Snake Control
Water Snakes
The
Blotched-Water Snake (above: If this snake can't get from the danger it finds
itself in, this reptile will flatten it's head and neck and strike
several times in succession. Yet most
of it's strikes are bluffs, and those that do connect ordinarily result
in only a warning nip. This snake ranges in most parts of Texas and will
move on into homes and live in the attic of a rodent infest structure.
It does need water all of the time. Food source however for these types
of snakes are usually fish, toads, frogs, skinks and geckos and They will eat rodents if that is
the only nutritional support that they have at the time. They have
dark-bordered pale bars that are generally dimly evident along the
spine, while the belly is yellow, the larger of these reptiles have
scale plates that are light colored brown along the edges. The anal
plate is divided on this snake. These snakes are confused with the
western cottonmouth snake all the time but, the round pupils and the
more narrow head makes the identification easier. The western
cottonmouth has a sizable dark heat-sensing pit between the eyes and
nostril and an angular head whose flat, undercut cheeks abruptly
intersect it's crown. The cottonmouth has a rather thick body.
Yellowbelly Water Snake
The yellowbelly water snake occurs throughout East
Central Texas, the typical yellowbelly is unmarked while the posterior
edges of the belly scales are a lighter yellow. All water snakes have a
similarity with each other. Sometimes it can be difficult to I.D. these
guys on quick like basis because of the darkness of skin.
Broad-Banded Water Snake
Broad-Banded Water Snake
however, is quite different then most water snakes.
This guy can be identified easier and quick. It has a dappled yellow
belly and is usually marked with large brown rectangular patches. Some
of these snakes are very colorful and have bright red and yellow
patterns on them. Believe it or not, the female can have up to 50 live
bearing young but most are about 15. It likes to inhabit areas of water
that do not have swift currents and they are most active at night. Their
diet is like other water snakes but they do have a sweet tooth for
crawfish. So crawfish holes in high water table lands might have a
broad-banded or two.
Broad-Banded Copperhead (southern)
Venomous. Often very common in areas of ideal habitat, typically
light to moderate ground cover under a leafy sylvan canopy-including
wooded suburban residential areas. Prime deciduous forest-meadow may
support as many as 7 snakes per acre. These snakes are live-bearing and
the mating period is both late fall and early spring. Then she goes into
her winter retirement. The young can be born during the latter part of
July all the way through September. Four to eight neonates are 71/2 to
10 inches long and generally have paler dorsal pigmentation than their
parent. There are various other snakes that do resemble copperheads so
if their is a snake sighting or any inclination that there might be one
please call Nature King Pest Mgmt. for professional assistance. Pictured
below is a Broad-Banded Copperhead that was photographed in the back
yard of their house. When this type of snake is in the back yard its
time to perform some means of snake control and prevention.
Above Photo from: www.kfbphoto.
Water Moccasin (above)
Despite the cottonmouth's formidable
reputation, comparatively few people are bitten. Only about 7 percent of
Texas' snake bites involve the cottonmouth, while throughout the United
States the mortality rate is less than one person per year. Though
rarely fatal, is often serious in terms of tissue death, for while it's
toxins have far less lethal potency than those of the western
diamondback rattlesnakes, their destructiveness toward blood cells and
plasma is nearly 9 percent greater than those of the diamondback. Frogs
are this viper's most frequent prey in most locales, but they are an
indiscriminate feeder whose diet alters with the availability of
different vertebrate prey, including fish, mammals as large as the young
of muskrats and cottontails, water birds, and sizable water snakes, as
well a copperheads and smaller cottonmouths. These snakes are
live-bearing and have from 3 to 12 young (the average is about 5). The
length is from 71/2 to 11 inches.. The coloring of the cottonmouth is
dark and the body sometimes seems large in the middle but that is normal
for this snake. The cottonmouth is a water snake and has been confused
with all types of water snakes. If you have a snake encounter it is
always critical to call upon a professional Like Nature King Pest Mgmt.
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