Venomous Snakes Of NC

[Jeffrey]

No, they aren't. One is a pit viper, one is simply a mean foul smelling bastard.

A politician by any other name.

[left_hook_lacey]

I grew up in the middle of nowhere on the border of Jones and Lenoir county. We could ride dirt bikes and 4-wheelers for hours and never cross a road. There are some woods out there that if you go deep enough in, you'll think you've stepped back in time to the days of the settlers. If you get lost and it's starting to get dark, you start to get a slow thought coming into the back of your mind that you may never see another human being again. We used to see a lot of eastern diamondbacks around there, more than timber rattlers. But that isn't the case anymore. 9 times out of 10 if someone sees one it's a timber rattler these days.

Anyway, a friend of mine that we used to ride with had a GIGANTIC eastern diamondback rattler stuffed and mounted on his living room coffee table, in a curled position with his mouth open like he was mid-strike. It was truly unnerving the first time you walked in to see that monster. I looked at the sheer size of it and thought about what it would be like walking up on that behemoth in the woods.

My friend's dad worked for a timber company and he was in the deep woods on most days. He had a run in with that snake, which is how it ended up on the coffee table. It's hard to tell how long it actually was because it was curled up, but I'd be willing to put some serious pie's on it that it was approaching that state record of 8' you mentioned.

[devildeac]

Surprised no mentions of roy, bubba or swof yet, some of the most dangerous, poisonous varmints in NC.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Surprised no mentions of roy, bubba or swof yet, some of the most dangerous, poisonous varmints in NC.

"Roy Williams is a snake, man."

-Tydreke Powell, former UNC footballer

[rasputin]

"Roy Williams is a snake, man."

-Tydreke Powell, former UNC footballer

Are you implying that UNC people speak with forked tongues?

[devildeac]

"Roy Williams is a snake, man."

-Tydreke Powell, former UNC footballer

Great find. I'd forgotten about that quote.

[Devilwin]

I grew up in the middle of nowhere on the border of Jones and Lenoir county. We could ride dirt bikes and 4-wheelers for hours and never cross a road. There are some woods out there that if you go deep enough in, you'll think you've stepped back in time to the days of the settlers. If you get lost and it's starting to get dark, you start to get a slow thought coming into the back of your mind that you may never see another human being again. We used to see a lot of eastern diamondbacks around there, more than timber rattlers. But that isn't the case anymore. 9 times out of 10 if someone sees one it's a timber rattler these days.

Anyway, a friend of mine that we used to ride with had a GIGANTIC eastern diamondback rattler stuffed and mounted on his living room coffee table, in a curled position with his mouth open like he was mid-strike. It was truly unnerving the first time you walked in to see that monster. I looked at the sheer size of it and thought about what it would be like walking up on that behemoth in the woods.

My friend's dad worked for a timber company and he was in the deep woods on most days. He had a run in with that snake, which is how it ended up on the coffee table. It's hard to tell how long it actually was because it was curled up, but I'd be willing to put some serious pie's on it that it was approaching that state record of 8' you mentioned.

Those areas are in the eastern diamonback's historical range.

There are still some around, but they are critically endangered in NC.

[Devilwin]

Another sad thing for the eastern diamondback, although it's listed as critically endangered in NC and Louisiana, and declining in SC, the USFWS refuses to afford it federal protection throughout its range. The protection it has in the two states listed above are from the State legislatures, and not the Feds.
Here is the state by state status for the eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
North Carolina
Critically endangered
Population very scattered, total individuals probably less than 400.

South Carolina
Stable on barrier islands, slight decline on disjointed inland populations.
Populations probably 4500-6500 individuals.

Georgia
Stable on barrier islands, fairly common in inland habitats.
Population probably 15,000-23,000 individuals.


Florida
Common throughout the state. Total population estimates 50,000+ individuals.

Alabama
Fairly common in coastal plain. Population 9,000-13,000. Declining.

Mississippi
Declining in coastal plain. No barrier island population. Total population estimated at 2300-2600 total.

Louisiana
Critically endangered, if indeed it still persists there. Total population certainly less than 100, if at all.

Florida and Georgia are the last stronghold for this iconic rattlesnake. The Feds need to step up to the plate.

[bird]

Don't forget about the snakes of Virginia:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...use/699163001/

[TruBlu]

It is not surprising that no one has mentioned the most deadly NC snake. The dreaded Hoop snake of the Appalachian mountains.

It is very aggressive, and chases down it’s prey (usually human) by getting its tail in its mouth to form a hoop (hence the name Hoop snake). It then rolls down the hill to strike the fleeing victim from behind. Paralysis and death is instant, causing the victim to die standing upright. The Hoop snake is also cunning, in that it will straighten out and actually prop up the victim for extended periods, hoping to lure other curious humans into the area in order to attack them. Whole families have been slaughtered this way on mountain farms.

