In fact, she often ran screaming in the opposite direction whenever I presented her with my latest find. For many people like my grandmother, snakes are evil, or mean, or dangerous. The truth is that snakes are vital to our environment. Snakes feed on a variety of animals which we call pests and help keep populations down. If it weren't for snakes, we would probably be up to our armpits in rats and mice.
Most snakes get a bad rap because a few species are poisonous.
In Georgia, there are some 50 species of snakes but only 6 are dangerous. That's less than 20 percent. These 6 species are very easy to identify, and once you know them, you won't have to worry about the rest. Bands of red, yellow, and black color circle the snake's body. On a coral snake, the bands of red and yellow color touch each other.