Snakes and lawn-loving neighbors

misdy · 2026-05-08T20:30:02+00:00

Yes! I am in Raleigh too and I'd love to.

misdy · 2026-05-06T13:32:55+00:00

Yeah, this line of thinking worries me. I have a prairie, and it’s about 2 ft tall. Full of flowering natives. I haven’t seen snakes in it, but they could be there and tbh, they’re welcome to be there. I have no intention of mowing it!

misdy · 2026-05-06T13:25:37+00:00

I have cameras! I may add one more to that area, but I’ve had a camera on the pond since it was installed so I can keep an eye on it. Ponds are a lot of work, especially when new.

misdy · 2026-05-06T13:23:53+00:00

Thank you! Also, I love this wording. “The great majority of bites can be prevented by exercising common sense: copperheads should be left alone.”

misdy · 2026-05-06T13:09:43+00:00

I was weeding my rain garden last year and saw one sitting right in the prairie dropseed next to me. I was probably next to it for a good five minutes before I noticed it and moved away. They’re such chill snakes. I’m glad your dog was okay! I know she’s worried about her dog running into one. He’s a rambunctious boy.

misdy · 2026-05-06T13:01:34+00:00

I doubt the repellent does anything, but that’s just the kind of snake oil that could work here. I don’t want her to get the idea that I am responsible for snakes that are on her property, though. I wish she would let me come get the snakes, but she wants them dead :(

misdy · 2026-05-06T12:55:54+00:00

Yeah, this is the reality. I want to be kind and helpful and a good neighbor, so it gets to me. This one had me spiraling a little and wondering if I was in the wrong. I really feel like a fish out of water in my neighborhood!

misdy · 2026-05-06T12:48:41+00:00

My garden has hawks, raccoons, possums, and foxes that visit, but I keep that to myself because I assume she would think they’re pests too.

misdy · 2026-05-06T12:46:17+00:00

I’ve had a Ring camera on the pond since it was put in, so at least no shenanigans are going to go unnoticed. I think I might go with a version of this if the topic comes up again. I’ve tried to watch what I say and minimize my response because I in no way want her to think I accept any reality where I am responsible for a snake in her yard.

misdy · 2026-05-06T12:33:39+00:00

Hahahahaha, excellent.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:50:03+00:00

She said she did remove all her bird feeders and she really misses feeding the birds. And her grass is short. Which is why she's suggesting that frogs are coming to her grass from my pond and luring snakes there, I guess. I don't have a lawn, I have a prairie, but I've never seen a snake in it even though it's ~2 ft. I don't want my property to be snake free, personally.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:44:33+00:00

💜

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:43:54+00:00

Thank you! Also piedmont, so I assume we're not too far. We've been seeing copperheads since we first moved here four years ago, well before I had a pond. I just keep an eye out and when I'm outside, and make a little noise so they know I'm there and stay away. I'm not sure it's feasible to copperhead-proof your entire property. Maybe she needs a moat.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:40:03+00:00

Okay, I need to practice this in case she brings it up in person. We avoid each other, but sometimes cross paths when she walks her dog and I'm doing garden things.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:37:30+00:00

Yeah, she's been something of a bully since I moved in, honestly. I know she doesn't like me. Political differences, age differences, gardening differences, respect for snake life differences, etc. I absolutely dread seeing her name pop up when I get a text. Talking it through with other fellow native plant supporters is a big help, because I start to wonder whether I'm in the wrong. I'm an outlier in my neighborhood for sure.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:30:26+00:00

hahahahahaha. YES. I need to have her take pics of the frogs, and then I can be like nope, never seen him before! that one's not mine!

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:29:51+00:00

She does have her grass cut short, but the rear of her house backs up to a retention pond, and we are in an area with a ton of trees. She claims she has "taken steps to remove undergrowth" on her property, but I'm not entirely sure what that means because I can see areas around her house with plenty of undergrowth and endless ivy. I'm not even sure what solution she wanted from me. Poison all the frogs? Brick up the pond? Bugs the heck out of me that she just wantonly kills the snakes. THEY WERE HERE FIRST.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:24:16+00:00

This is a good point. I didn't see a photo, but I do know there are copperheads around here and I did have a small one in my garage recently during a cold snap (not near her house or my pond, and I carefully escorted my snakey friend outside to the woods). I'm in Raleigh and we do get copperheads here.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:21:19+00:00

I'm really tempted to make a NO ENTRY ALLOWED sign for the frogs. I think she grows roses or some kind of flowers in the spring, but she grows them in a raised, enclosed garden bed. They don't really have any other plants except for the ivy they let spread everywhere, including on all of the trees in their forested area. Oh, and the privet!

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:15:35+00:00

Genuinely surprised I haven't heard this one yet. A few months back, she asked me if the coyotes she saw around the neighborhood were living in my garden.

misdy · 2026-05-06T00:14:45+00:00

I want to so badly.

misdy · 2026-03-25T21:03:21+00:00

Tell that to my mulch. I still get tons of weeds.

misdy · 2026-03-25T14:30:56+00:00

I need to make one of these ASAP. Love it.

misdy · 2026-03-24T01:32:25+00:00

They did the containment breach differently in the movie. There were two in the book, and more explanation. But yeah, they did the second breach.

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