I shot a 4 foot water moccasin on the shore of my pond over the weekend. Only one I have seen but don't want to see anymore. Scared the heck out of me when I was pushing my boat into the water. Someone told me ducks will keep them away but I have also heard you don't want ducks in the pond. Any other effective measures I can take or is this something I need to live with in East Texas.

pondrookie,

I've seen more snakes this year than in the past 30 years...also have seen more frogs, huge numbers of frogs. Maybe the two play together somewhat? I like the frogs, but the snakes, no way.

I don't know of any control means for snakes more effective than my Remington 1100...unforunately I never seem to have it handy when the snake is nearby...a fly rod is a poor snake deterient!

ML, seeing the same thing with tons of frogs this year. Maybe its due to the dry spell we're having in East Texas. Did my rain dance with the grandkids over the weekend.

My wife used to be afraid of snakes, but we fished a lot in a lake that had SCADS of them, and she got used to them. We would pick up our stringer and often had a big water snake on that had swallowed a bluegill. What a headache! We started using a wire basket, and that helped a lot at first, but the snakes soon learned to find the spring-loaded lid and go inside. Well, we would just grab them and sling them out across the water, and they seldom came back after the inhospitible treatment.

About "moccasins". A 4 foot moccasin is just about a world record. They are very shy and secretive. I once caught a 3-1/2 footer, and it was MASSIVE! It was was much bigger around than my arm. The common brown water snake will often get 4 feet long, but aren't nearly as thick-bodied. They get very habituated to fishermen, and get to be a nuisance. They will not bite unless you step on them or hold on to them too long. Their bite is about like that of a catfish.

Yes, they are a nuisance, but generally speaking they should not be killed. When their population explodes, it's because their prey has exploded. That's mainly frogs and small catchable fish in very shallow water. When their prey is under control, they will crash or simply move on.

Bob,

I don’t know if you have the "domesticated" Water Moccasins over there Louisiana or not - but the one's I have dealt with here in Texas are the meanest snakes I have ever seen. Hell, they will strike at just about anything that looks like a meal or anything that get’s too close to them…Holding on too long, no way? Blam. Blam-Blam! Hold on to THAT, Mr. Watery Moccasin! Slinging snakes out of a wire basket? That’s some crazy stuff man!

Mocassins don't usually get more than 3 ft.
There is a VERY easy way to tell the difference between a napix and a true mocassin.
the napixs' tail (common water snake that sometime appear aggressive but are non-poisionus) extend SLOWLY from the body. Meant if the snake is longer than 3 ft, SKINNY, and has a long tail from the body, it's a water snake. If the snake is very fat and smaller, and has a RAPID tail "end off" (stubby butt sort of) it's the bad boy.
Mocassins also are usually found in the most nastiest swampiest (is that a word? lol) waters.

Either way though, yeah snakes are not fun.
There is some powder you can put down that messes with the jacobs organ. www.doityourselfpestcontrol.com

http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/cg...06ac/Search/Run

Then type in snakes.

Moccasins are not that agressive, as a general rule the nonvenomous water snake is more agressive than the water moccasin. Around here about 95% of the "moccasins" killed are actually the non venomous water snake. There was a study done here in south Georgia and it showed that a moccasin would only bite 20% of the time when picked up and only about 60% of the time when stepped on. Most people are bitten while trying to kill them. Leave them alone. In my life I've only known 1 person to be bitten that wasn't provoking the snake, and he was bitten by the mocasins close cousin the copperhead while picking up leaves.

I checked the snake repelent listed above, and it isn't very effective on moccasins

"While this product might deter other types of snakes as well,it is not expected to consistently repel snakes of the following types:

Corn snakes and other rat snakes, "moccasin" snakes such as cotton-mouths and copperheads. "

I apologize that I may have exagerated a little but the darn thing look 6 ft long when it struck at me. Was actually more like 3 feet long and about as round as a beer can with a short stubby tale. Everyone that looked at the critters remains ( after I blew its head off ) said it was a Water Moccasin. Bottomline is I don't like snakes and either do my grandkids.

