So I've got this big retaining wall outside of my apartment building constructed of old timber. The thing is tiered with the planter sections just topped over with pine straw. Since I moved in, I have seen 3 or 4 shed snake skins outside on the wall.

I wouldn't really care if I didn't go anywhere near the wall, however the footbridge leading to my building goes right through this wall, and I'll be damned if I want to get bitten by some threatened snake. Two days ago, I scared a snake while walking up the path. I didn't even see it hiding in the brush, but I was ~3 ft away when it freaked out and fled into a big crack in the wall. His black tail was hanging out, which is the only way I knew it was a snake.

What should I do about this? Is this something you go report to the apartment complex? They can't really do anything about snakes can they?

7/28/2009 3:33:27 PM

if it was a black snake, they are harmless, and way more afraid of you than you are of them.

I don't think i've ever heard of someone getting bitten by a black snake.

If they are venomous snakes, the apt. complex is probably liable to do something about it. The only two venomous snakes you see around here are cottonmouths and copperheads, but unless there's a body of water nearby, it's unlikely that you'll have any of them around.

7/28/2009 3:35:49 PM

Heh, I live 200 yards from lake Johnston

fml

7/28/2009 3:40:50 PM

Quote :

"if it was a black snake, they are harmless, and way more afraid of you than you are of them."

true

Quote :

"I don't think i've ever heard of someone getting bitten by a black snake."

i have...back one up where it feels like it can't go anywhere and that sucker will strike multiple times...if they can get away, they will, though

Quote :

"The only two venomous snakes you see around here are cottonmouths and copperheads, but unless there's a body of water nearby, it's unlikely that you'll have any of them around."

pretty much...gf had a copperhead on her porch late last year, but she lives on lake johnson

Quote :

"Heh, I live 200 yards from lake Johnston"

hah, i didn't see this until after i posted

don't count on seeing cottonmouths (water moccasins) around lake johnson...i'm not saying there aren't any, but it would be pretty unlikely...they tend to prefer swampland and such

[Edited on July 28, 2009 at 3:43 PM. Reason : .]

7/28/2009 3:41:46 PM

I'm tired of these mother-fucking snakes in this mother-fucking wall!

7/28/2009 3:45:15 PM

the snakes at wild woods are harmless.

so you don't need to worry.

7/28/2009 3:47:23 PM

ANy dumpsters or other places rats would hang out nearby?

thats usually why snakes hang out, especially if you are seeing them all the time

Get rid of the rats and the snakes will leave eventually

7/28/2009 3:48:41 PM

^^ the copperhead on my gf's porch says otherwise



[Edited on July 28, 2009 at 3:50 PM. Reason : pic]

7/28/2009 3:49:13 PM

yeah i live at wildwoods, by the dumpster

in fact, my parking space is the one right next to it

does this mean i might have snakes in mah car?

7/28/2009 3:51:03 PM

do you live on trillium?

also i had a copperhead on my property when i lived behind whole foods.

i've only seen black snakes at wild woods, and one water moccasin.

7/28/2009 4:00:20 PM

We've had 3 copperheads at our townhouse (2 on back porch, 1 on front sidewalk) within 5 weeks.. we don't really have any water nearby or a homeowners association to speak of. Would animal control do anything about this?? We've killed all 3.

7/28/2009 4:38:14 PM

Quote :

"The only two venomous snakes you see around here are cottonmouths and copperheads"

Its not unheard of for eastern diamondbacks to be found in this area.

7/28/2009 4:51:17 PM

^^ animal control won't do anything - they say they don't handle snakes.

I only know this second-hand, though. A friend of mine works at a CVS in Cary, and they had a copperhead hanging around the front entrance for several hours one day. Customers couldn't get into the store, so they called animal control, and then the police, neither of which would help them.

[Edited on July 28, 2009 at 4:54 PM. Reason : ^s]

7/28/2009 4:54:03 PM

i used to live by lake johnson and saw probably a half dozen copperheads over the course of a year

[Edited on July 28, 2009 at 7:52 PM. Reason : ^animal control won't catch wild animals]

7/28/2009 7:51:47 PM

there is a way to see if the snake is venomous or not by the shed
a snake has horizontal scales on its belly, after its vent(the place where all the action happens) if it becomes double scaled it is non venomous, if its continually horizontal scale it is venomous...
but snakes are goodit pisses me off people kill them

[Edited on July 28, 2009 at 9:33 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/28/2009 9:32:40 PM

copperheads don't have to be near water. they tend to love to hide in pine straw as well due to the camoflauge it provides, so that's a possiblity for what you're finding.

If it's a black snake, don't kill it. They're territorial and will run off poisonous snakes.

7/28/2009 9:49:19 PM

and don't call them "colored"

7/29/2009 3:08:30 AM

Quote :

"Its not unheard of for eastern diamondbacks to be found in this area."

You're absolutely crazy. Maybe a stray timber/canebreak rattlesnake, especially up by like Falls Lake. But there are no diamondbacks anywhere close to Raleigh.

http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/snakes/Croada/Cro_ada.html

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 7:42 PM. Reason : ]

7/29/2009 7:39:23 PM

Snakes at a ball
Snakes smoking menthol
Snakes with wherewithal
Snakes recruiting John Wall

7/29/2009 11:16:13 PM

Quote :

"I'll be damned if I want to get bitten by some threatened snake. Two days ago, I scared a snake while walking up the path. I didn't even see it hiding in the brush, but I was ~3 ft away when it freaked out and fled into a big crack in the wall."

Man up, son. As you've already seen, they'd prefer to get out of your way.

Quote :

"if it was a black snake, they are harmless, and way more afraid of you than you are of them."

In my experience, this isn't entirely accurate. Venomous snakes have a finite amount of venom and aren't generally inclined to waste it on something they can't eat. Nonvenomous snakes that my family and I have encountered have been more inclined to stand and fight than copperheads.

That said, neither group is going to go out of its way to bite, and both will prefer to just avoid confrontation.

7/29/2009 11:47:33 PM

I have almost been bitten by a copperhead twice. The first time I damn near stepped on it

Hey quagmire02, the copperhead in your picture is probably a baby since the tail is bright yellow.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 1:09 PM. Reason : .]

7/30/2009 1:00:04 PM

i opened up the back door last night to let my dog out and saw a copperhead snake right at the door. i immediately shut the door and watched it slither into some hole around my house

7/30/2009 1:16:25 PM