"People that are absolutely petrified should remove everything from their yard that would potentially attract wildlife," Hall said. However, he did say if you've got bird feeders, you should probably remove those if you want to make sure snakes stay out of your yard. Hall added that if a snake does turn up in your well-kept yard, it's not going to stay for long. Basically, a yard with grass in it is a desert for most wildlife." "One other thing they can do is mow their grass a little more frequently, keeping it as low as possible. "The other thing you can do is don't do a lot of mulching around your house, or don't have lots of bushes around your house," Hall said. He said it's a good idea to check around your home to make sure there are no gaps or holes, and remove any brush piles or piles of wood/debris, as snakes and other small animals tend to like to hang out there. "If you see a snake that has blotches, not bands, it's not going to be a copperhead." "I've had people say if you look down the side, it looks like a row of Hershey's kisses on the side," Hall said. On the other hand, Hall said copperheads have bands that go around their sides, in the shape of an hourglass. While they both have blotched patterns, adult black racers are solid black, while rat snakes are a green-gray color with four black stripes that go down the length of the body, at least in the Onslow County area, Hall said. Hall said snakes frequently misidentified are juvenile rat snakes and juvenile black racers. "That is just not, it's very very frequent that's not true." "Almost every time someone sees a snake and they don't know what it is, they assume it's a copperhead," Hall said. Hall said this is important because copperheads are often misidentified. "Generally speaking, when people have encounters with snakes that they're fearful of, it's because the snake is being defensive, because it's afraid it's going to become a meal," Hall said. "One of the most important things that people can do to help learn and know about what's around them, is to learn the snake species that are in the area where they live." Hall said to note the size difference between snakes and humans, and realize snakes are usually afraid they're going to be lunch when they see a human. "If we give animals time and space, they're going to generally move on and get out of the way." "If we just get out of their way, they're going to go ahead and do whatever it is that they need to do and we don't need to have any issues with that," Hall said. He said these instances are typically when they're spotted by residents. Hall said copperheads will come out if they're looking for water, a place to hide, a mate or something to eat. Related coverage: What's that sound? Onslow likely to see increase in coyotes next few months Their goal is to try and remain hidden at all times, if they can." So, as a result, camouflage is just monumentally important for all snake species. "Most species of snakes, copperheads included, are fairly low on the food chain," Hall said. "So, there are a lot of things that want to eat them.
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