You must have provoked it, at least 5 times according to the percentages of the study in Georgia.

If you have never felt the chill from the strike of a really nasty Water Moccasin coming at you - it is really quite unnerving, all kidding aside.
.

Dang it, all this snake talk is freaking me out. I need cut down a few flooded timber in my swamp (someday a lake) this weekend. Between wading waist deep in gunk, watching for alligators, head high over-growth, falling trees - now i will be all worked up over killer Water Moccasins. Yikes.

I had a little trouble with that 20% number myself. How did they actually determine that.....did someone actually pick up a WM multiple times and was only bitten 1 out of 5 times? Stretches the limits of credibility. Maybe thats how the old snake handlers did it in the churches, they used WM.

Excuse me if I don't accept the gentle nature of WM..the only good WM is a dead one.

According to the study, there is a 95% chance they werent using Water Moccasins at all.

Ok, I'll stop it. Thanks Georgia, I too have creamed a "Water Moccasin" only to discover it was a Water Snake. However, Meadowlark's Pig story from another post has me in kind of a punchy mood. Funny stuff.

Pondrookie, I now of no other way than lead posioning with Remmington brand lead.

Like people, I'm sure that all snakes have their own personality. In Florida, I've had 3-4 water moccasins around me within a three foot radius and not one looked at me twice. Now the common water snake is a completely different matter. Although they are not venomous they really do have a nasty disposition.

The only good snake is a dead snake. I don't care what kind it is, I always have a gun with me when I'm fishing and I don't hesitate taking a shot at one. I usually keep the banks clean so snakes have less places to hide and I very rarely see a snake.

I have often wondered, has any one considered king snakes?? I mean has anyone heard of letting a bunch loose to help control other snakes???

Prairie King Snakes do indeed prey upon other snakes.

I am just thinking, THEY might be what the doctor ordered...

I've shot a few WM over the years on the farm north of Dallas around the ponds but haven't seen any here close up enough to say for sure if that's what they were. Whenever you read about them, they are always characterized as curious and rather aggressive, sometimes approaching boats, etc., but that's not what I'm hearing here. Does the common water snake have the big head like the WM?

I'm in the "snakes are beneficial" camp for the most part, but I've seen a couple of copperheads here and nearly stepped on one that sent me reeling. Will kill any of those bad boys I can get a chance at.

I'm with turkeyfootnc. My "Doctor" just ordered another couple boxes of .357 snake shot. The first 2 rounds up are the shot, next are 2 wad cutters and then 2 magnum hollow points. Never know when you'll run into a snake, muskrat, woodchuck or a coyote. And I'm never without it.

Dan

Most but not all the venemous snakes in the US are pit vipers. In front of their eyes the have a large pit that helps them sense prey. It also makes them easier to identify. There are alot of non-venemous snakes that mimic the actions and appearance of their poisonous brothers. For instance, the black rat snake when threatened will shake his tail violently against rocks,leaves, sticks, or anything it can to produce a sound very much like a rattle snake.

I used a minnow trap to cetch the snakes around my pond. Frogs and tadpoles will enter the trap on accident then the snaks will go after them and not be able to get out. By leaving 1/2" of the trap out of the water the frogs can breath and not drownd. Its cruel and it kills the froges but I killed 4 copper heads in 2 weeks without spending much time waiting to see them to shoot.

pond ering,

Works for me too...but it is a bit unnerving to guests when you raise the fish trap and see a big old WM.

Well, when you get used to them and the fish are REALLY biting, you treat them very non-chalantly. Ir reminds me of bees, of which most people are terrified. But most bee keepers don't even wear a bonnet and seldom get stung.

Snakes are a LOT less scary than a gar. When I handle a gar, I never take my eye off of it. Now THAT is a dangerous animal. Even the eedy beedy ones!

