Which snakes are most common in Broward County? (Davie, Weston: lawyers, house)

[Tiger Beer]

Which snakes are most common in Broward County?

[Kalbo]

Grass snakes or garden snakes are common.

[MisterNY]

What's the difference between the two? By the way, I'd add water mocassins, for those who have lakes near them. I heard of rattlers in SW Ranches. Not sure how acurate that is.

[Mattie]

Yeah, my friend lost a dog to a water moccasin in Davie. They have a little creek running along their property. I've seen plenty of harmless water snakes, and black snakes in Weston.

[Nolefan34]

Beware during times of flooding. Water moccasins (a.k.a. cottonmouths) thrive in flooded ditches in residential neighborhoods. Also, canals, lakes, and ponds. Between poisonous snakes and alligators, you cannot swim in any freshwater bodies in FL.

Other poisonous snakes include the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, the copperhead, and the coral snake. The diamondbacks are usually found in heavily wooded areas, and since there is so much development here in Broward County I'd imagine they are far less common than in the old days. If you live in Western Palm Beach County they are abundant since there are lots of woods/brush. Copperheads tend to live in the same environment. Coral Snakes can live just about anywhere on land, including inside of the walls of people's homes. One time my parents found a Coral snake that was living inside of wall of their garage and it popped its head out one day. Coral snakes do not appear threatening, but their poison is stronger than a rattlesnake or a copperhead.

[seashells821]

Hi
My brother is moving to Davie with a lake behind his house and I am absolutley terrified that there is snakes.
What can be done to prevent them from coming into the yard. The pool area is fenced with black metal fence to keep out alligators?? They have 2 dogs as well and after reading these posts I am terrified for them as well.
What places are they the most common to see???? Please respond as I am not comfortable to visit.

[doggiebus]

I don't think there is really anything that you can do to keep them out of the yard, as they can climb over things. Probably the other thing your brother need to worry about being so close to water is the frogs, in particular the buffo frogs. One lick of one of those toads can kill a dog. If they see a dog that has been out in the yard that is foaming they need to wash the dogs mouth out with a water hose, fast! My parents used to feed the guard dogs outside, and the day I saw this giant, I mean giant buffo sitting in the dog bowl, put a stop to the feed of the dogs outdoors pretty fast. If they do see the buffos in the yard, the best thing is to catch them, and take them to the Everglades.

Black Racers are pretty common in Broward. One day I walked in the front door, 5 minutes later I was running back out. I took a step out the front door I had just come in 5 minutes prior, and curled up on the welcome mat was a black snake. Ohhh did I scream.... It was either a water moc or a black racer, I slammed the door so fast.

[Tiger Beer]

From what I can tell...most housing in Broward County appears to be single-story, relatively flat to the ground - not many steps up that I recall.

So it seems like for a snake to get in the house, is a fairly easy bet. Am I wrong?

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

So it seems like for a snake to get in the house, is a fairly easy bet. Am I wrong?

Oh yes, if you leave the door open, any creature can get in, that is the chance you take living here. We left a back door open once, and a rat came in the house. It took 2 days to catch it. We knew what room it was in, so we locked the door and put some traps out. But I didn't sleep well that night.

[tallrick]

County comissioners, code enforcement, developers and lawyers. Those are the two-legged snake varieties common in south Florida.