First snake of the year (Rocky Mount, Garner: to live, moving, yard)

[bluedevilz]

Originally Posted by Xxtayce

Poisonous is usually colorful and with a triangular-shaped head. (It isn't always true, but if you see anything similar, run the opposite direction and you should be okay no matter what.)

Detecting NC Venomous Snakes

Black widows seem to like any areas with shade, and seem to prefer the outside. They're black with a red hourglass shape on their body.

Brown recluse spiders are mainly a summer-fall concern, I think, but are also poisonous. They're brownish-red and also like dry, shady places.

Black widow spider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brown recluse spider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to derail the thread from "snakes" into "spiders"

But Brown Recluse Spiders are not endemic to North Carolina, although a few are occasionally found in the Western part of the state and there be some isolated "transplants" in the Piedmont area.

Many skin lesions get misdiagnosed as Brown recluse spider bites but are in fact not bites at all....not every necrotic ulcer is a brown recluse bite, they are in fact, exceedingly rare in these parts.

Brown Recluse Spider

[solstice621]

Originally Posted by NedB

I used to have a real phobia when it came to snakes. My neighbors always knew when I came across one because I would scream like a little girl. I have four Garter snakes living in my backyard. To get over my phobia I named the snakes. The two living in the stone wall along my patio were named Harold and Maude, the one in the stone steps outside my office was named Uncle Al and the one down in the stones by the fish pond was named Obi Wan. Two summers ago I mowed over Maude and felt real bad for Harold (and Maude too of course). But early last summer I found him shacked up in the stone wall with a new one. Her name is Heather (Mills).

I still jump when I unexpectedly come across a snake, but I don't scream any more. I often sit on the patio (except in winter) with Harold and Heather sunning themselves on the stone wall 5 feet away from me. I'm actually going to miss my snakes when I move, but I don't necessarily hope to find new ones at my new home in NC.

Wow, what a great post. I think I may have just changed my outlook on snakes! Thanks!

Now for my outlook on spiders......

[lamishra]

Yeah, somehow naming spiders will just not work for me! Snakes are fine. I'm not particularly fond of them, but not petrified of them either...now spiders are a whole different story. It always amazes me that I am so frightened of something the size of my thumb!

[Trevor92]

Originally Posted by Xxtayce

I grew up with woods for a back yard, so I've seen many a snake. When I was a kid, my dad told me that black snakes eat the other snakes. I have no idea if it was true, but we always left the black ones alone, and I don't think I've ever seen anything other than a green tree snake.

I always heard the same thing. And even for other snakes like rat snakes and garter snakes, they're territorial so they keep poisonous snakes away. Whenever I see one, I just try to make sure it's not poisonous and then leave it alone to try to keep the rat population down.

[underPSI]

Originally Posted by GarnerMama

I have a huge phobia of snakes. I wish there was a magic anti snake dust I could spread in our yard.

There is. It's called sulfur powder or commonly known as "Snake-away" which can be bought at any hardware store.

[sacredgrooves]

Someone asked about black widows staying out of sight....definitely. They are almost blind, never leave their web unless looking for a new spot, and would much rather run away than deal with us. I see them in almost every crawlspace I enter (which is in the thousands since I am a home inspector) and have never been bit. Recluse spiders on the other hand, I may have seen a couple but they are so small you really need to get closer than you would like to determine if they are or not.

When it comes to snakes, copperheads are the only real concern as they will stand their ground if approached. Please don't kill black snakes!

[sundaze]

There is a new huge spider web in my garage. I walked into it but didn't see any spiders. Are there any special characteristics of the webs of poisonous spiders.

[yoda_jives]

Killed a little black widow yesterday night when it came out for a stroll. Didn't want to take chances with a toddler around.

What is the chance of finding a snake at the dinner table ? Have people encountered them as guests in the house ?

[sacredgrooves]

Black Widow webs are constructed very haphazardly (no discernible pattern) and their eggs are a fuzzy gray. Recluse spiders do not typically construct webs. Those are the only poisonous (to humans) spiders around here.

I see snakes and/or snake skins in crawlspaces, but do not hear much about them actually coming in the house. I am sure it happens from time to time though.

[convergent]

Originally Posted by sacredgrooves

Someone asked about black widows staying out of sight....definitely. They are almost blind, never leave their web unless looking for a new spot, and would much rather run away than deal with us. I see them in almost every crawlspace I enter (which is in the thousands since I am a home inspector) and have never been bit. Recluse spiders on the other hand, I may have seen a couple but they are so small you really need to get closer than you would like to determine if they are or not.

When it comes to snakes, copperheads are the only real concern as they will stand their ground if approached. Please don't kill black snakes!

So for an amateur... what should we do when going in the crawl space? I am sure I'll be under there running cables and such in months to come, and I get pretty freaked out by spiders, snakes, and ironically... confined spaces. If I have to go in there, what should I do to avoid running nose to nose into a black widow. Can you pretty much see them if you pay attention to where you are going with a flashlight going forward? I assume they are going to always be up in the space between the joists, no? This whole spider and snake thing completely escaped my thinking when planning the move to NC. Not much of either in NY.