More on the good snake vs. bad snake identification...

http://www.texasfishingforum.com/.ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=51;t=000726

I happen to think this guy killed a rather nice sized peeved water snake.

BD,

I can tell from 40 yards away, as I did this little female here.

The first pic:

http://webpages.charter.net/bobad/picture004a.jpg

shows the unmistakable white mouth. Mocassins simply open their mouth and quietly display. After the photo shoot, she quieted down, kept trying to crawl away, and completely quit offering to bite. How boring! This is typical mocassin behavior.

Common brown water snakes hiss, strike, posture, and really put on a fearsome show. A gravid female water snake is REALLY MEAN, and will actually chase you.

The second pic

http://webpages.charter.net/bobad/picture003a.jpg

clearly shows the pit, the vertical pupil, and the horny brow over the eye, which are unmistakable marks of pit vipers.

To all: Moccasins are wary and shy, and will dive in the water and disappear before you get within 20 yards of them. I have never seen more than 2 or 3 in a day. Do I like them? No. Am I afraid of them? No. There's just no reason to be afraid of them under normal circumstances.

I wonder how the number of people injured after SEEING a snake would compare to the number of people actually BITTEN by snakes. I know I just about jumped out of my skin when I nearly stepped on that copperhead and he lurched. I almost fell in the creek!

But it's too close to the house for poisonous snakes - they must be 'discouraged.'

The link to the thread and pictures was great, Alligator, and I think you're right. That guy that said the "only good snake or cat was a dead one" nearly caused me to register just to make a comment.

When we bought our land we made a trade for the old corncrib next door. It had about 40 years worth of empty feed, seed, & fertilizer sacks stored in it that my wife said she'd clean out. She spent most of a Sunday pitchforking the first half of the sacks out and burning them. When I asked why she was using a pitchfork, she said "Because of the Rats!"

That made me kind of queasy (I don't like Rats) but it didn't really phase her any. The next weekend, she headed back to the corncrib to finish & came out screaming about two minutes later. I asked if the Rats were back and she informed me they had all been eaten by the snakes now inhabiting the corncrib. There must have been about 2 dozen big black snakes about 4 feet long in there. Since it was safe (hey, the Rats were gone) I volunteered to finish cleaning it out.

Come on now, non carborundum bullshitimus.

You know you heard your wife's account of the black snakes and told your internet-savvy kid to go out and experience some nature. "Yes son, that's it. Go out and finish cleaning the corn-house!"

I've also had the frog population explosion but luckly I have seen way less snakes then in years past. It must be that they aren't having to travel as much with the food boom.

I have copperheads and haven't seen a WM here.

Okay, Sunil, you caught me!

The boy wasn't here yet then, but I think the crib actually sat for a week to let the snakes clear out before anyone went back in.

If you guys play it REALLY smart, snakes can be used for manly pursuits.

Take the very smart WC Fields for example. When confronted by a lady friend about a bottle of whiskey, he replied:

"Oh yaaas... of course... I keep that handy for medicinal purposes in case I get bit by a snaaake... which I also keep haaandy..."

i am kinda partial to the .357 revolver with the birdshot casings that are available in most gun shops. They really don't bother me too much, but the wife isn't fond of them...

I have invented a snake trap. Just dreamed it up, have not built or tested, but it should work.

After several times of flipping the aluminum boat over and finding multiple snakes under it, so much so that I now fear to turn it over and have a rope tied to the side of it to pull it over (and away) from a distance... It dawned on me that copperheaded rattlemoccasins like to crawl under stuff.

So I plan to take a piece of plywood, saw it in half, then put wire netting (wire cloth) around the periphery so that the two pieces of plywood make the top and bottom of a cage that is only about 3 or 4 inches high. In the sides (the wire cloth) make some funnels (like in the fish trap) to allow entry for snakes. So that they can go in but not back out.

A bit of internet research yields the idea that additional wire cloth placed around the trap could be used to steer snakes into it. I also found that you can buy "snake netting" which they try to crawl through and get tangled in, sorta like a gill net for fish.

