Have you guys considered Hawaii? Nice climate and no snakes.
I live in Central Florida. I have klled three coral snakes in the past year and the second one was in the kitchen. I only seek to kill venomous snakes like coral and moccasin and only rattlesnakes if it is in a populated area.
I don’t have a problem with snakes in general and will handle them if the situation permits. This does not extend to snakes in my house.
I’m coming up on the 25th anniversary of my Exalted Arrival in the (now-) Great State of Florida, and lemme tell you I have never had a snake in the house. I’ve seen perhaps 4 in my life – one black racer and 3 garter snakes – and it’s not something I even consider in my daily life.
I’m sick and tired of these mother- . . .
Never mind.
I’m a Florida native and have never had a snake come in my house. There is one that lives in my yard now and I see him often - @ 3’ long, black, very fast but a complete pacifist and loner.
Lizards, geckos, tree frogs, baby toads, wolf spiders (some as big as an english muffin), ladybugs, lovebugs, stinkbugs, potato bugs, black beetles, Japanese beetles, yellowjackets - these are some of the many creatures I frequently wrangle out of my crib and transport back into the wild. (Cockaroaches and moskeeters too, of course, but these are “renditioned”.)
I would think you would need a pretty big hole in your wall to allow a snake through. Unless you are in the habit of leaving your doors or unscreened windows open, snakes in the house seem unlikely–they can’t squeeze through the tiniest crack like bugs can. I grew up in the woods in Arkansas, which also has its share of snakes, and we never had one get in the house. Also, do houses in fl. normally have basements? Basements are rare in AR, and it seem like you would be more likely to find a snake in a basement than in the main house.
I’d be more afraid of old people or tourists finding their way into your house, really. Much more likely to be dangerous (particularly on highways) and they can grow to be as large as a human!
I tried to post this at 8am this morning, when it didn’t go through I copied and pasted it for later so the following reference was here first. 
Heck, you can even find Snakes On A Plane!
Okay then. In my 30some years in Florida I have had one snake in a house incident. I lived in a converted garage on a large piece of property surrounded by horse pastures and woods. One day I was in my kitchen and had a strange feeling I was being watched and I turned around to see a garter snake peeping up out of the stove. I didn’t think that was a good place for him to be but when I tried to catch him he just went back in the hole and was never seen again. I hope he left the same way he came in. I didn’t use the stove or oven for a while after that to be sure.
Yes, I tried to grab him, reptiles don’t bother me. Well, except when geckos fall on my head from the back door in the middle of the night when I let my dog out to go potty, but I freak out at first because I think they’re bugs when they first land. Stupid geckos.
Oops, I hope you aren’t afraid of geckos, too?
Saying “I’ve never seen any snakes” wouldn’t be very comforting. All that means is that the little suckers are camouflaged really, really well.
I’ve been in FL only a year but I’ve only seen 1 snake (it was walking my dog, HAW HAW HAW!)
I don’t get the impression that snakes in the house area big issue- how do you feel about lizards? Because they’re everywhere and they do get in the house (as do Palmetto bugs sometimes). You can’t get all wigged out if you see a lizard, they’re inescapable. Snakes? Nah. You really don’t come across them a lot, IMHO.
I’ve been here almost a year.
It’s pretty rural where I am; I’ve seen a garter snake curled up between the screen door and regular door, and that’s it. He quickly slithered off when I opened the door.
Have seen lots and lots of snakes, including a pygmy rattlesnake, out and about.
I did once find a scorpion in the laundryroom. :eek:
When I lived in Florida (I no longer do), in six years we had one snake in the house. Of course, it was a coral snake, in a toddler’s bedroom, so that was a bit alarming. It was very small, only about six inches long, but that didn’t buy it any sympathy from me; I killed it dead dead dead. And then revived Mrs. Khangol, who has an extreme phobia and had gone into hysterics at the sight of the little bugger (the snake, not the toddler).
Though that was the only snake we had in the house, we saw plenty of others in the yard, in other people’s yards, in parks and so forth. Most were (I believe) harmless. But water moccasins, rattlesnakes, copperheads and coral snakes can all be found in Florida. There was also the incident of the scorpion in the shower. And of course all kinds of lizards everywhere, including inside the house. The cockroaches were the worst (by which I mean “hardest to get rid of” – the house we initially rented had been vacant for several months, and they had taken over the place; it took a year of steady visits from Dave The Bug Man to get them under control). I believe no house was ever totally and permanently free of them. Spiders, of course – somebody has already mentioned the wolf spiders. Some friends of ours kept several in the house intentionally, to combat the roaches. You had to be careful putting on your shoes or jacket when you were leaving their place.
