Don't know why ya'll are so scared of snakes for. They aren't the mean critter you make them out to be and are a living thing just as everything else is. The funny thing is that a snake bite doesn't hurt whatsoever, a chihuahua bites harder than a snake does. EVery snake just wants to be left alone and will only get defensive if not. Let them be to live their life.
I've never been to Indiana, and I have no idea how many types of poisonous snakes you have there.
Here in East Texas, we have Cotton Mouth snakes, which are very common on my land. We have Copperhead Snakes, which I see every year. Some years I might just see a couple, other years, it could be a few more. There are Rattle Snakes here to, but they are very docile and from what I'm told, very rarely bit anybody. If attacked by a dog, they will bite the dog, and it's the only snake that is lethal to dogs if bitten. Dogs can handle Cotton Mouth and Copperhead bites naturally.
I've never been bit. The guy who hunts hogs on my land was bit last year. I probably know a dozen people that have been bit by either a Copperhead or Cotton Mouth. Half of them recovered without any long term issues. The other half have had a very bad time, including medivac helicopter flights, and where borderline on having amputation.
Common reason for being bit is walking in the grass. Moving a potted plant. Opening a gate. Feeding livestock. Nobody that I know of who has been bitten tried to handle or touch the snake. None of them even knew the snake was there!!!!
I also have rat snakes, racers and garter snakes. Those are probably not their scientific, actual real names, it's just what we call them. The rat snake is the most common of all the snakes I deal with. They love the eggs in my chicken coop!!! When coiled up in the coop, it is almost impossible to tell if it is a Cotton Mouth, or a Rat Snake. After I shoot it, I can tell. I shoot every snake I see. A few years ago, their numbers shot up to a crazy level. This year I've killed 6 snakes, and saw another six that where too fast for me, or I wasn't armed at the time. In the really bad year, I killed 30 snakes, my wife killed a dozen and my mom killed 6. A lot of them got away. Some of the got-a-ways where Cotton Mouths and Copperheads.
In my opinion, it would be negligent and dangerous to allow a snake to live anywhere close to my house.
Since the really bad year, I bought a bigger tractor with a batwing, and I've been able to mow my land three times a year. Short grass is not a snakes friend. Hawks and other wildlife kill them for me when the grass is short. I also have a lot of cats now. During the bad year, we also had some mice in the chicken coop. The cats killed all the mice. I haven't seen a mouse in several years. I haven't even seen any mouse poop in years. The snakes still come for the eggs and the baby chicks and ducklings, but not as often, and not as many.
Have you ever seen a Water Moccasin come out of the pond while on a zero turn mower, and stop right in front of you? It coiled up about ten feet in front of me, and all I could think of, if I tried to mow it over, it would come over the deck of the mower and get me.
My step daughter was on the zero turn a few years ago, and after she was done mowing, we found a Copperhead that she had killed with the mower that she never knew was there. That freaked her out!!!!
). Then you back up to get close to the tree - because mamma wants that part of the field to look prettier, and as soon as to look through the back window another pesky tree sneaks up and hits your brush guard with a limb or something. I actually had a tree throw one of its limbs that was really high up in the tree at my door and broke the glass! There really ought to be a law!