Yea, it's a trap alright. Be careful there Nick, you may get what you wish for! That trap may actually work!

Just what do you propose to do with Mr. No-Soulders when you catch him? If you're a "humanitarian" and plan to re-locate them, may as well just kill them. That's because snakes often do not survive relocation. Snakes live in a world dominated by smell, and are literally lost when relocated. They get confused, stressed, and fall prey to cars, predators, and starvation.

If you plan to execute them, well, what do you propose to do with a bunch of stinking, rotting snake corpses?*** Sounds like way too much work for me! I rather just flop the boat over on a couple of saw horses and let the snakes go somewhere else for shade.(the grass will appreciate it too!.

***For some reason, dead shakes stink worse than dead fish, dead horses, and dead dogs combined.

Welp, gotta run. Dinner's nearly ready! :p

Throw the dead snakes into the water and the turtles eat them. Leave them on the shore and coons, coyotes, etc. get them. They don't last long.

Skin'em & tan their hides! They make nice hat bands, knife sheaths ect. I even saw the front of a bow covered with a copperhead ... looked great!

The "Mr. No Shoulders" comment is funny as hell though.

No problem. I realize snakes creep most people out. Hell I like snakes but get creeped out by spiders, go figure. To answer your question, they did pay a group of guys to go through south Georgia swamps, wearing protective gear of course, and provoke moccasins. They were found not to be as agressive as most people believed. But of course as with any species, not all of them will behave the same. Some of them may very well be mean as shit, but not all. From personal experience, all of them I have ever handled ran away first chance they got. I am sure some of them would have bitten while being handled had I given them the chance.

I had originally planned to throw the snake filled trap into the water for an hour or so. Then dump it behind the pond dam. Any "bad snake" should be converted to a "good snake" after the hours dunking and will no longer be a problem.

One nother thought, snakes eat fish. I dont know if you have ever seen a snake catch a fish, but those suckers can and do feed on your fish. So I do like to relocate them when possible. (I use the term "relocate" loosely, as in from breathing to non-breathing.)

I've got experience with the snake netting...only mine was bird netting I used to cover some tomato plants. One morning while pushing away branches and leaves to look for tomatoes, I scared the crap out of myself as I came face to face, and darn near hand to snake, with a 3' bull snake.

Kind of a related subject if you will. How many of you swim in your ponds/lakes knowing the snakes there somewhere. Just curious ?

Copperheads like living under the tarp covering my firewood pile. A few years ago I lifted the tarp and started to grab a log when noticed two full grown copperheads coiled up on my chopping block. (Yep, Copperheaded RattleMoccosins!) I jumped back and almost tripped over my splitting ax - I grinned - this was too easy - I was able to relocate both copperheads with one swing.
Generally, I like snakes and I leave them alone. I would rather have a couple blacksnakes in my garage than the darn mice. Only poisonous snakes get relocated.

In the past few days, I've seen a lot of snakes. Every trip around the pond turns up one or two, mostly brown water snakes. I saw a beautiful yellow and black snake that then went under the house while I was mowing, about a 3-4 footer. "Go get some mice!" I hollered after him. When I go working in the attic, I usually find a skin or two. Also quite a few in the crawl space. Too bad they don't eat skunks, maybe I should put a python under there. The other night the dog was raising hell at the back sliding door. Looked out and here was a 4 foot bull snake climbing the brick wall of the house, headed up to the attic. Very cool to see. But I agree with Jeff, they are welcome until I see something poisonous, then they get terminated with extreme predjudice!

Actually. according to most authori-
tative sources, the cottoemouth water
moccasin can reach a length of 6 feet
with an average of about 3.5 feet.
See www.pestproducts.com/cottonmouths.htm
The current known record length is 75.5".

