Taking a job in Lenexa, KS...info please (Overland Park, Kansas City: tornado, apartments)

[OHNYMAOHPA]

Hello out there!!!

I am planning to accept a position in the Lenexa, KS area. I read an article about rattle snakes being a nuisance in this area.

Help me please...

I am terrified of finding a snake in my bathroom or in the basement (do houses in Kansas have basements...).

I would appreciate your thoughts...

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by OHNYMAOHPA

Hello out there!!!

I am planning to accept a position in the Lenexa, KS area. I read an article about rattle snakes being a nuisance in this area.

Help me please...

I am terrified of finding a snake in my bathroom or in the basement (do houses in Kansas have basements...).

I would appreciate your thoughts...

They found one rattlesnake in FAR western Lenexa during construction a year ago. So, yes...there are *some* in the hinterlands but that is true for pretty much anywhere you live in the midwest. (Lenexa stretches west for many many miles of mostly farm and timber land west of I-435)

I've never seen nor heard of a rattlesnake being found in the town of Lenexa.

Most every house in Lenexa or surrounding suburbs will have a basement.

The odds of you finding a rattlesnake around or in your house are probably right up there with being stuck by a meteorite or having Brad Pitt show up naked at your door selling aluminum siding.

I think someone knows you are afraid of snakes and is teasing you?

[2005hawk]

In western Lenexa there is some rattlesnake habitat. Generally though, rattlesnakes are rare in Kansas. The reason there have been some news reports of rattlesnake sitings in Lenexa is because of development encroaching into the snake's habitat as Lenexa grows westward. If you live in the country or near the edge of a snake habitat its quite possible that at some point you will find a snake in your home - as freaky as that is. Its not completely out of the question that would happen, but highly unlikely, especially if you live in the more mature areas of Lenexa and not out on the fringe.

If your job is in Lenexa, there are plenty of housing options in town, or in neighboring cities such as Shawnee, Olathe or Overland Park. There are plenty of apartments in this area if thats what you are looking for.

[Plains10]

Most of the newer areas of Lenexa will be EXTREMELY cookie cutter. I like the fact that Lenexa preserved their old downtown area. Their is a chance at finding a snake in the more rural areas as the suburban sprawl destroys ever more open space in Johnson County. The climate is extremely warm because this is the Great Plains. The Midwest has a much cooler climate overall. Kansas City is a Great Plains city even though it pretends to be part of the Midwest.

[Mathguy]

Guys, I think that you should be specific in your posts about the chances of finding a RATTLE snake around or at least differentiating between finding a rattlesnake around the property and something like a water or rat snake.

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

Guys, I think that you should be specific in your posts about the chances of finding a RATTLE snake around or at least differentiating between finding a rattlesnake around the property and something like a water or rat snake.

Could you give us some detailed information about the differences between the various types of snakes? I am not expert and hate desert-like climates. You would be more of an expert than I am since I am moving anyway.

[Mathguy]

Sure, I'm doing this from memory so some of the latin names below are likely mispelled. :-)

There are basically 3-4 venemous snakes you could probably find in the KC metro area:

1. Copperhead (Agkistrodon Contortix), ....one was caught at Shawnee Mission park this spring\summer and re-released.
2. Cotton Mouth (Agkistrodon Piscivorous)....I *may* 50/50 have seen one of these in Lenexa along the creek\bike paths but I didn't get a close enough look to ID for certain.
3. Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus ??????), one found in far western Lenexa
4. MAYBE Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus) in some areas.

The rattlesnakes have well....rattles. None of these is likely to kill someone, just get medical attention. Timber rattlesnake is most dangerous. They are all generally 3-4feet in size.

Non-venemous would be a wide variety....some of which look a lot like #2 on this list above. (Water Snakes (Neirodia?), Garter Snakes, the really cute little ring-neck snakes that are the size of a licorice whip and have a single band around their neck and other varieties of which I've seen most of these.
Mind you I LOOK for snakes and walk\wade the creeks etc. I've seen snapping turtles, great horned owls, turkeys, coyote, fox and bobcats within a couple blocks of 83rd and Plfumm too. :-)

In general, just leave snakes alone, don't pick them up....don't hit them with sticks, don't mess with them and they will not mess with you. I would say most people go their whole life around here and never see more than maybe a garter snake on rare occasion.

Best of luck with your move.

[rasperin]

Don't let these people scare you, like another poster said. It's rare to see a snake. I've grown up in this area since I was born and I have never seen a snake in eastern Kansas. Not even on nature walks around earny miller or the arberitum.

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by rasperin

Don't let these people scare you, like another poster said. It's rare to see a snake. I've grown up in this area since I was born and I have never seen a snake in eastern Kansas. Not even on nature walks around earny miller or the arberitum.

I have only run across a snake one time since I have lived in eastern Kansas. In a rural area south of Lawrence near the Wakarusa River they have a nature building, and have collected many different types of snakes from the rural areas over a period of time. However, you are right about hardly ever running across a snake in real life.

[joejarvis]

Originally Posted by OHNYMAOHPA

Help me please...

I lived in suburban Lenexa for 13 years and have visited it 3-4 times each year since leaving in 1999. Besides not seeing a rattlesnake myself in all that time, I don't know anyone, or friends of friends for that matter, who have. So I'd say your chances are close to zero. Better to invest your time in learning how to identify the brown recluse spider, poison ivy, and inattentive SUV-driving soccer mom.

Originally Posted by OHNYMAOHPA

do houses in Kansas have basements...

Yes. You'll go to it as a tornado shelter about once every 10 years.