We have quite a few water snakes and no one has gotten bitten except my son when he catches them. He's a lot faster now, so has not been bitten in a few years. He now knows that water snakes make poor pets. If your snakes are non-poisonous, they will do more good than harm. They'll try to eat pretty large dead fish, but mostly only bother with small live fish (minnows) which they catch in the shallows while they sleep. If you have any problems with trespassers, a sign declaring "Keep Out - Dangerous Snakes" will do the trick. Its most effective written sloppily in red dripping letters!