I think that most snakes would rather retreat than stand and bite. Walk with a heavy step and many snakes will actually feel you coming and get out of the way before you ever see them. If they become too much of a neusance I would prefer to use steel shot around the pond in an effort to keep other animals from eating the small lead pellets.

Dang, squeeky, guess I had forgotten about the markings of the young version...saw one this weekend and didn't recognize it for a WM. Thanks for posting the link.

I've seen hundreds of moccasins, and none reached 4 feet. According to how heavy-bodied a 3-1/2 footer is (the "square-cube law"), a 6 footer would weigh about 30 pounds and could swallow a beagle. That's a scary thought!

Howdy ... a newbie here. I have 132 acres involving 3 separate properties. e have a total of 5 ponds on the properties. Three were existing but quite small (under 3/4 acre) when we bought the land last year. We've significantly expanded those three ponds and added two new ones averaging 5 acres.

I raise and train Labradors so my ponds were designed with retriever training and duck hunting in mind.

Oh, I forgot to mention ... I HATE snakes! One was foolish enough to enter one of our dawg runs last Tuesday evening around 9:30. An eight month old female Lab alerted me to something being awry by her barking. I flipped on the kennel area lights and saw a 3-1/2 foot snake in a corner of the concrete run area.

Got the dawg out of the way and bang-bang, a GOOD snake. Took the pic the next morning. 44" of dead non-venomous rat snake (I think) together my .357 loaded with CCI rat shot.

Here's one of our ponds. The one closest to the new home we just built. The dawgs obviously enjoy the water, regardless of it's size!

Sqeeky,
Your right, everything I have read says water moccasins can grow to 6 ft in length. The 4 footer I originally mentioned on this page was identified as a WM but it wasn't 4 ft long. It was 3' 11". Not a bad guess for someone on the run. I guess like everything else "there bigger in Texas"

I can think of 3 or 4 species that are big enough to eat skunks. The stink doesn't even slow them down.

The yellow and black snake you saw was probably a yellow rat snake. They are very prolific mousers.

Moccasin or coppehead, it really doesn't matter. Their poison is equally nasty and their temprament is almost identical. Neonates usually have a bad temper, and I stay away from them. I worry more about a 6 inch neonate than a 3 foot adult. The little ones are so hard to see!

I have no fear of snakes in the water. It's common on land for snakes to get trapped or stepped on, and are forced to bite. In water, they are free to escape, and do so very quickly. So I guess there is 99% less snake danger in the water.

NOW, having said that, you gave me a wonderful idea. People tend to ignore "No Trespassing" signs, and I'm afraid someone will drown in my pond. Well, I think a "Danger! Water Moccasins" sign would be 100% effective!

This question reminds me of that scene in Lonesome Dove...the river crossing, remember that one?

Probably has never actually happened that way, but what a graphic scene of WM terror!

"Entering water moccasin breeding program area. Please register emergency medical information and next of kin at guard house before entering." (Empty toll booth shack with notebook stands at gate.)

Somebody should collect all of these sign suggestions and those from the "MY Pond" thread.

I am going to take down my "Private Property" signs and replace them with " Beware - Protected Water Moccasin Breeding Area" That should work.

Come on fellas...I hate snakes as much as the next guy. I don't kill 'em though (now, poisonous ones would be a different story, though). They simply provide too much rodent relief. Now if the wife sees 'em...they just gotta die, unless she runs into the house so I can throw 'em over the fence.

Big babies! (Kiddin' now, don't flame me!)

This snake was an unnerving experience
for my wife when she opened this gate
the other night. I have no idea what kind
of snake it might have been, but it was
gone a few minutes later.

That looks like one HUGE Water Moccasin!

I'm just kidding, bull snake?

I saw a very large water snake last week in my pond when I was feeding the fish. He came to where the floating pellets were just like the fish. I couldn't tell if he had come to eat the fish or the pellets because when he saw me he ducked under the water. I was hoping someone could tell me what kind of snake it was. He had alternating dark and light bands and was about four feet long. I do not think he was a water moccasin.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a small king snake, about 18" long, in the road. I stopped and walked up to it to shoo it out of the road. I put my foot by its tail and kinda pushed at it. It struck me on the leg of my jeans. Scared the dickens out of me but it didn't actually bite me. Problem is, my wife saw it happen.

