Wildlife? CC on private land? Some questions...

[PulsatingBeaver]

I have some questions that might be obvious but, i dont know the answers. First off, Are there snakes in NOVA? I mean has anyone seen them around here? Are they abundant here? Im asking becasue the weather is changing and the grass is growing. Pretty soon ill have to mow the lawn, and we a ton of lawn to cut. Half of my backyard is wooded and desolet, no one goes back there unless its me mowing the few patches of grass. Im terrified of snakes and any info would help.

Second topic. I dont have a CHP and cannot get one becasue im not 21 yet, im 19. I have a .22 revolver, can i conceal it while i cut the grass(on my own property) just in case there is a snake hiding in the grass?

[Alex]

IIrc, cc on your own property is ok under VA law. And if its not, you should be fine to oc.

As to the snakes, I haven't personally heard of nova being a snake area, but snakes are found most everywhere in VA, in some capacity. Usually, they come out of wooded areas to nest under foundations of houses, or hang out near wood piles or the like.

Hope it helps, and for what its worth, a good impact weapon might work better for your purposes.

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[joeshmo]

I have seen copperheads in nova and a ton of rat snakes.

[jdonovan]

I First off, Are there snakes in NOVA?

yes

I mean has anyone seen them around here?

yes

Are they abundant here?

no

Im terrified of snakes and any info would help.

get a riding lawnmower.

CC on your own property is fine. Just don't forget and walk across the street to talk to a neighbor.

[newdovo]

...for what its worth, a good impact weapon might work better for your purposes.

A shovel is a classic snake killer. Helps you keep your distance, too.
I've killed several snakes with a machete, also. The shovel was available, but it just seems cooler to use a machete. You do have to get closer, though. Oh, and if you have a sheath you can wear it on your belt.

[PulsatingBeaver]

I have seen copperheads in nova and a ton of rat snakes.

Im so paranoind now! SH%T

[PulsatingBeaver]

IIrc, cc on your own property is ok under VA law. And if its not, you should be fine to oc.

As to the snakes, I haven't personally heard of nova being a snake area, but snakes are found most everywhere in VA, in some capacity. Usually, they come out of wooded areas to nest under foundations of houses, or hang out near wood piles or the like.
Hope it helps, and for what its worth, a good impact weapon might work better for your purposes.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

One of the back corners of our yard is a huge pile of wood... im so terrified now. Also i once found a turtle in the pile, odd becasue we dont live near water.

[joeshmo]

Dont be paranoid, I have only seen copper heads in rocky areas such as difficult run and great falls park. No reason to be scared of a rat snake, all they want to do is get away from.

[PulsatingBeaver]

Dont be paranoid, I have only seen copper heads in rocky areas such as difficult run and great falls park. No reason to be scared of a rat snake, all they want to do is get away from.

i sound like such a punk right now, but thats probably the most frighting thing to me. You will never see me at greatfalls ever again!

[sigster]

I run into copperheads every year here at home. If you're that worried, get a good pair of leather boots and a pr of leather leggings for when you mow. Copperheads are mostly ankle/calf biters.
They like woodpiles, rocks, leaf piles, etc.

[SHMIV]

Beaver, here in Williamsburg, copperheads are pretty common. At this point, I've cut hundreds of square miles worth of ridiculously tall grass, and I've done so with out ever encountering a snake of any sort. I typically find copperheads when tromping through the woods. I've only found them near the house twice. Those instances are separated by two decades, and they were babies both times.

Just take your time, and pay attention to the ground around you.

As for the other snakes, Joe is right; they have about as much interest in a Beaver encounter as you've got in a snake encounter. They won't mess with you.

[Nemo24]

The vibration of the mover will get rid of most snakes you'd otherwise encounter on the open grounds. It's the ones in the tree branches ABOVE you that you have to worry about. They don't seem to care about the lawn mower noise.

Of the tree-dweller species' ( or "lurkers", as I call them), the worst one in the NoVa area is the Greater Bark Snake. The adults can reach up to 8 feet long and are a dull grey or dark brown in color (hence the name). They usually hunt prey by laying flat along thicker tree branches 6- to 10- feet above ground and dropping on wild game that happens by, simultaneously biting and constricting. Deer, cows, and horses are especially susceptible. Their eyesight is good but they mostly rely on their sense of smell ("tasting the air" with their tongues) to detect prey.

