Unless it is big, it won’t be able to kill you by constriction.
Of course, if you are in Australia, the number of different venomous snakes is much larger than in North America, where there are fewer different ones to recognize.
I love the headline “NJ residents told to beware of snakes”, then in the article says it is highly unlikely to run across one. I have lived in NJ my entire life, and unless you live in more rural areas they are rare to non existent, there was once a rattlesnake where I live in Morris County, and it was a big deal. Copperheads tend to be rural areas and in the more mountainous areas I seem to recall. In areas with a lot of brush or the like it is wise not to stick your hands in there in general without looking. NJ has a couple of species of poisonous spiders, including the black widow (which I have never seen), but you also can find hornet or wasps nests in such locations and they are mean.
Rattlesnakes and Copperheads if they see you will retreat, the only issue is if you startle them.
Put it this way, a lot more things in NJ will kill you, like the huge hungry man breakfasts at some diners, the chili dogs at some places on the NJ shore that shall remain nameless, and anything at White Castles lol. I would say traffic circles but most of them have been removed…
Just saw a beautiful (and relatively large) garter snake in the front yard! Shoo’d it off the driveway so it wouldn’t be ran over by the delivery drivers. I don’t want to scrape a splat snake off the asphalt 
1 Like
Garter snakes are good!
1 Like
We regularly have BIG milk snakes on our property (rural) in NJ. They look very similar to copperheads, so we try not to get to close, just in case we’ve misidentified! Once, one found its way into the house. A bedroom, no less. Memorable day. 
2 Likes
Interesting. No citing of water moccasins in the southeast US. Where the southern saying “mean as a snake” comes from.
2 Likes
I mentioned upthread that the map didn’t show all the venomous species, including water moccasins and coral snakes. Here’s the range map for water moccasins and coral snakes (which are related to cobras and mambas!).
1 Like
Water moccasins are the scariest. I had one chase me onto land! We were fishing on a dock, the moccasin came at us across the water raised like a cobra, attacked the fish we had on a string and hanging in the water… we left the dock to run to my friend’s truck and the snake chased us to the truck. The friend had a shotgun in the cab and my Dad dispensed of the snake.
I’ve always heard how aggressive cottonmouths can be, but thankfully that’s the only time I experienced it. I was about 13-14 at the time.
Growing up in a rural area of the South, we knew to listen for rattlesnakes and watch for cottonmouths (since we lived on a lake… which also had occasional alligators but they were not a worry, but I digress). But thankfully that was the only time I experienced anything like that. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. If anyone is a fan of the Outlander book series by Diana Gabaldon and read the part where a moccasin chased William out of the swamp… it was like that!! If I’d read the book without the personal experience I would have rolled my eyes at the dramatic license. But nope, it happens.
4 Likes
In Lonesome Dove, one of the characters was killed by a bunch of water moccasins when crossing a river. They do have a reputation for aggression.
2 Likes
I recall that scene, it was very memorable!
1 Like
I have a cousin with young children in Texas. She was walking to her car from her grandmother’s house, when she heard rattling. A large rattlesnake was about three feet away, ready to strike. She screamed and ran quickly into the house. So scary!
When I was young(10-13) my friends and I would routinely hunt for, and catch snakes. Before we knew what a milk snake was, we took for granted we were catching copperheads. We were much more careful grabbing the supposed “copperheads” than we were with garter snakes and brown snakes.
Milk snake:
Copperhead:
2 Likes
Did the milk snakes and copperheads taste different, or like chicken?
2 Likes
We were in our chicken nuggets and hot dog years. There was no chance we were branching out.
3 Likes
My son was rock climbing in eastern Oregon and while hanging off a rock came face to face with a rattler. A story I wish I had never known about.
2 Likes
Copperheads have that Hershey kiss pattern, thin at the top and broad on the bottom, that I believe no other US venomous snakes have. The Northern Watersnake, non venomous, can have sort of the same pattern but upside down like a tornado.
Copperheads are one of the few snakes that I feel comfortable identifying because of the coloring and Hershey’s kiss pattern.
Most poisonous snakes in the eastern U.S. – except for coral snakes – tend to have triangular heads, because of the venom sacs located at the back of their jaws.
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.