James Holt, from the marking you've described, I'm sure it was a copperheaded rattlemocasin. I just bought some of that .357 calibre rat shot that I'm gonna try out on the next one of those I see at my place.

you have already had a lot of replies on this, and it seems that no one likes snakes, it is the only thing that i will kill these days, my pond was very infested with snakes until we started mowing the grass down at waters edge. snakes do not like a clean enviorment, anything that they can get under rocks, boats, brush,drain pipes, they will, but if you have fish and frogs, which normally is what we strive for, you will end up with fish moccassins, cotton mouth, ( that's the real bad boy) just go out real early in morning with your weapon of choice. david903

thank you! I was sure that the wise men of pond boss would be able to identify it.

David903, I disagree. Many people like snakes and view them as part of the natural environment just like anything else.

We learn so much here on the Pond Boss forum about so many things beyond just fish. One of the most important things we learn is judgement and perspective. That is when to do something and when not to do it. Sometimes we should harvest a certain size of LMB heavily. Other times, that is the worst thing we could do.

There are so many species of snakes that do so much good that it is a huge waste to destroy them. In terms of judgement and perspective, about 5-6 people die of snake bites each year. About 50,000 people die in traffic accidents. If we're really concerned about our safety, snakes are the least of our problems.

I agree Norm, I only remove water snakes that eat the same things my fish eat. Same with turtles. Just trying to eliminate the competition. But. I will also remove poisonous snakes around the house.
However I believe the relative word is perception.
Relative to how many of our people are dying in Iraq the death toll on our highways is astronomical, but people perceive the war as a greater threat to life.
Most people likewise perceive all snakes as a threat.
I like you will always try to educate otherwise but I don't think we will win that battle.

For a bit of encouragement though I did convince my wife to catch & hold a 6' black snake with her bare hands a couple weeks ago! I even finally got her to let go of his head while she was holding him! I was proud!

Far as I can tell it looks like a bull snake.

Ric,

Without too much encourgement my wife put her hands around the neck of a 5'8" snake the other day. After a few seconds though see decided to release her death grip. Good thing too cause I was running out of oxygen

Russ

Well said David. It's far more trouble to chase snakes than to clean up the pond area.

It's also a lot easier to ignore snakes than to worry about them all the time. I think worriers get snake bitten just as much as non-worriers. (once every 97.5 years or so) So why worry?

Down here in my area, if you're afraid of snakes it takes all the enjoyment out of fishing. In fact, when go to a new pond or lake, I see snakes as a sign of good fishing to come.

You know, at 62 years of age, I don't know but one person who has been snake bit. Me! However, I stepped on the snake and was luckily wearing high top rubber boots. No damage done to anything but my underwear. I have only had one suicidal rattlesnake come after me with malice.

I've done a lot of wading in all types of water while fishing. I've seen tons of snakes in the water but they have never been a real problem. Yeah, they have startled me and made me hurt myself but have rarely shown any agression. I bet more people die of bee stings and lightning than snake bites.

Dave,
Your so reassuring. I think I'll wade in my pond this weekend.

Dave D. The real question is did you try to salvage your underwear?

Now THAT'S funny!

I don't recall being aware of the problem until I quit shaking. I'm sure it must have been poisonous. There were a couple of liquid lines on the side of my rubber boot. I mean on the outside of the boot.

Russ


I've been bitten by alot of water snakes & black racers. Both have a bad disposition when caught. They don't do much damage but sometimes get stuck & you have to peel all those backward slanted teeth loose. Kind of like pulling velcro.

