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I'm sure this will sound hilarious to some but my concern is genuine. My husband and I moved to Washington, NC last year after living in Ohio most of our lives. One thing we did not anticipate was the snakes. We live in a nice subdivision outside of town, and we are surrounded by wooded areas. This year, we have found at least five snakes in our garage, our driveway, and alongside our home. Some black, some we think are corn snakes. We have used repellent as recommended by professionals but the snakes are not leaving. Here's my question: Are there snakes because we live near the woods, or are they everywhere in this area? We are considering moving just to get away from the snakes...
being near the woods is probably the main reason you will see a lot of snakes around but generally everywhere you go in the coastal plain you will find snakes. Living in cities also has the effect of lowering the chances that you will see them.
I'm sure this will sound hilarious to some but my concern is genuine. My husband and I moved to Washington, NC last year after living in Ohio most of our lives. One thing we did not anticipate was the snakes. We live in a nice subdivision outside of town, and we are surrounded by wooded areas. This year, we have found at least five snakes in our garage, our driveway, and alongside our home. Some black, some we think are corn snakes. We have used repellent as recommended by professionals but the snakes are not leaving. Here's my question: Are there snakes because we live near the woods, or are they everywhere in this area? We are considering moving just to get away from the snakes...
North Carolina has the highest number of snake bites per million of any other state, I guess you didn't research enough before you moved there.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gemstone1
As long as they don't have rattles or a triangular head, you are fine, they will keek the rodent population down.
I agree about the fine job snakes do of keeping the rodent population in check but in the South there's always the possibility of a Coral Snake which has neither rattles nor a triangular head.
The little verse to distinguish between Coral and King Snakes is:
Red and yellow kill a fellow, red and black nice to Jack, which refers to the way the color bands are arranged on the snake. Corals tend to be shy and not too aggressive but they're related to Cobras and best avoided.
I agree about the fine job snakes do of keeping the rodent population in check but in the South there's always the possibility of a Coral Snake which has neither rattles nor a triangular head.
The little verse to distinguish between Coral and King Snakes is:
Red and yellow kill a fellow, red and black nice to Jack, which refers to the way the color bands are arranged on the snake. Corals tend to be shy and not too aggressive but they're related to Cobras and best avoided.
It's true that Coral Snakes have the most lethal venom (relatives of cobras), but they are very rare and VERY timid. Even the Science museum in Raleigh often had an empty cage for the coral snake because they are hard to find. Also, their mouths are small and unless they got your toe or finger, would be quite hard to get injected even if you tried, not that I'm going to. But yes, one needs to know about them!
Also cottonmouths/water moccasins are most prevalent in the coastal areas, near swamps. Unfortunately they ARE somewhat aggressive (compared to other snakes). Copperheads are found in every county in NC from the mountains to the coast. They apparently have been getting more numerous the past few years, and I confess that after >50 years living in NC, I had never seen a live copperhead in the wild, and last fall I saw 2 in my neighborhood in the same night.
But really, the majority of snakes you're liable to encounter are nonvenomous and helpful to humans.
Do you feed birds? Seed on the ground attracts rodents. Rodents attract snakes. Keep your yard mowed and snakes will have less of a reason to visit, but being close to woods you are going to see them.
Both snakes you identified are very beneficial. We lived in our current home 9 years and never saw a rat/mouse in my shed. Two summers ago, workers in my neighbors yard told me they had killed a large black snake. Within weeks we started seeing evidence of rodents in the shed, and shortly there after we started seeing them. Now I pay the exterminator quarterly!
Oh yeah, bird houses without snake protection are a black rat snake’s buffet!
Four points:
1) FB has several snake ID and discussion groups. There is even one specific to NC.
2) The “experts" I see ALL say snake repellent of any kind DOES NOT WORK.
3) The experts say use your garden hose "to move a snake along."
4) Finally, these experts "poo-poo" the rhyme about coral snake colors. In my limited experience here in NC (1 sighting) the rhyme worked but there are sub-species in the US which don’t abide by the rule. And sometimes snakes have aberrant coloring.
Good luck. Based on your environment be very careful on your steps and yard in the evening. That’s when a lot become active. Flashlight and shoes are your friend.
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