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Well, I'm glad you asked this question, because I'm afraid of the same thing. I'm from NJ, but lived in FL for 5 yrs, and had snakes, alligators, red ants, gigantic spiders, and I found frogs and a scorpion in my toilet!!! Now I'm in PA and considering a move to NC. I just don't want another Florida experience!!
I have been laughing at all the people that ask about snakes because, I have lived here for over 35 years and have seen so few snakes that I can count them on one hand! However...today we were leaving the beach and hubby was packing up the car, which was in the garage. We have some carpet remnants rolled up in the garage and guess WHO had taken up residence in there? Yup...a black snake. Hubby, being a native NC redneck, says black snakes are GOOD and so he picked it up with a broom and tossed it across the street into an empty lot!
I hate reading posts like that. "I hate snakes, so I Killed it".
Black snakes are very beneficial to the environment. Killing one is a shame. They do serious damage to the rodent population (and moles and voles which destroy those precious Cary Lawns)
I just caught a 7 footer out back two days ago. Occasionally one will find it's way out back in the chicken coop trying to steal eggs. They love eggs to. However the girls (my chickens) will raise the alarm and I just go and scoop it up and release it down the road in the pond. Sometimes they come back, sometimes not.
I have never seen one in the house, nor heard of that except here in these posts. I am sure it happens occasionally.
If you ever find a black snake they are easy to catch. They will "strike" at you when scared, but they don't have any teeth (more like a "razor" lip) and a good pair of garden gloves are thick enough it can't bite through.
They also do not have any poison.
I put on the gloves, distract the snake with my left hand, then grab his head with my right hand. Into the box and down the road he goes, easy as pie. You can also just shoo them with a broom. I have been bitten on the arm before...it doesn't even hurt, looks/feels like a paper cut. Little neo-sporin and you're good to go.
They are easy to spot...usually pretty big (up to 6-7 ft) and they have skinny heads.
Basically, the rule of thumb is if a snake is short and Stocky with a Big Diamond shaped head stay away. If the head is tiny then you're in the clear.
I have seen water moccasins and copperheads down the street in the pond, but they run when they see you.
There's got to be some other spider that looks like them that people misidentify, I can't tell you how many times I've had a person say that they had one in their house. If they lived in NC, they didn't have a brown recluse!
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 06-01-2010 at 09:07 AM..
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I know this might sound silly to some of you, but it's been bothering me so I just have to ask. We are seriously considering a move from the suburbs of NYC to the Triangle area (Cary most likely) and the only thing that is really holding me back from wanting to just get up and go is... snakes! I'm sure there are some little garden snakes here and there where I live, but I've certainly never seen one. That's probably why the thought of finding a snake in my backyard in NC (even a non-venemous one) makes me so tense and scared!
Please tell me the real deal about snakes in NC. Do you find them in your basement? Do they crawl through pipes and get into the house? Do you have to be careful when walking under trees (silly one, I know, but I gotta ask!)?
How do kids play outside in the backyard / how do you garden / how do you collect leaves / how do you let your dog outside to play, etc. when there are so many varieties of snakes around? I know they're not lying in wait, looking for a chance to attack, and that most stay out in the woods (I'm assuming), but still. I've heard about all the great lakes (water moccasins!!! eek!) and nature trails, etc. in NC but all I can think of when I think of them is... snakes!
Please give me the scoop! Thanks everyone! And I'll apologize in advance for sounding like a silly Northerner- all I have to worry about up here is squirrels and deer and at least they're cute!
the deer here will tick you off - they will eat whatever you try to grow, and poop on your lawn! (seriously!)
There are snakes but I've not seen many (have been here 6.5 years), mostly "worm" snakes - they're about 8 inches long and look like a nightcrawler. If you see a critter, go the other way or shoo it with a broom. The fire ants pose more of a threat than snakes here. As do the Black Widow spiders, which are plentiful.
Up north everything dies in the winter, or at least burrows so you can't see it for a few months of the year. Here, there are creepy crawly things all the time.
We love it and wouldn't dream of trading it. Good luck to you! Rent first!!!
Last edited by NcerfromNY; 06-01-2010 at 10:35 AM..
I've lived in 'urban' and rural NC, Manhattan, and westchester county (No snakes, but deer and way to many SKUNKS!). I've maybe seen 2-3 snakes in NC, and generally they are not interested in seeing people as much as we're not interested in seeing them. One caveat, I do have friends who live out in the sticks, and when you live out on farm land or have brooks/ponds you may encounter them a little more often than I have in my planned community. I hear stories about snakes in basements and snakes in garages and whatnot of people in the more rural locales.
I've never seen one fall out of a tree, but now that I have said that I've probably jinxed myself.
Best of luck to you! You'll love the cost of living down here in comparison. I don't miss westchester county taxes!!
I am a serious gardener and I would gladly trade a deer for a snake anyday. We have seen a few snakes but mostly rat snakes which kill mice and rodents so I'm happy to see them. When I garden I tap my shovel or hoe on the ground before I stick my hand down into anything so the vibration will make him move.
Funny stories about snakes in the Big City. Years ago little kid John F. Kennedy Jr. got into trouble in his Mom's swanky NYC multi million dollar "apartment" cause his pet snakes sometimes made their way into neighbors toilets.
Also there was a very popular bar tender who lived in a fancy high rise in Atlanta who reached for his expensive belt which he didn't remember leaving behind the curtains when it turned out to be a huge snake. So they can get anywhere. But I would freak if I saw one in the house. I expect them in the garden but not in the house.
I lived in Michigan for 48 years and only saw 2 snakes, a garden snake in the woods and a huge one, species unknown, on a hiking trail. Been in Cary only 7 months off Morrisville Carpenter Rd and have already seen 2 snakes. A baby water snake at Lake Crabtree and yesterday when I opened my garage there was a large black snake at the edge. I am totally phobic of snakes - as another poster said my childhood nightmares were full of them. 24 hours later I still feel anxious and shaky and can't imagine how I will ever get used to living in a state so full of snakes.
Is there anything that will keep them away - mothballs, Snake Away? Fences?
In Durham, the 20 years we've been in this house, I've probably seen 25 black snakes, always take them back to the woods. I've seen 5 to 10 copperheads. I've taken some of them to the woods and killed others. The agressive ones get the ax; I don't want my daughters bitten while running the yard. All snakes eat lots of mice/rats/insects, so they do much more good than harm. Black snakes and green snakes can even be fun to play with. Hold by the neck and let them wrap around your arm, that is a lot of fun.
Good time to conquer your fear. Snakes are much better to have around than rats.
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It's a shame when people kill Black snakes
