Something that a lot of people are unaware of: snakes are deaf! They lack ear connections that would warn them of humans approaching. They only feel vibrations in the substrate they are on, so yelling and screaming are ineffective.
They are also extremely nearsighted, so might move toward a human that they can't see (range of sight limited to 3-5 feet) thinking they are escaping the encounter.
Regardless of facts, most humans I have met, engage their emotional God complex and eradicate what they consider dangerous in spite of the proven good they do.

I was raised in Fla., and we had a large swamp at the back of our property. If you think Fla. has snakes now, should have been around when I was a kid! You never went a day without seeing snakes. My dad killed a diamond back that was longer than the bed of his Ford truck when I was about 9 years old. Snakes in the garage? Probably followed the scent of a mouse there. Cottonmouths are the meanest and I have seen them try to fight you to keep a stringer of fish. I now live in NC, while camping in the Huwarrie a couple of years ago, my husband left his rod baited with a whole brim laying on a rock. Next morning he goes down to the water and he yells, "Come here, I caught one of the biggest water snakes you ever saw." All the way down, I'm saying i betcha money he's not the biggest I ever saw, remember you married a gal that spent her childhood in the swamps. I almost fainted!!!! One of the biggest Cottonmouths I had ever seen,(been here since 84 and never seen one) swallowed the fish and HOOK, and my husband is standing very near him. I screamed GET BACK just about the time that snake put up the fight from hell. Of course the snake was scared to death, but so was I since my husband had no idea what he was near. I promise you the snake looked as though he was standing up he was jumping so high, and fat as could be. You get one of them scared or mad and he'll fight. We too have had them swim straight to the boat, once years ago that happened with my Popa and me and I was about to jump out the back of the boat, he yelled, "You better not jump out of this boat, there's more Gators out there than this one snake!" He killed him with the oar and I had to wee the rest of the day in the minnow bucket, no more getting out on the bank for me to go to the bathroom!!!! I was just a kid and scared me half to death. We were always told as kids that a Coral snake had to chew on you to get venom in you, is that true Snake Man? They'd always warn us when we had to get up leaves. One time we had a Moccasin in our bathtub!!! My Moma chopped him with the hoe. I could tell you snake stories all day about when we were growing up, always was scared of the poison ones but I still catch the nonvenimous ones for my grandsons, they fool with them awhile and we let them go. Yes, they know the rules, Ganny catches it or you don't touch it! Scares my husband to death:).

You sound like a good granny...like my own that was born and raised in Decautur county, GA, on the Florida Line. I have a feeling this thread will one day reach its limit of 100. I hope so. I love snake stories.

i live in a wooded area in central alabama....and over the past 22 years ive encountered many snakes in my garden. i have recorded 14 species and amazingly none have been poisonous. i give credit to the numerous king snakes for keeping the rattlesnakes, copperheads etc...away. i dont mind them at all. many help keep the vole and mouse population at bay.

EEEEEEEEkkkk mental note to self. Don't leave Maine! These snake stories are scarey the worse we have here in Maine are green garter snakes!

Now a note from U.P.Michigan. After the scare from the "maybe" copper head in my Alabama garden shed last winter, I am spooked. Yesterday I was walking down our garden walk and there layed a brown snake. (Must have been at least 3 feet long to my eye, but turned out to be 12 inches) Anyhow as all we have are garder snakes and grass snakes, this brown snake was not suppose to be here. (my way of thinking, did we transport it here from the south, like the green tree frog that we found in the trailer awning) With hoe in hand one whack and he was a gonner. Looked it up on the net, and found it was a red bellied harmless snake that eats slugs. Now I feel bad about doing it in. But when it comes to snakes, of late, I am afraid I will continue to Leap before I Look.

I grew up in southwestern Louisiana, on the edge of the "Big Thicket" with swamps for a playground. I'm terrified of a snake, any kind. And I lived for 20 years in Central TX out in rural areas where it wasn't unusual at all to see diamond back rattlers. Have had them on my porch as a matter of fact and tried to squash one by skidding my vehicle on it, but it was so big, I couldn't kill it.

But I too fear a cottonmouth more than any other type of snake. They are vicious, no doubt about it. A rattler will at least warn you and a copperhead and coral snake will try and get out of your way, but not the cottonmouth.

