• Q: I have a strange plant growing in my yard and I'd like to find out whether it's poisonous. How can I do that?

• A: By sending a sample or clear photos to your county's extension office. The same applies for identifying insects, spiders, millipedes and the like.

One of the many free services provided by extension agents -- who may be horticulturists, biologists, entomologists and/or master gardeners -- is the identification of plants, plant pests and diseases, bugs and other wildlife.

To identify a shrub or tree, the extension agent may need to see a stem or a branch at least 12 inches long. If flowers or fruit/seeds are available, enclose samples. Botanists confirm the identity of plants from the flowers and fruit or seeds. Alternatively, send clear pictures instead. Digital photos can be sent via e-mail.

Include a description of the plant, its flowers and fruit/seeds. Is it a tree, a bush or a small plant? When does it flower?

If you elect to send a sample, don't put it in a plastic bag because it could rotbefore it arrives. Wrap it in paper and send it in a box.

If it's a bug you need identified, put it in a loose crush-proof container, such as a medicine bottle or a film canister with the lid taped on.

Here's the contact information:

• Miami-Dade: UF/IFAS Miami-Dade Extension, 18710 SW 288 St., Homestead, FL 33030. Phone: 305-248-3311. Website: http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu. Digital photos should be e-mailed to dade@mail.ifas.ufl.edu.

• Broward: Broward County Extension Education Division, 3245 College Ave., Davie, FL 33314. Phone: 954-370-3725. Website: www.broward.org/extension. E-mail: mastergardener@broward.org.

• Monroe: Monroe County Extension Services, 1100 Simonton Street, #2-260, Key West, FL 33040. Phone: 305-292-4501. Website: http://monroe.ifas.ufl.edu. E-mail: monroe@ifas.ufl.edu.

• Other Florida counties: Visit www.solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu and click on Local Offices.

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• Q: What was the thin black snake that raced across my back yard? Is it poisonous?

• A: You pretty much answered your own question: it was a black racer, Coluber constrictor. It's not poisonous but it doesn't hesitate to use its needle sharp teeth to defend itself. These skinny snakes can grow to more than five feet in length. They are fairly common in suburban environments where they are seen using their speed on land and in water to evade harm.

There are 46 species of snake native to Florida but only these six are poisonous:

• The southern copperhead;

• The cottonmouth, also known as a water moccasin;

• The eastern diamondback rattlesnake;

• The timber rattlesnake;

• The dusky pygmy rattlesnake, and

• The eastern coral snake The cottonmouth, the diamondback and pygmy rattlesnakes and the coral snake can be found in South Florida; all, however, prefer to stay out of your way.

Thousands of harmless snakes are killed every year by people who wrongly assume they are poisonous. Water snakes are particularly vulnerable because they are mistaken for cottonmouths.

Aside from black racers, other snakes commonly found in suburban backyards are harmless ringneck snakes, slender black snakes that may reach 10-inches and are identified by a light colored (often orange) ring around the neck and a light colored belly. They eat garden pests. Another is the tiny Brahminy blind snake or flowerpot snake, which gets to about 5-inches and gets confused with earthworms. This one is a harmless exotic species that probably arrived with plants imported from Southeast Asia. It really is blind and it's hard to tell one end of its shiny black or dark grey body from other. Curiously, the species consists only of females that reproduce asexually by a process known as parthenogenesis.

If you come across a snake, leave it alone. Native snakes are not aggressive and the majority of bites by venomous snakes occur when a snake is trapped and handled. According to the University of Florida Museum of Natural History's website, www.flmnh.ufl.edu, ''The only acceptable treatment for venomous snakebite, involves the use of antivenin. So if you or someone else is bitten by a venomous snake, seek immediate medical attention at the nearest hospital or medical facility. Stay calm, remove any rings that could restrict circulation if tissues swell, keep the bitten limb below the level of the heart, and immediately seek medical attention. Your most important aids in getting to a hospital and treatment may be car keys or a cell phone.'' If possible, kill the snake and take it with you. (Handle it very carefully; reflex bites have been known to occur in the minute or so after death.)

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue operates Venom 1, an antivenin service that covers all of South Florida.

If you spend time outdoors in Florida, or even if you only venture into your yard, it's worth learning how to identify a snake so you don't mistake a harmless creature for one that's poisonous. The Museum of Natural History's website also provides a colorful identification guide written for the layman.

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• Q: I found an enormous toad sitting in my dog's food bowl. It left when I kicked the bowl. What kind of toad is it? Is it dangerous? And how can I prevent it from coming back?

• A: It sounds like you're dealing with a bufo toad, Bufo marinus, also known as the cane or marine toad. It's a nuisance species, native to Central and South America. It was first introduced to Florida in 1936 in Palm Beach County in an attempt to control sugar cane pests, but it's thought they established themselves in Miami-Dade County after some 100 imported toads were accidentally released at Miami International Airport in 1955.

In general they're harmless to humans, but when they're threatened they secrete a toxin from the large glands on the sides of its head that will certainly irritate mucous membranes. But the poison is strong enough to kill a dog or cat if the toad is swallowed. It's much more likely that a dog will bite a toad -- rather than swallow it -- and the toxin is released into the dog's mouth.

According to the University of Florida, symptoms include drooling, head-shaking, crying, loss of coordination, and, in more serious cases, convulsions. The dog's gums often turn red (an indicator veterinarians use to distinguish toad-poisoning from epilepsy). It advises dog owners to be familiar with normal color of the gums.

A dog exhibiting these symptoms should immediately have its mouth washed with a hose (keep its head down so it doesn't swallow water), and it's gums rubbed to remove as much toxin as possible. Then take it to the vet. With prompt attention there's usually no lasting effect other than discouraging the dog from doing it again.

Bufo toads are here to stay so we need to learn to live with them. Still, there's no need to attract them either, which you're doing when you leave your dog's bowl outside, especially if there's some food in it. Either pick the bowl up as soon as your dog has finished eating or feed your pets inside.

Another reason to leave them be in your yard is that they eat pests. They also kill smaller native wildlife, too.

Since cane toads are an introduced species, the law allows you to kill them; it's not legal to hurt them. Releasing them somewhere else is also illegal. Note that it's smaller, native relative, the southern toad, Bufo terrestris, is harmless. A toad smaller than your fist is not necessarily a cane toad.

A humane way of disposal is to put some well wrapped dry ice in a sealed container and then add the toad. (Keep it separate from the ice, which will ''burn'' it.) The toad goes into a stupor as the temperature drops and the carbon dioxide released by the dry ice will smother it. If you don't want to do it yourself, hire an urban pest trapper instead.

Learn more on the University of Florida's website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW046.