Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Kill snakes or letum go?

I'm not a fishery just a fishing pond so I know that the balance of nature is sometimes very important. That being said I have this rather large northern diamondback water snake that lives underneath my floating dock where my fish feeder is.

It's pretty unnerving when I go out to fill the feeder up because he/she doesn't spook and just watches me through the cracks of the boards. Curious if there is any value in having it around?

I pulled up my blue heron decoys so that I'd get some birds that would hopefully nab him, but I think he's too big already. Now I have a blue heron and a huge water snake...

I leave my snakes alone. They are harmless and part of the biodiversity that helps keep the environment healthy.

Oh it's not a rattlesnake. Unfortunately have plenty of those, but not in my pond they like to hang near my house and barn lol.

Northern Diamond-backed water snake is what I've seen it called. Maybe just a Diamond-backed water snake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerodia_rhombifer

https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/diamond-backed-watersnake

It's definitely what it is. I've been close enough to take a pretty good gander at him. Apparently they are often confused for cottonmouths and are actually very prevalent in TX.