The largest timber rattler I ever saw was down near the river bottom (Sabine River) and it was huge. And the largest diamond back was the one I tried to kill by skidding my vehicle on, but couldn't. And I've seen a lot of big cottonmouths right around here, but thank God, none these last few years!!!

Keep them coming. Most all of us have a snake story or two!

An observation I would make about Copperheads is that I've killed several on cold winter days. I always thought that snakes weren't supposed to be out in the winter.

I have always heard that you can sometimes smell a cottonmouth if you walk near one. Anybody agree? Is this also true for rattlers?

Gary, My copperhead was enjoying the warmth from the grow lights we had in our garden shed. Bad Idea I had there.

My grandmother's family was quite comfortable financially in the early part of the 20th century. Her father farmed and owned a combination sawmill, gristmill, cotton gin on a creek in the Alabama black belt near Greenesboro. As she told it, in early November every year, after the crops were laid-by and the first cotton had been ginned and baled, great grandfather drained his mill pond (before the winter rains) and held a fish fry on the banks of the creek. They cleaned out stumps and logs from the pond, repaired the mill house equipment and picked up fish for the fry. My great uncle was hard of hearing due to scarlet fever and he didn't speak very well because he couldn't hear well. They invited everyone from church to come by for the fish fry. My great uncle ran his hand up under a stump in the drained pond, hoping he had found a cat fish. He pulled out a very mad mocassin. Uncle Downs was known for using foul language and starting hollering for someone to get a shovel, hoe or gun and take the snake, using some of the bad language to punctuate his pleas. Finally, he threw the snake on the bank and it was killed. Now Grandmother would tell the G rated version of the story. Her sister, a great aunt, who was the "black sheep" of the family would tell the whole, R rated version. Needless to say, the church crowd was appalled at what happened.

Good one. ANd yes, you can smell a water moccasin...or least I can.

I have a house on a lake in East Texas. Two weeks ago, my neighbor was reaching for his water faucet and thought he'd been stung. His finger and armed swelled up quickly so his wife rushed him to the E.R. The dr. said he'd been bit by a copperhead. He was in considerable pain and a week later was still needing to rest. Now I have another neighbor who thinks putting mothballs around his property will help keep the snakes away. I told him I thought he should move the wood and rock piles away from his house and use a stick when he's doing anything in tall grass or leafy areas as the moth balls don't work and are toxic. I think that's what I've learned on GW in the past.

I know I will have nightmares tonight about snakes. I live on a farm between Dothan and Enterprise, Alabama in a little area called Wicksburg. We do have our share of snakes. The Little Chattwahachee River borders our farm. Several summers ago when my boys were small they decided to take our john boat down the river. I told them it was too dangereous with all the moccicans(sp) around. They went anyway. Needless too say the showed back up at the house running and out of breath. My younger son had paddled the boat right up under a limb where a hugh cottonmouth was sunnying. They jumped out of the boat and walked on water to the bank then ran home as fast as their legs would carry them Never did find that boat and they never memtioned going down the river again. As our area is rural and wooded rattlesnakes are always a threat. The big ones and what is called the ground rattler.

I know where you are exactly. And I know Jack Deloney, the artist, who is down your way. You probably are far enough in SE Alabama to have Eastern Diamondbacks...or your "ground" rattler may be what we call the "canebrake" rattler...and some folks call it the "timber" rattler.

Whatever they are I just hope I don't run into one. This time of year can get rough. It is nearing peanut digging time and when those tractors bring the plows and combines in the rattlers start traveling. My house is surrounded by peanut fields.

Jack Delony is a very good artist. He has moved in old houses and made a little shopping center on the north side of Ozark. I do have to admitt that it has been years since I have been up there.

Linda E, many of the diamondbacks in south Georgia do not warn you. Over the years, rattlesnakes that warned were more apt to give away their positions and be killed before they could strike. This took them out of the gene pool, and the non-rattling snakes produced more offspring, which also do not rattle before striking. I think the non-rattlers are now more common in Georgia.

