just had to be careful. I bet you have snakes but you just don’t see them because there are not as many. Have a great weekend Suzanne! thank you again for posting about my work, you made my day 🙂
Suzanne blogged about my work, cutting boards and ice cream scoop, she has a wonderful web site all about her cooking, baking and more with lots of great recipes! Check out her web site, http://apuginthekitchen.com/2014/07/24/a-true-craftsman/#comment-15645
Oh my gosh, Michael. How can you write about this so calmly? 5 foot long? Goodness. Glad you weren’t hurt and that it is now far away.
Good evening Cynthia! We have a lot of different snakes on the mountain, I mostly find copperhead snakes, black snakes, gartner snakes, pine snakes, hog nose snakes, green snakes and occasionally I will find an eastern kingsnake or rattlesnake. I am scared of the copperhead snakes, kingsnakes and rattlesnakes but I am careful with all of them. Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
Well, after reading that list of snakes, all I can say is I guess I’d better be grateful to live in a place that has endless winters and horrible ice storms…..
Have a good weekend too, Michael. (and you didn’t reveal on my blog whether you would have noticed the flowers….. Hah!)
I definitely would have noticed the beautiful flowers! 🙂
Yeah, right……
OK! I believe you!
Gees louise!!!! You can keep your king plus my little ol garter snake 🙂
But I do know the king snakes are good—but at a distance 🙂
Good luck with that postal box of yours—
julie
Playing catch up on comments, ben gone all day. I like the kingsnake but did not want to have him around with the grandchildren 🙂
pretty thing but glad you could relocate him!
Yes, he is better off away from the house!
Great catch, Michael. But you didn’t say how you caught him! Do you use a snake hook, or just your hands? Great photos! You must have been fast to snag him before he took off and hid again. Funny how too much rain can bring these guys out into the open. Hope your weekend is more peaceful than your Friday! Best wishes-
I used a rack to hold down his head and then grabbed him and put him in the box! Hope you are having a great weekend!
How enjoyable, Michael! So I gather this one is not poisonous, is it? Beautiful creature but I don’t think that half a mile is far enough. We have lots of snakes but around the house mainly aesculapian snakes and others of that family which can get huge but are completely harmless…to us at least, but they eat mice etc. and we live in harmony.
My wife said the same thing, and also said, I hope he doesn’t come back! 🙂
Brrrr, your list of snakes gives me the shivers. This Kingsnake sure is beautiful but I prefer to look at it from the safe distance of my computer screen. 😉 Hope you have a calm, uneventful weekend.
Hi Chava, does thie same thing to my wife, she is so scared of them. The kingsnake is one of the most beautiful snakes we have around here. I hope you are enjoying your weekend! 🙂 My wife makes the round sandwiches like you blogged about!
He does look quite impressive, so can understand his big ego! Is he a poisonous one? We get harmless smooth snakes and grass snakes in our garden now and then… I think a smooth snake lives in the rockery!
Good evening Cathy, kingsnakes are not venomous but they do eat other venomous snakes. They are actually great to have around because they eat the venomous snakes, mice, etc. Smooth snakes are also good to have in the garden!
He’s an impressive looking snake, that’s for sure. We do have a lot of snakes around here, but don’t see them too often during the hot summer months. I’m happy to know they’re out there eating the rodents and keeping them out of my house. On the other hand, I don’t want the snakes too close to my garden or my house, either. It’s a conundrum at times. 🙂
The Eastern Kingsnake is a beautiful snake and they all think they are king, even the smaller ones. This was one of the largest kingsnakes I have seen in awhile. We don’t see snakes often either, I am like you, know they are there and I am sure there are more than I care to know about!
Great shots, but not my favorite critter! 😀
I encountered a Kingsnake in Arizona when we lived there. Thankfully I happened to look down before I stepped out of our truck! I closed the door, rolled down the window and snapped a few photos, then drove the truck to a different location! 😀
That sounds like my wife but she would not have taken pictures! 🙂
Glad he wasn’t in my garden!
I know, I didn’t want him around either!
The whole Fortunately in my area does not have such snakes 🙂
Greets 🙂
I find that odd, do you think the snakes are there and that you just don’t see them? 🙂
This snake looks HUGE- and scary… glad he is only in a photo 🙂
He is a huge snake for an Eastern Kingsnake, this was one about 5 foot long and was scary 🙂
Nope, no snakes in my neck of the woods, thank goodness! I am not scared of snakes, though, at all. Just don’t want them around unsuspecting guests and my daughter, of course.
that’s good, I understand because I don’t want them around my grandchildren! 🙂
Oh my gosh that snake is horrifying! I only stopped when I realized it was your blog. 🙂 We don’t have snakes like that where we live. Mostly little garden snakes. I would run in the house if I saw that in the backyard!!
My wife is also scared of snakes 🙂
Well especially when they are that size!!