I've also heard that myth. Great Post. I have recently moved to the country and have seen more snakes in the last 3 months than in my entire life. It's considered swamp land here, and I have a pond on my property, so I see black racers and banded water snakes all the time. I learned very quickly to identify the dangerous ones by their eyes. Haven't run into any poisonous snakes yet, so I generally let them be.