My son and his wife travel all around the US. They live in a 5th wheel and some times they park in our driveway. In the wheel house lives my son, his wife, their 18 month old son, 2 cats and 3 snakes. Two Ball Pythons and one Red Tip Boa. One time while they were parked by our house my son had the 3 snakes out in the grass where he had given them their meals. One rat each with a mouse as desert. He forgot about them as he was fooling around with the tractor and could only find the 2 Ball Pythons when he remembered they were out there loose. Well he looked and looked and was never able to find Hissy. A few weeks later they left for other parts of the country. Then about 2 month after Hissy disapeared I got a phone call at work. It was my husband, and he said guess who I found sunning in the window of the green house? Hissy!! That ment I had to stop at the pet shop on my way home to get Hissy a rat. I did have some really big tree frogs living back there, but I havn't seen them lately. I guess Hissy ate them. I'll hold the Ball Pythons but I keep my distance from that boa. The first time I saw him he struck at me and I took off the same way I do when I see a roach.

just a quick question. i caught a garter snake that is quite large yesterday for my daughter. of course the thing bit me in the hand. i know the garter is supposedly non venemous but does anyone know what if any affect the bite may have. also , any info . on the care of it would be helpful. thanks

my 1 and only snake story. In 1968 my family moved to El Paso Texas from NYC. My father had recently returned from Vietnam as an Army Doc. He had to finish his Army obligation of another year and was sent to William Boumont Army Hospital in El Paso. We had just gotten to El Paso and were staying in a motel style apartments. I was 5 years old and this particular night I was sick with a fever and was sleeping in between my parents in their bed. In the middle of the night I nudged my mother because I was thirsty. She faithfully got up and went into the kitchet to get me a drink. She opened up the fridge and saw something strange. The light of the fridge illuminated what looked like the big area rug rising in the air!! She soon saw a rather large snake pissed off and raising its head to strike. She jumped on top of the cabinetts like a cat petrified. She somehow managed to voice enough of a cry to wake my father who, after the initial shock killed the intruder. Having a lot of experience with snakes--both growing up and in Vietnam he chopped its head off with a sword. Turned out that the snake was from the apartment/house next door. The next door "neighbor" was in special forces who had served a couple of tours as a Green Beret in Vietnam and apparently had lost his mind as his hobby was collecting snakes. All kinds of snakes from all over southeast Asia. And this guy kept them in cages throughtout his apartment. Don't ask me how he got them back in the states--I have no idea. This particilar snake that my mother encountered and my father killed was a 9 foot King Cobra. Yes you heard me right. The next day we moved out of this motel from hell but even that was a hastle. The SOB owner of the motel refused to let us leave without losing our deposit, owing him more rent etc., but my father had had enough and whatever he told the motel owner he not only let us leave but did the packing. That's a true story.

It could be a scorpion bite...Scorpions live in zone 8...Your friend should spray her house especially inside her slippers and shoes. Inside drawers, under her bed, inside the box spring, inside cabinets, and under the house if there is a crawl space.

I was bitten by something a few years ago..The bite mark had 2 little marks. Drs never figured out exactly what bit me. My calf swelled up. The area where the bite mark was started to open up and it swelled to the size of a soft ball ouchy...

I went to the Doctor...He gave me a antibiotic shot..a prescription for antibiotics, and a tetnus shot...I was also told to stay still and put ice packs on it..And he told me to come back if it started to turn black...(it never turned black) When the Doctor left the room the nurse told me to get some garlic pills and take 10 of them everyday until the pain and swelling subsided. I did that and 4 days later the pain and swelling were gone....I do not know if it was the garlic that helped or the combination of the Doctors treatment and the garlic or just the Doctor's treatment that worked..

The bite left a scar that was present for over a year but did eventually heal.

Additionally: Mothballs chase snakes away. I had a problem with copperheads. A neighbor told me to throw out mothballs near the nest...POOF no more snakes...Apparently mothballs interfere with the snakes sense of smell and irritate them so much that they move away..

Remember mothballs are poison and shouldn't be used if there is a risk of a child getting hold of them.

I hope your friend is okay.

I was once walking in the piney woods in East Texas, outside Cleveland. As I approached a creek, I spotted a large cottonmouth about 10 feet away on a small sandbar. He was stretched out, sunning himself. When he saw me, he gave out what I can only describe as a fairly loud "bark", and shot back into the water. The owner of a local reptile shop was of the opinion that I was nuts. He says snakes cannot vocalize. I say they can hiss, why not bark (possibly expel air when startled and somehow make a sound like a bark)? Doesn't matter, I heard it! Any comments?