Very few people have witnessed an attack and survived, which is why hardly anyone knows about the Hoop snake. But my Grandpa said he knew one surviving witness, who promptly moved to Coastal NC, where there are no hills for the snake to use for gathering it’s speed.

Be careful up there folks.

[Devilwin]

My Grandfather told me about that dreaded reptile when I was a kid, but then, he also told me he ran over a rattler, the snake bit his tire, and the tire became so swollen it turned the car over..lol

[lotusland]

It is not surprising that no one has mentioned the most deadly NC snake. The dreaded Hoop snake of the Appalachian mountains.

It is very aggressive, and chases down it’s prey (usually human) by getting its tail in its mouth to form a hoop (hence the name Hoop snake). It then rolls down the hill to strike the fleeing victim from behind. Paralysis and death is instant, causing the victim to die standing upright. The Hoop snake is also cunning, in that it will straighten out and actually prop up the victim for extended periods, hoping to lure other curious humans into the area in order to attack them. Whole families have been slaughtered this way on mountain farms.

Very few people have witnessed an attack and survived, which is why hardly anyone knows about the Hoop snake. But my Grandpa said he knew one surviving witness, who promptly moved to Coastal NC, where there are no hills for the snake to use for gathering it’s speed.

Be careful up there folks.

Unlike the Basilisk, one can at least reason with a hoop snake by employing basic parseltongue.

[Newton_14]

The black widow is the only dangerous spider found across NC.
The brown recluse spider's range barely touches western NC, where it is extremely rare. Sometimes, however, these spiders hitch a ride on trucks from the midwest to our state, and establish colonies, which rarely last for long.
There was a case a few years ago of a student bitten by a brown recluse in Greensboro. The attending doctor confirmed the bite. The student then went to another facility for treatments, where it was discovered it was only some sort of staph infection, not a bite at all. The sloughing off of skin around the wound mimics the bite of the brown recluse.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...mDH78gWiCvYy_z

Great thread and thanks for putting so much data into it! I do disagree on both the cottonmouth and the brown recluse. I live in Granville County and I have seen cottonmouth's more than a few times in my life, and I killed one directly behind my house by my shed about 7 years or so ago. Brown Recluse were plentiful when I was a kid, especially in and around our very large, square grapevine that was structured exactly like a square tent in our front yard when I was growing up. Loved that thing! Made a great play area for a little boy in those days! I don't see them nearly as frequently as I used to but I still see them on occasion. A friend of mine at work back in the 90's got bit on the bottom of his wrist by a brown recluse and suffered for weeks. We thought the boy's arm was going to rot off. Nasty infection. Similar with another guy at work who got bit on the hand by an adult copperhead. He had one of those round concrete bowls that had a tree in it but the tree had died and his wife wanted it pulled out and re-potted with a new tree. Lots of dead leaves/etc in it. The snake was on the inside of the entire perimeter of the bowl and bit him when he grabbed the base of the tree to pull it out. Poor guy missed two full weeks of work in agony.

I will probably see one tomorrow just because of stating this but for the first time, maybe ever, i have not happened upon a snake at any point this year on our farm. Not even the plentiful common black/rat snake. I have happened upon many of the different types of NC snakes in my day, one of which was the multi-colored red/yellow/black snakes. Always assumed it was a King Snake but could not be certain. Unlike my buddy Chris, I do not like snakes.. at all... kind of similar to how I feel about uncFraud actually.

The only snake I have ever handled and actually like is the green snake. They are very nice and do not try to bite you when you pick them up. Those are cool.

I do caution all the "city boys" at work to never walk at night here in the Triangle without a good flashlight because copperheads are nocturnal and most often come out at night to feed. Even in mostly pavement/cement neighborhoods it is just not safe to walk at night without a light. Good way to get bit and experience that $100K ER visit Lotusland opined about above...

Again, great thread and thanks for putting it up.

[Devilwin]

I asked Scott McNeeley of McNeeley pest control about brown recluse spiders a few years ago, and he confirmed that while they are native only to far western corner of the state, on occasion they come in from mid western shipments and establish small colonies in other parts of the state. Usually, Scott assured me, these colonies are of short duration and rarely spread beyond a few acres. That could possibly be the origin of the ones you saw. A state entomology survey a few years checked reports of brown recluse spiders in a Raleigh neighborhood. They inspected 50 homes, inside and out, and found not one single brown recluse.
As for cottonmouths in Granville, while that county is outside the known historic range of that species, it is close enough for a wandering cottonmouth to show up there.
Cottonmouths are often the dominant snake species where they occur, because where they exist, other snakes are on the menu. The Green Swamp area of the Nature Conservancy lands near Shallotte, is just plain lousy with cottonmouths. We counted 14 in a two mile section of Juniper Creek, and those were just the ones we observed. God knows how many were out of sight.
There are several harmless water snakes found across NC, that are mistaken for the cottonmouth. One, in particular, the Northern water snake, looks a lot at first glance like a cottonmouth. But if you disturb a swimming snake, and it dives below the surface, it's harmless. Cottonmouths almost always stay on top of the water.
Cottonmouths also have the "cat's eye" slit pupils, while harmless species have round pupils. The only venomous snake here that has round pupils is the coral snake, which is an elapid species, related to cobras and mambas. Our other venomous species are pit vipers.
Here is a range map and more info on the cottonmouth.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...kbKxb0B2zkObzW

