Housing areas of Triangle with fewer snakes? (Cary: house, university)

[Avhe680]

Hello all, I have read quite a bit about living in the Triangle area and would really like to live there one day. We have even spent some vacation time there RVing on Jordan Lake, and touring the area. One of my obstacles is convincing my husband that the snakes are not that big of a problem. I have shared with him city-data threads where most people claim they aren’t a problem, national stats on snake bite deaths, for comparison the national stats on slips and fall injuries in Canada (we are from Ontario), and general tips from this forum on avoiding snakes. He is really hard to convince. He doesn’t want to be thinking about them all time around the house, always trying to be careful not to have a close encounter.

Are there any housing areas that may have fewer snakes in the Triangle? If it needs narrowing down, I’m sure he would prefer to be within a 30min fast walk of a university-based hospital, like UNC or Duke. Although the low snake population would trump the proximity to work! - many thanks!

[twingles]

I've lived here 10 years and have seen one once. That's not to say that my neighbors haven't seen them more. You want to avoid them completely? Not possible. Will you constantly be seeing them or having to avoid "close encounters"? Not likely.

Keep your yard clean. They like to hide in wood piles, mulch bags, under leaves, etc. Keep your grass mown. Possibly a smaller property is going to be best for you.

[m378]

I despise snakes. Tbh I saw more snakes in MA than here, but the snakes I’ve seen here are bigger. In over five years I’ve never seen a copperhead in person. I know they’re around, I’ve just never stumbled on one.

[JaPaKoMom]

Snake hater here. I have been here over 5 years now and have seen a little garden snake and that is all. I know that there are snakes around, but I do not see them.

[GVoR]

Been here 3.5 years. Never seen one alive.

[Sassakitty]

They are...all around. A healthy landscape will have black snakes. I have been here since 1996 and have seen too many black snakes to count (West Cary). To this day I have never seen a copperhead but all my neighbors have and 2 have been bit. I hate snakes.

[greenie72]

Previously fearful of snakes, now fascinated by them.


I've lived here 3 years. I've seen:


4 Black snakes
1 Rough Green snake
1 Brown snake
2 Worm snakes
and
1 Copperhead snake


Only the Copperhead is venomous. I walked within 3 feet of it without noticing. It paid me no mind and hung around long enough for me to get photos and a video.



I think the reason why I might see more snakes than others who have posted is because hiking and gardening are my two main hobbies. I saw my first Black snake in my own yard last week and when I saw the birds were attacking it, I went outside to help it cross my backyard. And of course, take a video. Like I said, fascinated.


I asked the questions before we moved here also and decided the benefits outweighed the fear of venomous snakes and spiders. I'm really happy with that decision.

[NRaleigh Mom]

I am out in my yard a lot (love to garden and just be outdoors) and I encounter snakes every year. In fact just two days ago when I was mowing my front yard (which was not overly grown) one slithered right out from under my feet. A couple weeks ago when I was blowing my yard one was blown out from under a hedge.

While snakes initially scared the "you know what" out of me, I have now learned to coexist with them (as long as not a venomous one). I will usually just take a rake or shovel and pick up and move to another area of the yard that I won't be in that day.

As for large versus small, the ones at my suburban home are small garden snakes. When we had our property out in the country that had a large pond we had the huge snakes (6+ feet and wide girth). I'm still not sure which ones bug me the most. The big ones at least you can usually see ahead of time (however I did run over one on my tractor one time by accident). The small one's are surprising. One was hiding in my potting soil bag one time when I reached in it slithered out. Also they curl up in the grass or in the bushes so if you don't really look you may not know until you are right up on it.

So basically the chances are if you are outside in your yard a lot you will encounter them. Your husband will just need to desensitize himself like I did. I made myself stare at them in a bucket for awhile until it didn't bother me anymore.

[LadyBlue111]

We have had several close calls with snakes in the last few months. Our property was wooded and heavily overgrown when we moved in back in May. Son almost stepped on an incredibly camouflaged Copperhead coiled up on the gravel part of our driveway. I had to really stare in order to see it right in front of my eyes. Daughter came in late one night and luckily had her iPhone light on as she walked up the brick walk and there was one slithering in the dark. Husband saw one in the grass when he was clearing brush back in May. There was one on our back driveway back in May as well one morning slithering around. Husband and I got home around 9 pm a few weeks ago from dinner and I had my phone light on. Lo and behold one was in a strike pose on the side of the brick walk. It was literally in an upright strike position as I was walking towards it and could have easily bitten my foot or ankle. The snakes have mostly been small to medium Copperheads and one was a larger black snake.

My husband has been clearing brush and debris away from the house like mad since we moved in back in May so that we can all see clearly as we are walking. Hopefully removing their habitat near the house will help but we are very careful and vigilant when walking on the property. I have given everyone a head lamp to keep in their cars so they can see walking into the house at night. We are on a huge property surrounded by forest. He thinks there is a nest under a massively huge tree stump near our house and we are having it removed soon. We also have a lot of fallen trees right up close to the house that are getting hauled away soon. So I think the problem is our specific property and how overgrown and dense it was when we moved in. If you have a normal yard with grass, some trees, bushes, pine islands, etc. then you probably will not see nearly the snakes that we have been seeing.

I'm always worried my parents' golden doodle will get bitten when he stays with us :-( . That guy sticks his nose in every nook and cranny, tree stump, hole in the ground, log, brush pile when I take him around to tinkle. I am really hoping once we clear all the brush away from the house, we will see far fewer snakes around next year.

[DodsonRamseur]

Lived here 55 years ( enter life) and have probably seen 45-50 snakes. Mainly black, northern water snake and copperheads. We have a 6 ft black snake that lives around around our 5 Points backyard and has for years.