Do water moccasins(sp) jump? My sons were walking in our pasture near our pond when they came upon a snake they stopped about 4 feet away from it and ofcourse froze when my oldest age 14 and very reliable outdoorsman (who was in front) went to move back and to the side the snake JUMPED at him. He said it went right past his chest about 3 feet up barely missing him. He said it was about 4 feet long solid black and thin in shape. It then raced toward the pond. This is the 2nd time this week we have seen a snake that is solid black and thin. We live in north central Florida but are new here from Alaska and not familar with snakes.
ST

Well, when I was a teenager, I worked at the Marine Education Center in Biloxi (now Katrina-gone) and my job was to feed the fish and reptiles. I was bitten many times, only once by a venomous snake. Snake fangs are tiny and they can strike and recoil very quickly - you could well not feel a bite. Nonvenomous snakes tend to be constrictors, so they catch food by grabbing with fangs to hold while wrapping coils around prey. People are not prey, and the snakes know it, so I have rarely had snakes bite and hold on me. Water snakes and black racers are the exception - I think they are just dumber and have nasty dispositions (not very scientific, but that's my impression). Banded water snakes also have nasty saliva that can give you a bad wound and infection even though they are not "venomous."

Venomous snakes are not constrictors by trade. I've seen them eat mice and rats many times, and it's pretty spooky. I was told that's where the expression "kiss of death" comes from. After the strike (venom delivery) and instant recoil, they curl up and wait. When the animal dies, the snake approaches and smells it all over, appearing to "kiss" the prey in many spots, before swallowing it.

If a person recoiled or otherwise moved while a snake is biting, it may appear to hold on, but the snake is actually "caught" on you by a tooth. I've seen this.

The severiy of a venomous bite is affected by species of snake, individual snake, age/size of snake, where you are bitten, how deeply, how long bite lasted, etc. So that's why so much variety in bite experiences - instant vs days and so forth. I would go to an emergency room, but I would not expect much there. Doctors don't see snake bites much. Pit vipers are the norm here (North America), unless you live somewhere warm enough to have coral snakes. (Coral snakes have nonretractable fangs so I've never heard of a human bite - where would you be bitten - webbing between thumb and index finger maybe.) You can definitely die from a snake bite, though it would be very unusual. I've heard of all sorts of treatment - antivenoms usually not stocked, local tissue removal used to be the norm for big cottonmouth bites where I grew up.

Lots of times you don't see fang marks. Even though doctors may act like they know, they see snake bites rarely, and I suspect that they say snake bite when it's usually spider bite. ALL spiders are venomous to one degree or another(that's how they eat) and spiders encounters are way more common. I have noted that the site af a pit viper bit can blacken (I'm no doctor but probably have as much snake bite experience as most.), like a brush of tar was put on skin rather than 2 fang marks. Take an antihistamine as soon as possible. Go to the hospital. If what they tell you doesn't sound right, go to another doctor. At least make them give you an antibiotic, because infection is not unusual.

I saw on some documentary that the earth would be knee-deep in rodents if all the snakes suddenly disappeared. I believe it. They eat my mice and voles. Snakes are useful and usually shy, retiring, and harmless.

A scorpion bite ? I have been stung and it hurt like the devil and we have little brown ones that come into our house every summer but I have never been bitten by a scorpion ! As far as snakes go - we have some pretty good size rattlers that live on our property but we kill them if we see them and so far no one has bitten (thank goodness).....I know spiders can bite you and you don't know it but I can't imagine not knowing that a snake bit you.....well, now that Im completely creeped out, Im going to go check on my gardenias *grin*

Stephanie,
I have always been told, when I gave a description of a snake I was suspicious of, but only saw from a distance that it wasn't a cottonmouth if it wasn't fat. In other words, I don't think they have a 'thin' body shape. Thankfully, I don't think I've ever seen one.

Yep, I'm pretty sure Stephanie's snake is a harmless Southern Black Racer by the description of both snake and behavior.

