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Given the preceding posts, seems safe to add OP to the list of ceased-contemplating-moving-to-triangle. If that be true, WCPSS can enlist CD to manage school growth.
Given the preceding posts, seems safe to add OP to the list of ceased-contemplating-moving-to-triangle. If that be true, WCPSS can enlist CD to manage school growth.
I know. I feel a little bad. OP, don't let this sway you - just be aware of them.
If it helps, though several of my neighbors have used the kill them with a shovel method, one of them somehow got one into a container and relocated it to Duke Forest - it didn't bite her. She's a biologist so maybe she has some specialized knowledge
I bike the greenways and do see snakes occasionally on the paths. It comes with the territory since we are encroaching on their space out there. Aside from that I have lived in Raleigh over 30 years and have never seen a snake on my property and I have a large wooded natural area. There are probably many reasons for someone to choose to not move to Raleigh but snakes should not be one of them IMHO.
I don't know what snakes on a plane means but to someone with a phobia it doesn't matter if they're big/small, venomous or not or if you see one or 10 per year it's very distressing.
While I have heard of plenty of snakes around here, I cannot recall a single story of a pet getting bit by one.
An exterminator I had at my house told me the story of a Copperhead that was being barked at by a golden retriever while the dog’s owner was about to machete the snakes head off. The owner lopped the head off, then the dog got too close and the head of the snake bit the dog on the muzzle. The dog must have got a full dose and passed.
An exterminator I had at my house told me the story of a Copperhead that was being barked at by a golden retriever while the dog’s owner was about to machete the snakes head off. The owner lopped the head off, then the dog got too close and the head of the snake bit the dog on the muzzle. The dog must have got a full dose and passed.
Yeah, but clearly the snake had lost his head....
I lived in the country (Lee County, on a farm) and saw them fairly regularly. I live now in Cary and have not seen one on my property yet. I ride bikes a lot, and see them in the woods, and sometimes on the side of the road. Usually black snakes (which are good, and keep the other critters at bay), sometimes others. The most common venomous snake here is a copperhead. They are VERY docile, and will not be aggressive unless either antagonized, or stepped on or otherwise cornered. I knew one lady who got bit by one. She was 70-something and stacking bails of hay for her horse. She was a feisty old lady, and decided to finish stacking the hay before going to the emergency room. The time, and the exercise caused the venom to circulate more than normal, so she had a tough time. Few months in a sling, and lots of infection and whatnot, but eventually overcame. That is a 70-YO lady, who didn't seek immediate attention.
It is not accurate to say snakes will leave if being harrassed, but it IS accurate to say that they will either leave, or ignore you if left alone.
The biggest run-ins I've had are a few times when I was mountainbiking and came flying around a corner to have one laying across the trail. I'll hop the bike if i can, but have accidentally run over a few (without problem).
Ran into a mean-ass timber rattler in the mountains. They are VERY uncommon here though.
Copperhead bites are rarely fatal to man or beast (pets at least, not talking about mice and snake prey animals). You are far, far, far more likely to be in a car accident than to be bitten by a copperhead and probably far more likely to be struck by lightning than to die of a copperhead bite. Copperheads are pretty much the only venomous snake we have in this area of the state although there are reports of venomous snakes from other parts of NC (water moccasins, rattlers) making inroads into the Triangle.
Both my dogs have been bitten by copperheads. My 30 lb dog (possibly border collie mixed with something short-legged) was bitten right before I was going out the door with my kids and mom to go to my niece's high school graduation 3 years ago. His muzzle swelled up and he was clearly in a lot of pain. He's 15.5 now, so was 12.5 then. I had to call my spouse, who was en route to work, to come home and take the dog to the vet so we wouldn't be late to the graduation. Vet gave him some benadryl and antibiotics (in case the snake had dirty fangs) and I think some pain meds and watched him. Dog was absolutely fine. The vet kept him all day only because my spouse couldn't leave work.
After that my younger, bigger pointer mix (55-60lbs) got bitten on a Friday night on her paw, which swelled up and clearly caused her a lot of pain. I called a friend who is a vet and asked her opinion on watching and waiting and asked her if there was anything I could do at home. She said I could give Benadryl, but recent studies had been mixed about whether it was effective at all, but it wouldn't hurt. She said she would take her dogs in, but she had a colleague at the vet's office who lived out in the country and didn't treat her dogs if they got bitten. I decided to watch and wait since it was Friday night and it would mean a trip to the emergency vet. Gave the dog some Benadryl and she was absolutely fine the next morning. You would never have know she was bitten.
Same dog was bitten again last summer, this time on her face. Again, it was very painful for her. This time it happened early in the morning (7:30 or so). I called our vet as soon as their office opened (8, I think). Vet wasn't in yet, just the receptionist, but he called me back as soon as he came in. My dog's face got swollen and she had big red bumps like hives. She had been pacing and couldn't settle down. I had just gotten her settled when he called me and told me I could bring her on in. I hesitated to bring her in because she had finally settled down and seemed more comfortable. I told him I would watch her and bring her in if she started to feel worse. The vet's office is only about 5 minutes from my house, so I felt okay that I could get her there quickly if she took a turn for the worse. She consistently felt better and better and by 12 was bouncing around and back to her normal playful self, nipping at my older dog and trying to get him to play with her. She wanted to go outside, but I didn't want to send her back out to snake-land so we went for a walk and she was absolutely completely fine after that.
So that's my experience with dogs and snakes. I'm surprised that a copperhead bite could kill a golden retriever sized dog, but I guess if it was the full venom load...
The people I know who have been bitten have had a harder time. One had to have surgery for swelling to prevent nerve damage. He was bitten on the hand by a baby copperhead who didn't let go at dusk while doing yard work. Reached for a stick, but it turned out to be a baby copperhead. A classmate in my daughter's 3rd grade class missed the first week of school and then was on crutches for a week or two after that. A dad I know stepped barefooted on one at night taking out the garbage and got bitten on the leg and was hospitalized for most of a week, black and blue all the way up his leg. All these folks are fine now, though.
So wear shoes at night and make sure it's really a stick you're reaching for!
Yup. They're one of the few members of the pit viper crew that tends not to flee automatically and often strike without warning. However, given enough lead time they absolutely will leave the area, just not if you're standing right on top of them. And they will bite a pet, though it's not necessarily fatal (I know one dog who survived multiple bites).
My strategy is to keep common areas clear of ground cover (which usually means leaves) and to wear shoes when wandering into areas of my property not often traveled. I also often walk with a stick of some sort and poke the ground in advance of my steps "just in case".
I will end on this one thought: I'm truly afraid of snakes, even having once ran about a half mile down a hill upon coming nose-to-nose with a garter snake (not my manliest moment for certain). But despite having encountered copperheads on a few occasions and living on a fairly wooded lot, I don't consider them an active concern. They really do try and avoid us and do a pretty good job of it.
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