Here are several videos to watch closely. Common Black Rat Snakes eat Poisonous Snakes for desert like a tub of ice cream. Unfortunately, one of THE best predictors of poisonous snakes and rodents aren't as common as farmers who valued them are not as common. Country folks with sense would welcome the beneficial snakes as they were very valuable. Now that people no longer learn about wildlife and the environment, the phrase has become common, " The only good snake is a dead snake.". Scared little boys learn this from their cowardly friends and families. Hence the tradition is carried on. Unwittingly, they kill that harmless little critter that gets rid of the poisonous ones before they get big enough to do much good. As they grow and she'd, that pattern gradually fades and the background darkens to black. Black isn't the only color for rat snakes as they also come in grey, red/ orange (corns), depending upon what part of the country you may live in.
They like to go after copperheads and rattlers, constrict them like a boa, and eat them head first. Occasionally they will even tackle those bigger than themselves. If you don't have any venomous snakes in your local, rest assured that these friends are NO maintenance and will sniff out mice, rats, moles, etc.