Hi, I am new to the site after searching for information on copperheads. We live in Guntersville, AL, and we have many natural rocks, uneven terrain, etc... We have seen a good many black and yellow snakes, but I didn't become alarmed until my husband almost stepped on a copperhead in our driveway right by the house Saturday evening. We have two girls who had just been out there with us. After reading all the posts under this topic, I must say, I am quite frightened. I have a few questions. There were several who mentioned having the snakes in their house. How do they get in the house, and how do you prevent it? Our home is on a crawl space, and is 1 1/2 years old. I bought stock in Moth Balls today...just kidding...but it does look like it snowed outside in places. I put out quite a bit, but I was too scared to go under the house. Also, would they go up into the house to get away from the moth balls if I put them in the crawl space? Someone mentioned having them in their car? How do they get in the car, and how do you prevent it? How did the copperhead get in the lady's laundry pile? I would honestly have a massive heart attack if I found one in my house or yard. I have been afraid of snakes since I was a child, but continue to garden and enjoy the outdoors cautiously. However, I thought it was a phobia that I could leave at the door when I was inside the house or car. As a mother, I naturally want to protect my family so I am seeking to educate myself while taking all necessary precautions. I would appreciate any information or advice. I am conquering quite a few phobias living at this address. We have a rock cliff behind us. I have seen, in the last two weeks, a bobcat, a wild pig, raccoons, copperhead snake, black and yellow snakes, a fox, a prairie dog, and countless chipmunks(they don't bother me). I have lived in Mississippi and Alabama my entire life, but this address is like the Wild Kingdom. It's beautiful...we even see bald eagles...but the copperhead shook my cage so to speak. I would appreciate any feedback or advice. Dana

Sometimes people get bitten by coral snakes and don't even know it right away as this could be the case with this lady. I was bitten by a very small copperhead when I was a kid and sucked the poison out myself and was afraid, my dad, a Medical Doctor would be mad at me for messing with it. My hand was swollen and I felt like crap for 5 days, but I lived. The wound on my finger had a black hole in it where the fangs went and it didn't completely heal over for 6 months! I have respect for all snakes and reptiles, so whne I come accross a poisonous one I just leave it alone. Snakes kill lots of rodents that would otherwise spread illness and ruin crops. I think it is wrong to kill them just because they are there. I move them into the woods when I come accross them on my property.

Yep its a good idea to stir around in a flower bed before crawling around in it to plant plants! A few years back I was out close to the road on our drive planting some cell pack annuals and I had been crawling around in the pinestraw planting the plants for 45 minutes I know!!!! I lacked 2 plants from having them ALL PLANTED on that side when all of a sudden I dug the straw back and was digging the hole and there it was right there where I was digging UNDER the pinestraw I HAD BEEN CRAWLING AROUND IN! Needless to say, I didn't finish nor did I do the other bed that day! It was a small rattlesnake and I managed to kill it with my hand shovel and a big rock. I didn't know they would get in the pinestraw like that!!!!!! It scared me so bad that I wasn't fit for nothing the rest of the day!!!

Someone mentioned that snakes would 'run' if you made enough noise or disturbance...hmmm
I had driven my car down a dirt path to reach a small fishing pond tucked behind a wooded area (near Auburn, AL). Upon leaving, stretched across that car-wide dirt path, was a HUGE rattler that was making NO effort to move out of the way. I honked the car horn several times and finally decided to just run over it, but my son didn't want me to. So....we get out of the car and throw a few rocks his way. Still doesn't move. Finally, I find a sturdy tree branch and gave the snake a whack. He quickly scooted away from me only to coil-up and rattle his tail--looked like he was ready to battle rather than move off into the trees. YIKES.
Anyway, I lost my desire to fish that little pond after that--and it held some big hungry Bass. :(

Kathy,

You're son is awesome for sparing the snake and you too for bravely and noblely obliging!

As far as snakes in the garden, making a disturbance will work if by making a disturbance one means stomping your feet, it will not work if one means yodeling, honking a car, or blowing a whistle.

Snakes do not have mammalian senses and are deaf so noise isn't useful unless what makes the noise causes vibrations. Snakes also have lousy eyesight, fwiw. Vibrations are useful because snakes can feel them. They also have great smell and can stake out a place under leaf litter or next to a log that has rodent scent trails a week old, or locate a den site by following their own pheremone scent trails from weeks ago.

One of the tricky challenges we humans face when we confront snakes is that it is easy to assume that they are working with the same general sensory apparatus, motives and reasoning skills that we are. Their smell-based view of the world is so different than ours that it's like an altogether different critter.

