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It's the time of year when many animals are waking up from a long winter's nap, and that includes snakes.

Well, you asked for it, and it's here: warm weather. As a bonus, you get ticks, mosquitos and snakes.

The important thing to remember is that harmless snakes vastly outnumber venomous snakes in the Susquehanna Valley.

Like Doug Runkle, you could cross paths with one. He wrote to Jack Hubley saying, "I found this snake on our back deck. Can you tell us what kind it is?"

It's a rat snake – an eastern rat snake, to be exact.

Most folks call them black rat snakes or simply black snakes.

Rat snakes are the longest snakes to be found here in Pennsylvania. Experts say they can grow to 8 feet long.

Rat snakes are very dangerous to rats and mice, but they're nonvenomous and harmless to you, your kids and your pets. So, unless you like living with rodents, rat snakes are a real asset to your property.

They're pretty easy to identify as adults. The problem is, black rat snakes are not black snakes when they're young. A light gray background is punctuated by dark blotches down the back.

Rat snakes are about a foot long when they hatch in August and September. As the snake grows and sheds its skin, that well-defined pattern becomes less distinct.

Big or small, though, rat snakes are great to have around.

News 8 looks back at 'Wild Moments' as host Jack Hubley retires Explore Outdoors: Hiking the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania

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