Snakes in North Carolina? (Matthews: safer, design, car)

[Dave O]

Snakes are a reality in NC. My family has survived here for 9 generations. I'm sure that y'all can deal with it.

[CrazyInEastNC]

Snakes truly are a reality here in NC. Jacksonville area here; I was bitten by a rat snake a few years ago (stepped on it on accident, poor snake) and just two weeks ago I had a baby copperhead sneak into my house through the doggy door. Naturally, my first concern was that it'd snap at my dogs (especially the one trying to attack it!) as they are both dachshunds.

Bugs can also be pretty bad. Lately it seems like the mosquitoes, yellow jackets and green heads have gotten more prevalent around here..but we've also had a lot of rain recently so that may be part of it.

I wouldn't strike NC out though, I've lived here 12 almost 13 years and it is a good state. I just wish that the economic opportunities in my area were a bit bigger than simply retail or customer service.

[fd46468]

The only real threat to watch out for is Water Moccasins which are more towards the wetter eastern side of the state. They are a very common occurence in the summer. There are other snakes that are dangerous but they are the kind you would have to go out of your way to see..

[mairbryn]

Love this discussion; it's pretty interesting, too, judging from the number of readers. I currently live in Pennsylvania where we have rattlers, copperheads and water moccasins. We just use common sense. Don't go rooting around piled up rocks; be careful if you're climbing rocks; wear boots when you're out in the wilderness; watch where you're stepping if you're hiking. Seems to me that this applies to most states we've been in; snakes are just more prevalent in wilder areas. Just be thankful that we don't live in Guam where their poisonous brown snakes come up through toilets. Now that would be a horrifying experience!

[sazimme2]

Originally Posted by RaleighRob

Just live in the city and you'd not be likely to find many at all.

I live in Raleigh and saw a snake yesterday. It was a baby, and I don't know what kind. Just leave them alone and you're fine. Where I grew up, we had lots of rat snakes. If we saw one in the yard, we were glad because that meant that we wouldn't get mice in our house. Snakes are a good thing and keep insect and rodent populations down. We never had snakes come in our house when I lived in Concord even though I saw them outside relatively often, about monthly.

[SunnyKayak]

Originally Posted by sazimme2

I live in Raleigh and saw a snake yesterday. It was a baby, and I don't know what kind. Just leave them alone and you're fine. Where I grew up, we had lots of rat snakes. If we saw one in the yard, we were glad because that meant that we wouldn't get mice in our house. Snakes are a good thing and keep insect and rodent populations down. We never had snakes come in our house when I lived in Concord even though I saw them outside relatively often, about monthly.

A good site to help identify North Carolina Snakes
Search - Snakes of NC Online ID

[NCis4me]

Originally Posted by mm34b

Black Snakes are the good ones for keeping the rodent population down. Harmless to humans.

Unless you die of fright after seeing one. We had a huge one in our kitchen once, and it about scared me to death. We had one in the backyard this year, too. Once as a kid we had one between the screen door and front door one morning, just laying there. That one was just a green snake. We also found one on my swing, also a blacksnake. I hate snakes, but if you leave them alone, they usually will leave you alone. I'm much more frightened of brown recluse and black widows, both of which are around NC. If you go fishing, watch out for the water moccasins.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by NCis4me

If you go fishing, watch out for the water moccasins.

The cottonmouth's home range in NC is limited, but some harmless species found around water look similar to the untrained eye.

The shaded counties:

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects...s/agkpismp.gif

[NCis4me]

Originally Posted by mm34b

The cottonmouth's home range in NC is limited, but some harmless species found around water look similar to the untrained eye.

The shaded counties:

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects...s/agkpismp.gif

Do you remember when the water moccasins were found at Hanging Rock? A kid was killed. I can't find a link to the story, but we went to Hanging Rock a ton when I was a kid and stopped after that kid died. My Dad was very aware of the different types of snakes around (he was a hunter, loved the woods, knew all about nature) and he spotted water moccasins in Forsyth County lakes several times. It seems the snakes don't always know they are supposed to stay to the east, lol.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by NCis4me

Do you remember when the water moccasins were found at Hanging Rock? A kid was killed. I can't find a link to the story, but we went to Hanging Rock a ton when I was a kid and stopped after that kid died. My Dad was very aware of the different types of snakes around (he was a hunter, loved the woods, knew all about nature) and he spotted water moccasins in Forsyth County lakes several times. It seems the snakes don't always know they are supposed to stay to the east, lol.

Nope, never heard that story, but some folk collect non-native "pets" and release them in the wild. Some NC folks swear that large cats like the Eastern Cougar exists here, but the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has been unable to document a single sighting in the wild in decades.

Here's one for you. Both of these snakes are found in some parts of the state. Which is the poisonous one?

Snake #1



Snake #2