[CameronBornAndBred]

One of the fun facts about the vipers we have is that they don't lay eggs, but essentially give a live birth with the babies born in amniotic sacks. When I was younger and in my childhood home, my friend and I were whacking a golf ball around my yard. I knocked one into the woods, and when I was poking around in the leaves with my club looking for it, I uncovered a mother copperhead and her freshly birthed kids, still in those sacks. I covered her back up, thankful that I was using my golf club and not my hands.

[Devilwin]

One of the fun facts about the vipers we have is that they don't lay eggs, but essentially give a live birth with the babies born in amniotic sacks. When I was younger and in my childhood home, my friend and I were whacking a golf ball around my yard. I knocked one into the woods, and when I was poking around in the leaves with my club looking for it, I uncovered a mother copperhead and her freshly birthed kids, still in those sacks. I covered her back up, thankful that I was using my golf club and not my hands.

Very true. I saw a female copperhead actually giving birth while fishing the New River near Sparta in September 2011. She was lying next to a log about ten feet from the water's edge. I had just caught a glimpse of her as she convulsed, and went over to watch. There were three neonates
(newborns) tearing out of their membranes already, and she expelled another while I was watching. It's true that pit vipers don't lay eggs, but give birth to live young. The coral snake is our only venomous snake we have that does lay eggs.
Often you hear of people finding "baby copperheads". Baby copperheads have bright yellow tail tips, which fade as they age. Usually the snakes people find are harmless species, such as milk snakes, or the mole king snake. Baby black rat snakes are banded in coloration, not black like adults, and are probably the most commonly mistaken species.
Also, another fun fact is that all pit vipers vibrate their tails when alarmed, not just rattlers.

[Newton_14]

Great thread and thanks for putting so much data into it! I do disagree on both the cottonmouth and the brown recluse. I live in Granville County and I have seen cottonmouth's more than a few times in my life, and I killed one directly behind my house by my shed about 7 years or so ago. Brown Recluse were plentiful when I was a kid, especially in and around our very large, square grapevine that was structured exactly like a square tent in our front yard when I was growing up. Loved that thing! Made a great play area for a little boy in those days! I don't see them nearly as frequently as I used to but I still see them on occasion. A friend of mine at work back in the 90's got bit on the bottom of his wrist by a brown recluse and suffered for weeks. We thought the boy's arm was going to rot off. Nasty infection. Similar with another guy at work who got bit on the hand by an adult copperhead. He had one of those round concrete bowls that had a tree in it but the tree had died and his wife wanted it pulled out and re-potted with a new tree. Lots of dead leaves/etc in it. The snake was on the inside of the entire perimeter of the bowl and bit him when he grabbed the base of the tree to pull it out. Poor guy missed two full weeks of work in agony.

I will probably see one tomorrow just because of stating this but for the first time, maybe ever, i have not happened upon a snake at any point this year on our farm. Not even the plentiful common black/rat snake. I have happened upon many of the different types of NC snakes in my day, one of which was the multi-colored red/yellow/black snakes. Always assumed it was a King Snake but could not be certain. Unlike my buddy Chris, I do not like snakes.. at all... kind of similar to how I feel about uncFraud actually.

The only snake I have ever handled and actually like is the green snake. They are very nice and do not try to bite you when you pick them up. Those are cool.

I do caution all the "city boys" at work to never walk at night here in the Triangle without a good flashlight because copperheads are nocturnal and most often come out at night to feed. Even in mostly pavement/cement neighborhoods it is just not safe to walk at night without a light. Good way to get bit and experience that $100K ER visit Lotusland opined about above...

Again, great thread and thanks for putting it up.

lol. I called it DW! Found a snake in my garage about an hour ago ha! Trying to figure out how to post the pic from my phone .

[Newton_14]

Ok, so encountered both of these around the house and honestly have no clue what kind of spider this is... the other one I assume is some type of moth but I had never seen one with that coloring... Any ideas?

[Devilwin]

The spider is a male garden spider, aka "writing spider". No clue on the moth.

[camion]

Depending on size, the moth could be a leopard moth or a giant leopard moth.