My experience is pretty much the same with moving rattlesnakes off roads. They will move initially but after a couple seconds if they are still on an exposed surface without holes to retreat to they will turn to try and figure out where the predator attacking them is coming from by sticking out their tongue and smelling. And it takes them a while to figure out where you are so they get pretty defensive, scared and irritable when they turn too.

I've found that what often works is to tap them with a stick and then step away. They'll stay and defend for a while and after they think you are gone, they'll head for cover. My guess is the reason they turn to defend is because as long as they think you are there, they don't want to leave their flank exposed to what they assume is a predator looking to harm them.

This has been an interesting thread. We live in Arkansas, and have a pond at the side of our house in our pasture. Just about every year our pond gets infested with Water Moccasins. My dad kills them. Sometimes, he catches them when they are only half in the water. He grabs their tails and just pulls them out of the water. Then, he either slings them to break their necks or throws them on the ground and cuts their heads off with a shovel.
We ain't seen many Moccasins around this year.
A couple years ago, there was a HUGE one in there. Dad tried so hard to get that one. One day, it just sit out of our reach in the water and it would fling it's tail in and out of the water. I think dad eventually got a branch and hit it, or caught it.
Dad has never been bitten. I don't know how he managed it, but he has. Thankfully.
I just thought y'all would enjoy that little story. I have a few snake stories. Never been bit though.
AR_Dramaqueen

Well I figure I could share a couple more stories while I'm in here.

When I was little my Mama and I would go to our barn to feed the horses. When I was 5, my Mom met my step-dad. One day, he decided that he would go feed the horses with us, and it ended up saving my Mom. My Mom was about to reach into the feed sack like she always did, but she never thought to look in the sack first. Dad, however, said, "Here. I'll do it." So mom didn't stick her hand into the sack. Instead, Dad looked into the sack before sticking his hand inside, and saw eyes. He took the sack outside and dumped it. I don't remember what kind of snake it was.

Another day, Mama, one of my cousns, and me were waching our horse. I was about 5. Mom told me to go inside to get something. I was walking backward to listen to her and walk at the same time. All of a sudden she yelled, "Stop!!." I looked down and I was walked backward right over a green snake. Not thinking, I jumped back over the thing to get to my Mommy!! HAHA...

There are more, but I guess that's enough for now. I already shared 3 stories.
AR_Dramaquen

My little Shi Tsu "Roxanne" just got bit tonight by a juvenile copperhead that was underneath my chair in the yard. I never saw the snake until after she walked away acting kind of funny. I'm lucky I didn't get bit. Took her to the vet with the dead snake. Got to go back tomorrow morning. She is not feeling well now. I hope to God that she will be all right.

I live in a beautiful wooded area in florida with hundreds of acres of ferns all around us. Heaven, SNAKE HEAVEN. Last summer my 6 yr old boy called to me, "mommy, i have a surprise". If you have ever had an adventurous 6 yr old, you know this means move it. I went outside and he showed me his Snakey on a stick. Still alive, but not by much, looked like maybe the cats got it. My hair turned white and fell out as I got closer and realized it was a pygmy rattler on the end of my sons stick. I reasonably demanded he drop it and step back. Bye Bye snake. I went to the book store and bought a great book on snakes to help my son and self understand and identify these creatures. I have seen 5 rattlers in 2 years here, so I try to be aware and cautious as I am always outside doing something in the weeds.

Eleven days ago, I was bitten by a Copperhead on my right big toe. It was a young snake, as it still had the blue tail. Both fangs found their mark. I certainly knew I was bitten before I saw the snake and began to feel the effects of the venom before I reached my front door, only 25 feet away. In the ER, it took morphine to ease the pain and I generally have a pretty high pain tolerance. I had considerable swelling and bruising from the foot to the groin area. I am very grateful that at this point in time, it seems there will be no permanent damage.

There is almost a correlation between Rattlesnakes and copperheads in urban or residential sections. Most rattlers will leave after human encroachment but the opposite is true for copperheads. They love structure(i.e. piles of lumber or woodpiles or laundry piles) principally because their prey is in these areas as they are small rodent consummers. I agree with someone above who said let them be if you can. I came home yesterday and my cat was acting suspiciously in one of my beds. Soon he appeared with a snake in his mouth about 8-10 inches long. I never got close as my cat knew I would take it from so he skedaddled . Probably a DeKays brown snake or something else I don't know. I have a degree in Zoology and I know a good deal about snakes as I used to work with them. Have been bitten numerous times by harmless rat snakes (only harmless in poison) that flat out hurt so I think it would be hard not to notice a snake biting you..