I once took my sons fishing at a public pond. Two teenagers were frog gigging & had gigged a water snake. They came over & shoved it in my face asking what kind it was but really trying to scare us. I jerked the wriggling 2' snake off the gig, held him up as if to examine to determine what he was & he was dangling from my thumb. The look on their faces was worth it! I still have the gig they left when they ran. :p

I am not much of a snake guy, they move a little to fast for me. Through the years I had become complacent about them. I killed a rattlesnake about 10 years ago and saw a non poisonous snake a couple of years later, that was California. Now, I see a snake almost everyday, some in the house.
One day, not long ago, I am looking for something and move some beer cases and here is a big black snake. It is almost dark and luckily I have a flashlight, I grab a piece of pvc about 6' long, the whippy kind. The snake is attracted by the light and a couple of gentle nudges with the pvc have no affect, he keeps coming towards the light, I can't turn off the light as I won't be able to see him, catch 22. I poke him a little harder with the 4'piece of pvc, then he did a most incredible thing, he started bobbing up and down like he was gagging, then he upchucked a hens egg, which was why he was behind the cases in the first place, one of my hens likes to lay there. After he did the get rid of the egg thing I remembered the Animal Planet segment and knew he was now in a fight or flight mode and when he reared up and did a cobra thing I knew it was not a flight mode. I am now down to about 2' separating us and the 2' piece of pvc is now more like a noodle than a weapon. My secondary concern is that I am standing next to two wide open French doors and if I flee, which is my primary survival mode reaction, I leave the house unguarded. I summon what little courage I have left and poke the snake as hard as I can about 6 or 7 times. The whippy pvc is not cooperating very well but at least one of the blows must have hit as the snake turned and slowly left, about 7' long.
Within the last 10 days a neighbor of mine was snake bitten and died. I try to wear shoes more often, flip flops don't offer much in the way of protection.

Rad, you live in such a different environment than we do here in the states. Although prairie rattlesnakes can be fiesty at times, I've never talked with anyone that has ever heard of someone dying of a snake bite. However, we don't have cobras here.

I was bit by a black rat snake one time that I was holding. It scared the day lights out of me (amoung other things). When the snake saw that it couldn't swallow me, it spit me out (let go) and that was the end of it.

I thought you was going to say the snake crawled away and nearly died.

Never been bitten by a water snake, and I don't want to. Those fish-catching teeth make me very cautious. I've been tagged many times by snakes with shorter teeth. They bleed like crazy and heal up super quick. Something is going on there with the quick healing.

bobad, anything getting a taste of my blood probably should have crawled away and died. My blood is that bad. Now your blood is a different matter. Have you ever considered having your blood tested for some special healing property? Maybe something from your blood mixed with snake saliva can be some sort of miracle cure. I can hear $$$$ coming OUR way. I'll be happy for a measily 10% for mentioning the idea. Let me know when we get our first check!

A couple of days ago, I probably should have been bitten. I was working a bank of a family-owned pond and was checking for "dangerous things" in the weeds with my boot like an idiot. Kicked a fairly large green snake lightly in the head. Some sort of generic rat snake variety I'm sure, but can't positively identify as I bailed pretty quick. Definitely non-poisonous though, as I doubt that no venomous snakes in TN are bright green. Unless somebody has introduced green mambas or boomslangs without my knowledge...

Nonetheless, this should be proof that snakes aren't likely to strike unless they have very good reason, and even then they probably won't. Well, I dunno about the cobras and other elapid species that Rad might be subjected to. But I have put myself in a position to get bitten by virtually every snake species native to TN, and it ain't happened yet (knocking very deliberately on wood)...

Norm,
You are right, before I moved here I never knew anyone that had been bitten by a poisonous snake. In addition to the guy down the road, I know a lady who had her leg amputated just above the knee, snake bite, and another man who's leg is crippled, snake bite. In another post some one made a comment about a farm dog dying, no big deal you just get a new dog. I think many of these local people feel much the same about life. They don't just pop off to the doctor, they take a wait and see approach, some times a fatal decision.