How to tell the difference between a venomous snake and a non-venomous snake

Have you ever come across a snake and wondered whether or not it was venomous? Maybe you didn’t stick around long enough to find out.

In Georgia, we have 41 snakes species that are native to our state, with only 6 of those being venomous. The best way to be able to tell the difference between venomous snakes and non-venomous snakes in our state, or any state for that matter, is to learn about and study the venomous ones. This should be pretty easy to do, since there are only a small handful. It would be much easier to do this, rather than learn about all 41 of the snakes, or even the 35 that are not venomous. If you encounter a snake that is not one of the 6 (in Georgia) that you have learned about, odds are that it is non-venomous.

The venomous snakes that are native to Georgia are the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake, Pigmy Rattlesnake, Copperhead, Cottonmouth, and Coral Snake. Familiarize yourself with these!

Some common traits of venomous snakes:

1. If the snake is big and fat, it is likely a venomous snake. When dealing with adult sized snakes, all of our venomous snakes are generally big and fat, with the exception of the coral snake. All of the pit vipers have this trait.
2. They have elliptical pupils instead of round.
3. There are several species of rattlesnakes in the U.S. All rattlesnakes, with some rare exceptions, will have a true rattle.

The best way to avoid being bitten by snakes is to avoid them. Most snake bites occur as people are trying to catch snakes. Show them the respect that they deserve.

Contact us today for an estimate on keeping your yard snake free with our Snake Control service. Find out more about our Snake Control service by clicking here.