Snakes in NC really that BAD? (Charlotte, Cary: neighborhood, middle school, living)

[Doorway]

Originally Posted by Always

Well, only the female black widows are poisonous. lol

I need a drink!!!!!!!!!

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by neoflex

My home backs up to a wooded area which backs up to farmland and I have yet to see a snake and I spend a lot of time out in the yard, but I have only been here since last August. My buddy who has been here over a year has only seen two which one was in the area that they were excavating and it took off into the woods and the other he found on the street which he and his helper ended up taking him back to the shop and it has been the shop pet for over 6 months now.

neo - Being just down the street from you (2215 Lex) and having been here since Dec 2005, my snake experience has been a little different. In May of 2006, I was on the side of my house cleaning out the gutter. I looked down from the ladder and saw what seemed to be a long line of water by the air-conditioning unit. I thought that a bit strange, since the ac unit hadn't been on. As I came down a bit from the top of the ladder, I realized it was a snake. The adrenaline began flowing as I noticed it had stopped moving and was at the bottom of the ladder. Being a typical NJ urbanite who had only seen a snake on the Discovery Channel I was starting to panic, when I came to the conclusion that it was a Black Racer which was essentially harmless. As I started down the ladder it began to move away. My heartrate recovered a bit and I got off the ladder and followed it around the yard, until it crawled into the woods in back of my house. It was around 4 ft long - a good size for a Black Racer.

One of the reasons I didn't totally panic was that I was told before I moved to NC, to expect to see a snake or two once in a while. I bookmarked a page that explains what snakes you might expect to see in NC. Here it is. Snakes of North Carolina I suspect the most poisonous snake you'll see in the area is a Copperhead. They are not very poisonous as snakes go anyway, one of my friends back in NJ got bitten by one and decided not to do anything about it since it would have ruined his day of fishing and fishing was more important than a copperhead bite. I don't think I'd be that brave!

Emily Dickinson had a great poem about meeting a snake -here it is!

A narrow fellow in the grass
Occasionally rides;
You may have met him,-did you not?
His notice sudden is.

The grass divides as with a comb,
A spotted shaft is seen;
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on.

He likes a boggy acre,
A floor too cool for corn.
Yet when a child, and barefoot,
I more than once, at morn,

Have passed, I thought a whip-lash
Unbraiding in the sun,-
When, stooping to secure it,
It wrinkled, and was gone.

Several of nature's people
I know, and they know me;
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality;

But never met this fellow,
Attended or alone,
Without a tighter breathing,
And zero at the bone.

That last stanza captures the feeling of meeting a snake for the first time perfectly. Emily got it. I hope you find the link above useful if you're brave enough to get close to a snake. A little biology and poetry for you all!

[vindaloo]

Originally Posted by mbina05

Just moved here from PA where we had a TERRIBLE tick problem. Our dear family dog got lyme disease and died before we moved here. Just made us sick to our stomach. We were elated to move away from the tick problem there, but have been informed that SNAKES are what we have to look forward to here in NC. Is this true? How bad is it? We are looking at building in a new community with a 1/3 acrea wooded back lot with a stream behind. Is this a recipe for disaster?

My husband is absolutely TERRIFIED of snakes so ALL input is appreciated to help us with our home search. Do we do new construction on a treeless lot, a older home, etc?

Thanks so much!

If you were looking for snakes, you could find them. There are plenty of copperheads in wooded areas, however, they are shy, not agressive and will run to protect itself. They are very common in the mountains. Also you can find timber and pigmy rattlers in the mountains. But, you don't really have to worry about them. Chances are you will not see one unless you are looking in the right places. Cottonmouths are mostly seen around the swampy areas of the Carolinas. I can remember a kid getting bit by a nest of cottonmouths years ago off Wilkerson Blvd. near Belmont. He died. But, that was the only incident that I recall other than my granddad being bitten while fishing in a stream near Yadkinville years ago. I also recall finding a coral snake in a rowboat when I was a kid. That wasn't a good experience. This is it. I now live in Florida and see tremendous size rattlesnakes often. One shouldn't dwell on the fear of snakes. They don't bite unless provoked.

