Snakes!

r0GuE · Oct 14, 2003

I have found two snakes in the last few days.

1rst one was very small, all black with a yellow or whiteish mark behind its head. - It's now dead.

2nd one had that speckeled camo look (similar to a rattle snake, but I didnt see a rattle. Probably 14 - 16 inches long and very aggressive (or at least defensive) against a broom. It would open its mouth wide and strike. - Now dead.

Just wondering if either were dangerous had I not seen them and stepped on them. As you might guess I'm no snake fan. I have kids and don't ever want to have to worry about bites and bacteria and poison and whatever. I keep stickky traps in the basement now.

pruntyc · Oct 14, 2003

I'm pretty sure the first one is not poisonous, and I don't think the last one is either, but hard to tell by what you say, one almost has to see a picture or something to tell more about them. You have copper heads up there, but it don't sound too much like one, from what you said. Because they are not speckeled. A lot of non-poisonous snakes will strike, even if they can't really do you much harm.

BB_TX · Oct 15, 2003

I killed a <font color="blue"> copperhead </font> last Saturday. Almost stepped on it as it blended in with the fallen leaves. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif You can tell most poisonous snakes by their head. Most will have a triangular shaped head.

ronjhall · Oct 15, 2003

r0GuE
The one that look like a rattler is probably a Water Snake. This thread has a different title than the one I used. But there is a lot on this aggressive snake. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

pruntyc · Oct 15, 2003

Beside the triangular head, the generally have a blunt tail, where as the non-poisonous ones have a long thin tail. But you can't put a rule on it, as sometimes you can be wrong.

r0GuE · Oct 15, 2003

I'm still crawling just thinking about it. I really hate them bad!

farmerpsv · Oct 15, 2003

I hear ya rogue.
our first farm was an 1800 victorian which had been abandoned for several years, it was a complete restoration. we killed about 60 wasps a day for weeks, and of course the requisite lady bugs. one day i was picking up some plastic tarp i layed in the house and underneath was a 5 ft snake. yikes. back then i would break out in a cold sweat if i saw a snake twenty feet away, this one was at my feet. i've gotten progressively better, now involuntary squeaks don't escape me when i see one. we got a mighty hunter (okay, she's a cat), but i've watched her corner a snake and bat it into a cowering position. she kill's about 2 mice a day, so the snakes have pretty much left. i've found two baby snakes at our new farm, sans head. go molly (our cat).

MossRoad · Oct 15, 2003

Here's a link that might help. It says there are 22 species of snakes in Penn., 3 of which are poisonous... copperhead and 2 species of rattlesnake.

And a few more links to quell your fears. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/april99/snake.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/garden/19990529clips1.asp

And finally!

Sorry for the in-line post, but I just couldn't resist! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

r0GuE · Oct 15, 2003

GREAT LINKS!!!

I can vividly recall that this snake had round pupils... now they are x x /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Slamfire · Oct 16, 2003

Poisonous Pythons? Musta been livin' in a toxic waste dump. That link was great, just turn the snake over and check out the scales on his tail. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Here in copperhead country I find makin' a lot of noise will generally warn the snakes that you are coming, and they leave.