Francis Skalicky, Missouri Department of Conservation What is snake oil and how did the sale of it become associated with hucksters and frauds? Unfortunately for snakes, this is yet another tarnish on the image of a creature that has experienced plenty of negativity down through the ages. People won’t find any traveling snake oil salesmen in Missouri’s outdoors today, but they may come across one of the 49 species and sub-species of snakes that reside in the state. A large number of humans have developed feelings for snakes that are somewhere between annoyance and extreme fear. As a result, many people feel the only good snake is a dead one. That viewpoint is unfortunate because underneath this fearful image is an animal that performs valuable pest-control services for humans and, with the exception of a few venomous species, is relatively harmless.