I have a fondness of reptiles. They have a valuable role in the balance of nature and serve other useful causes. Please learn to identify snakes and do not kill ones that are not a threat. A non-poisonous snake is never a threat. snakes kill rats and other disease spreading rodents.

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by vindaloo

If you were looking for snakes, you could find them. There are plenty of copperheads in wooded areas, however, they are shy, not agressive and will run to protect itself. They are very common in the mountains. Also you can find timber and pigmy rattlers in the mountains. But, you don't really have to worry about them. Chances are you will not see one unless you are looking in the right places. Cottonmouths are mostly seen around the swampy areas of the Carolinas. I can remember a kid getting bit by a nest of cottonmouths years ago off Wilkerson Blvd. near Belmont. He died. But, that was the only incident that I recall other than my granddad being bitten while fishing in a stream near Yadkinville years ago. I also recall finding a coral snake in a rowboat when I was a kid. That wasn't a good experience. This is it. I now live in Florida and see tremendous size rattlesnakes often. One shouldn't dwell on the fear of snakes. They don't bite unless provoked.

I have a fondness of reptiles. They have a valuable role in the balance of nature and serve other useful causes. Please learn to identify snakes and do not kill ones that are not a threat. A non-poisonous snake is never a threat. snakes kill rats and other disease spreading rodents.

Great Post Vindaloo! Snake stories are always interesting! As much as most of us are not fond of snakes, they have their place in the world. They were here first and have a right to exist, altho I'd appreciate if they stay at least a few feet away from my door! Treat an encounter with a snake as a learning experience!

[marblmom]

Originally Posted by Doorway

I need a drink!!!!!!!!!

Doorway - I can't stop laughing since I read this last post from you!!!

Seriously, it's not like we're in the Amazon or anything! You must have a few "undesirables" in PA, too!

[theroc5156]

I effing hate snakes. Hate them. I respect them, but hate them. I think they are useless creatures and ugly. That being said, I have had a few around my neck before and didn't care either way. I don't understand how any citizen would want a bunch of venomous snakes as pets. To each their own.

[Always]

Dont kill black snakes!!! They eat the poisonous snakes (and other undesirables). If u kill them u may find increasing populations of the black snakes food. Call a neighbor to come get it or wait for your husband to come home.

[barndog]

mbina05 -

i am so sorry to hear about your dog. that is just terrible. (i have a shih tzu who contracted rocky mountain spotted fever late last year and has been a very sick little boy...so i can only imagine how terrible it must have felt to actually lose your doggy baby to a tick-borne illness.)

on the note of snakes, however, i am going to have to offer a different viewpoint than some of the other posters. we have many different types of snakes in north carolina and they vary by what part of the state you're in.

for example, last year, in eastern nc at my parent's home, i encountered a nonpoisonous black snake beside their mailbox. then, a couple of weeks later, i WATCHED one of their neighbors get bitten by a copperhead, which is a very dangerous, venomous snake. after that, our neighbors kept finding copperheads in their yards for a couple of weeks. this was because of the nearly drought-like conditions last year...these snakes were desperately seeking water.

also, last fall, a friend of mine in gastonia found a baby black snake (again, non-poisonous) in her KITCHEN.

my point is this: you DO see them, especially with the super-hot summers we've been having, and you should be careful, especially with wooded areas next to streams/lakes/rivers.

that doesn't mean you should be scared to walk outside or to build a home anyplace you want to live. snakes won't purposely seek you out, and most of them will try to avoid you if they can. here's a link will give you some solid info on sc's snakes, which are similar to nc's... SC Reptiles and Amphibians FAQ Page

come on down, north carolina is a great place to live!

[Doorway]

Originally Posted by marblmom

Doorway - I can't stop laughing since I read this last post from you!!!

Seriously, it's not like we're in the Amazon or anything! You must have a few "undesirables" in PA, too!

Well, we did in Md. but we tried to keep them in DC........ No offense, 7oh4

[vindaloo]

Anyone that wants poisonous snakes as a pet is somewhat deranged.

Originally Posted by theroc5156

I effing hate snakes. Hate them. I respect them, but hate them. I think they are useless creatures and ugly. That being said, I have had a few around my neck before and didn't care either way. I don't understand how any citizen would want a bunch of venomous snakes as pets. To each their own.