Your Dad is a farmer and likely knows all about this and has it under control. I wouldn't worry about the strange critters like the one that just startled you and your sister. It's easier said than done though.
Knowing something about them makes it possible to greatly lessen the chances of you ever seeing them around the house.
State extension agents called me in to teach farmers and others about pest control, etc. Instead of going into a class on this I'll just give a short outline that might help alleviate anxiety and help you feel safer. Some of these you probably already know.
1. Mornings and evenings are when you are most likely to see snakes on the roads. They like to warm up and regulate their temperature before becoming active. Just keep your eyes open and look forward instead of down in front of your feet when on trails or walks. They will usually be seen in sunny areas or openings in the woods, especially around clearings and bolder fields.
2. Don't try to kill them. That increases the likelihood of getting bitten as they become defensive. If you see one, freeze. Remain still. Often they will crawl away when they calm down. Many varieties vibrate their tails besides rattle snakes. That means they are frightened. When they feel frightened, they rattle their tails. Sometimes even harmless snakes sound like a rattler in dry leaves. They don't want to eat you. You are a giant monster to them. They don't want to be stepped on. If you must move, do so slowly. Once you have a visual, just remain still until they are calm, then back away.
3. I'm going from memory. Forgive me if I forgot, but I think you said you were in Tennessee. If that's the case, from memory, your state has Timber Rattlers, Pygmy Rattlesnakes, Southern Copperheads, Water Moccasins. Those are your venomous snakes. Can you think of any others?
Get on some web sites to see pictures of them from different angles, side, above, etc.
Take special mental notes of their triangular head shapes, abrupt change in diameter at the necks. Don't worry about the eye pupils. You probably won't be close enough to see that detail. Look at pattern. Memorize them and review with videos and pics once in a while. This would be good to teach your little brothers and sisters too. You could even make worksheets with pictures of each and the potions of them. Let them write down the answers.
4. Your biggest exterminators are the ones the Lord already made.
@Old Man already posted a very good photo of a Black Racer. They also eat small venomous snakes. The best are the Rat Snakes. I'm not sure which variety are in your area. There are Black Rat snakes up here. Other regions they are grey or yellow. There are corn snakes too. Milk Snakes are smaller but similar in appearance. Then there are King Snakes. These are all good to have on your property. They will eat copperheads and rattlers better than most anything else. They are like little boa constrictors that wrap their prey and once the rattlesnake is dead, eat it whole. This goes for all I mentioned. You might be fortunate enough to have bull snakes that far south. Those are good hunters too.
The fact is if you have neighbors who kill all snakes, and have the attitude that the only good snake is a dead snake; they will assure that you will have venomous varieties in the area intrude into yours. You will also have rodents.
5. If there is a food source, they will come. They like shelter and they like mice/ rodents. Wood piles and especially sheets of metal on the ground are the areas around homes they are attracted to. Times I traveled south, I would sometimes check under metal roofs that blew off or collapsed in abandoned neighborhoods.
They warm up under them, get shelter from sun and rain as well as find moles and mice there.
6. Wherever you have mice, you will eventually find snakes. I welcome Black "Rat" Snakes. They keep the field mouse population down out on the back 50. I seal off the crevices under siding and above the foundation but when the weather gets cold, they travel to look for shelter. I used to have a harmless black snake I rescued from the road. He stayed in the Yard and was very friendly. I never had a rodent problem until the meter reader went out of his way to kill my semi wild pet that was sleeping next to my porch at the time.
7.. I'll wrap it up unless you have any questions. Then I'll answer it tomorrow. What can you and your siblings do to help prevent potentially dangerous venomous snakes from getting into your living, work and play areas?
A. Teach them how to identify all snakes in your area. Test them on it periodically. I would do that since you are in a venomous snake habitat.
Teach them to leave them alone. Rattlers especially are known to travel long distances and are probably just passing through on its way out.
If they leave them alone, they will leave you alone. If you have God's natural exterminators around, the Rattler won't be there long.
B. Welcome any non venomous snakes as friends of the family. It sounds funny, but they can't do any damage. They are there because you have rodents that need to be eaten. Rodents spread disease and damage food. Once they are gone, the snake(s) will move onto better hunting grounds. Snakes are better than the exterminators that spray toxic poisons everywhere and harm health. I used to attend a church that had a very big preacher who was terrified of the harmless snakes at the edge of the wooded area we were at. I offered to get rid of the mice that came into the back classrooms and the snakes by sealing entrance ways, setting traps behind the building, etc.
He refused my free service, but instead hired exterminators to spray poison monthly. We always knew when because a bunch of us were coughing and feeling unwell after they did.
I can't forget two more.
C. Poultry....If you raise chickens or livestock, their feed will attract mice. You already knew that, but others are going to read this. Maybe they didn't.
D. My Lil Fluffer just walked over to me to remind me to tell you about her. She said, "What about me??"
If I find a snake, I'll eat em up!"
Yes, even though opossums eat eggs, chicks and pullets if unprotected at night, they eat snakes like hot dogs at a cookout. They have a lot of immunity from the venomous ones so they can be helpful at work while you sleep.
Now you can feel safer in your own special habitat. 🍵🙂👍
Can I have some barbeque sauce with this?
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...it did manage a very regal look tho, just standing there). But I could tell that it was 'giant' because it was standing beside the tree that I could conveniently use as a comparative measure. I remember thinking, "wow, that bird is big enough to saddle" but, again, I've yet to retrieve any successful search results as to exactly what type of bird it was. But I can't watch the eagle's coming to retrieve Samwise and Frodo without thinking of it (but it wasn't quite as big as that big, but it did stand as tall as the trunk of the oak).
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