I believe the "ground rattler" is a common name for the pygmy rattler. You can add me to the list of people who have seen a person chased by a moccassin.

My brother and I were taking turns 25 years ago floating in a small inflatable boat on a brackish bayou when a snake chased him for 15 feet or more, swimming with its head held above the water. My brother screamed like a girl and you never saw so much foam and fury as he thrashed that tiny boat back and away from that snake.

I am told that only the moccassin swims like that. Killed a small one once with a shovel that ended up on my fathers doorstep after a heavy rain.

I recently killed a small timber rattler on my rural property where I am about to build. He was crossing the road onto my land and I decided he would not be allowed to live and breed where my neices play. I love snakes, and often upbraid the rednecks who proudly claim to have just killed a "moccassin". Invariably the snake in question turns out to be a common water snake. But poisonous snakes will die if I find them on my property.

I saw a beautiful four foot corn snake on my land last summer. I wonder if I were to buy a few king and corn snakes and release them on my land, if they'd stay and compete with the poisonous snakes and even eat a few of them? Fill the niche.

The little harmless brown Dekay's was common in the leaf litter around my Atlanta apartment.

In my country snakes are really rear, but many people bread them as pets. I actually know a breader having app. 60 snakes - beautiful green tree pythons. A glamorous view in his basement .. well he was bitten many times. Python attack is not so dangerous but the it can get badly infected. Another friend has a website, a blog actually, http://thesnakebite.tv dedicated to snake bites, venomous and mostly constrictors. Great to watch these movies!

Here is a link that might be useful: thesnakebite tv

Needless to say - I'm totally freaked. :(

I was bitten by a copperhead snake. My foot, ankle, leg starting swelling monstrously after aout thirty minures. I was in the hospital for three days. Still have some damage in my right ankle where the snake bit me.

My 70 lb Golden Retriever was bitten by a Copperhead last week and despite more than 24 hours of medical care he died. I've since killed 2 Copperheads, but the ones I killed were in the front yard - not the back yard where he was bitten. I've been searching for plants that are said to repel these snakes and have found references to "Rattlesnake Master" and "Wormwood", but can't find any info as to whether or not these plants are poisonous to dogs. Any help out there?

plants don't repel most snakes, that is an old wives tale. in reality you want to eliminate thick plants and piles of junk. copper heads prefer to get in/under wood piles, pile of bricks, etc.

and just because they were in front means nothign. snakes travel long distances hunting food. i have moved a water snake 1 mile down the road and watched him swim back down the ditch and right back to where i picked him up!

There is a snake repellent product called BioDefend. It has a money back guarantee. I know the company and it is a well estbalished, 60 year old firm which is customer oriented. Go to WWW.BIO-DEFEND.COM

Growing up we lived in SC and on around through all the Gulf tates and also Az, Ca, and Ore. Most of my snake experience was with the Texas Diamondback. I've stood on one foot as a 6ft rattler crawled by under my upraised foot.
Anyway I ihank my Dad for my laack of fear of rattlers. "Son" Pa said "always look out for rattler. They're good eaarin'." Soooo, I learned to be alert for them but not out of fearj
The best controls l've found siamese and burmese cats. They've thouuands of generations of breeding to keep the cobras out. My first siamese was addicted to rattlers. She would get one every couple of days untill she was bit by a Chevy at age 19.

This is a 3day old Copper head bite

I

I am sure one would.know if they got bit. Apparently.this was a, leave me.alone bite, as it happened while.weeding a.garden.

Wow that is a nasty bite.

I was thinking about this (people not realizing they were bitten) and there are some people who have neuropathy (nerve damage) from diabetes or other diseases that might not realize they were bitten if a lot of venom wasn't injected for whatever reason. They might not feel the initial pain of the bite but the effects of the venom as they became ill.

I got bit by a brown recluse spider one time and didn't know I was bit until the ulcer showed up. I don't have any reason for getting an ulcer on my leg and I was young and healthy. Then I remembered seeing the recluse spider when I was moving some boxes in our basement. Luckily it healed okay.

It is common not to feel recluse bites though. Some people are allergic or get infections from them though and that's when the trouble starts.

~sjn