You probably have. In fact, it's the most common snake found in Minnesota.

We've all seen Facebook posts similar to this one before, right?

Snakes are creepy enough! They're even creepier when you don't know what type of snake they are. Are they deadly? Are they harmless?

Thankfully, in this case, it's just a garter snake. One type of snake that we've seen thousands of times before.

How did I know? Well, let me give you a bit of an ophiology lesson: anything deadly will have a BROAD and somewhat diamond shaped head. Secondly, they'll be somewhat brightly colored or have very distinctive patterns. Thirdly, they'll be HUGE. As in, "big enough to eat a full grown rat" huge. The guy pictured above would rather feast on flies and worms than full grown rats who could do more damage to him than he to it. He's skinny rather than fat.

Minnesota only has a few poisonous snakes to look out for.

I know, I know... I can't stand snakes as much as the next person. This would freak me out too. However, I also hate seeing these little guys harmed because they're misidentified.

If you find a snake, be 100% sure you know what it is before taking action.

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