Basically, any medium- to large mammal with a thin hide is vulnerable to the Greater Bark Snake.

Good luck!

[jdonovan]

Copperheads and eastern diamondback rattle snakes are the only two poisonous snakes that are found in the NE part of the state.

Both are relatively uncommon in the more populated areas of NoVA.

The 'common' snakes... garters, black/grey rat, racers et-al are highly beneficial, and if possible please leave them alone. I understand you are afraid of them, but try to back away, they will probably head the other direction and you can avoid killing them.

The #1, best, snake prevention, is getting rid of the snakes food source. If there is no snake chow in the area they will move along to somewhere there is food.

[skeeterss0]

Of the tree-dweller species' ( or "lurkers", as I call them), the worst one in the NoVa area is the Greater Bark Snake. The adults can reach up to 8 feet long and are a dull grey or dark brown in color (hence the name). They usually hunt prey by laying flat along thicker tree branches 6- to 10- feet above ground and dropping on wild game that happens by, simultaneously biting and constricting. Deer, cows, and horses are especially susceptible. Their eyesight is good but they mostly rely on their sense of smell ("tasting the air" with their tongues) to detect prey.

Basically, any medium- to large mammal with a thin hide is vulnerable to the Greater Bark Snake.



Read more: http://vagunforum.net/post115816.html#p ... z1pIfxV1lh

Ok, the kid was paranoid enough about watching the ground, now he's gonna be looking up in all the trees too.

[Reverenddel]

Nemo for the win... When you're using a gas mower, it shakes enough to send the scaled packin'...

A small yard hoe with a sharpened edge ain't cool looking, but long enough to dispatch the snake, and curved enough to hook it, and chuck it into the woods... Where mice and small birds will dance about it, and praise your name...

Otherwise, no worries about them.

[PulsatingBeaver]

The vibration of the mover will get rid of most snakes you'd otherwise encounter on the open grounds. It's the ones in the tree branches ABOVE you that you have to worry about. They don't seem to care about the lawn mower noise.

Of the tree-dweller species' ( or "lurkers", as I call them), the worst one in the NoVa area is the Greater Bark Snake. The adults can reach up to 8 feet long and are a dull grey or dark brown in color (hence the name). They usually hunt prey by laying flat along thicker tree branches 6- to 10- feet above ground and dropping on wild game that happens by, simultaneously biting and constricting. Deer, cows, and horses are especially susceptible. Their eyesight is good but they mostly rely on their sense of smell ("tasting the air" with their tongues) to detect prey.

Basically, any medium- to large mammal with a thin hide is vulnerable to the Greater Bark Snake.

Good luck!

if this were the case i would book it to NY, i dont care for guns as much as i though... scary to think anyway. Thank you for the years of psych evaluation that i will need now...

[Nemo24]

Nemo for the win...

[dorminWS]

A few points about poisonous snakes:

I have more than once encountered copperheads in berry bushes and even laurel thickets at or above eye-level while trout fishing or berry picking. I think they must do that to try to catch birds. There's nothing like being busy fishing or picking huckleberries and suddenly realizing you are FACE-TO-FACE with a copperhead. I've never picked berries or fished in NOVA, but it dang sure happens in SW VA. I've also seen copperheads not only around water; Ive seen them go into a lake and swim.

I fear the timber rattler much less than the copperhead. Sometimes they might even warm you by rattling. But not always. They are more predictable. You can usually count on only seeing them in the woods. Big thing to remember about them is that in the springtime; if you see one and avoid it, be watchfull for its mate.

One last thing: I know some folks who found a cottonmouth water moccassin in their boat in SOUTHERN OHIO. They aren't supposed to be up there. The cottonmouth lives in abundance not too far south of NOVA; and there is the intercoastal waterway not too far away. Once in a blue moon, one of them turns up out of its normal range.

Everything everybody has said about snakes on this post is good information (except the bark snake, which I never heard of and about which I assume somebody was either joking or using a different name for some harmless snake). But you cannot safely assume that a damned snake will always, or will never, do a certain thing. The only safe thing to do is WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WHAT'S AROUND YOU.


When I was a boy, we used to go out and actually catch rattlesnakes for the hell of it. I never encountered a snake that didn't want to get the heck away from me unless I provoked it first.