In general, the bugs and lizards are much more commonly seen, both inside and out, than any kind of snake. But yes, snakes can and do get in, on occasion. (I’m sure the probability is diminished by living in an upper floor of a city condo; we lived in single-family ranch houses the whole time we were in central Florida.)
Our dog found a snake in our backyard yesterday and was playing with it, grabbing it and tossing it up in the air.
It managed to find it’s way to my beautifully overgrown Confederate Jasmine that has swallowed our chain link fence.
Our dog found a snake in our backyard yesterday and was playing with it, grabbing it and tossing it up in the air.
It managed to find its way to my beautifully overgrown Confederate Jasmine that has swallowed our chain link fence.
I lived in FL for over 30 years, and yep…critters do get into the house sometimes.
I think it depends on where you live, though. One house was in an area with some empty lots and some wooded areas nearby, and we had snakes in that house about four times that I recall (2 rattlers, one coral snake, and a little green snake of some type).
Now, every place I lived in FL I have had palmettos, geckos, skinks, tree frogs, etc get in. Closed doors/windows or not, the little suckers can seem to find a way.
I live in CO now, and I really don’t miss finding the unofficial “pets” running loose.
Khangol-
I just wrote an article on random southern critters recently, and a herpetologist I interviewed told me that the baby snakes are actually more dangerous. Apparently if they do happen to strike, they release all their venom-sac control is still immature, and it’s a biological thing to make sure they kill their prey and are able to feed themselves. An adult snake wuld withhold venom somewhat or entirely when striking because they’d know we were too large to consume. Or so said he.
I wouldn’t have thunk it. I’d think the bigger the snake the bigger the threat, but apparently not…
I lived in Florida for years as a child and we did get one snake in our house.
Saw several in the yard over the years. They enjoy playing chicken with lawn mowers.
Oh yeah, snakes a plenty here in Florida. Every single house has at least thirty to fifty snakes living inside the walls, and all of them deadly poison. This is an absolute scientific fact. It’s a real problem, especially in areas where big new housing developments go up in formerly pristine wilderness. Invariably the most recently built houses are the most thoroughly infested. The snakes move right in, slithering through even the tiniest crevices between molecules, swarming straight up sheer vertical surfaces. The venomous flying snakes, recently introduced from Borneo, sail right through any open window in flocks of eighty at a time. They all crawl out at night after you’ve gone to bed and gleefully warm themselves by nestling up tightly against your sleeping flesh, lips and other structures; during the day they generally shelter behind or inside the toilet bowl, or else lie around basking on the kitchen floor, smoking crack. I can see dozens of them just from where I’m sitting right now, I swear by all that is holy. You can hear their scales rasping together inside the walls. Eventually you do get used to them, after the first few clutches of eggs hatch inside your body. In fact I just completed a richly detailed replica of Jefferson’s Monticello constructed entirely of castoff sheds and eyecaps. Yes indeed, these big new sprawling housing developments being built over Florida’s wetlands and xeric pine habitats are simply bursting at the seams with serpenty slithery snakes of all sizes imaginable. Please tell all your friends.
The true part: so far I have found a grand total of one snake actually living indoors, a tiny and very harmless Southern Ringneck that decided to take up residence inside the pedal cavity of the electric organ for some reason.
My Mom stays in FL in the winter and keeps an RV at a spot year round. Our neighbors informed us that last Summer a 5 ft. Alligator had taken up residence under her trailer. It was discovered only after one of her 8lb. Maltese had sniffed it out at night. Luckily, the dog kept its distance and the Alligator was sluggish from a cold night, so disaster was averted. The Gator Gitter was called and that Gator and its lesser, soon to be discovered, 3ft. partner was gotten and safely removed.
Word of warning I have been awoken by a tree frog hopping on my bare leg in the middle of the night when staying there. I then spent 10 minutes trying to catch him and get him outside (They are incredible jumpers and can stick to any surface thanks to the suction cups on their feet.). Cute little fellas, though.
I worked in Florida during the summer the past couple years and I saw a bunch of snakes. Mostly rattlesnakes and water moccasins. My dad is working as a lineman in Florida and he asked for a piece of rope while he was in the bucket and one of his helpers handed him a snake. :eek:
Oh yea, about the snakes…
Never saw a live one in Florida, a dead one once.
Our neighbors did see a Florida Bobcat prowling our streets once.