Down here we have lots of copperheads, sometimes see several within a few minutes on the trails at East End Park in Kingwood. Also water moccasins. If you spend a lot of time in the woods you'll spot a coral snake. They like to hang out under the pine needles and leaves. Neighbors have been bitten by timber rattlers here, I have yet to see one.
So far I was bit once by a western diamondback near Austin and a Water Moccasin near the San Jacinto river. Both were in tall grass.
I'd like to avoid being bit again.
Having said that I generally tolerate snakes as long as they are not around the house. I've haven't killed any yet. I'm also careful to identify them before bothering them. Hognose snakes and water snakes look scary but really aren't.
Hognose snakes are one of the coolest snakes, I think. When I was a kid,we always went snake hunting and the Hognose was my favorite and hard to find. They are a lot of fun, they play possum and act like a cobra. I heard they won't bite, and none of the ones I caught ever bit me. I even stuck my finger up to their mouth while it was open, and they would just pull their head back.
