I grew up in central Florida. We had snakes all over the place at our
house, but our lawn bordered on a swamp on one side and a lake on the other.
In the year we lived in suburbia I only saw a few small snakes. There were
some woods nearby, though. Almost all of the snakes were harmless, though
we came across a pigmy rattler once back by the woods. However, I was a boy
who loved anything that moved, so I was alert to snakes and would hunt them
down. I don't think I ever saw any just lying about on a sidewalk. And any
that were in the open would flee if a human got too close to them. The fact
that I had to work to chase them down is good news for you. It's unlikely
you'll encounter any snakes on your jogs, though if you go digging around in
your bushes, or in high grass, you might find a few.
In the unlikely event you do see a snake, it will be about as scared of you
than you are of it. It will almost certainly flee if you get close. I
certainly wouldn't let your fear of snakes prevent you from moving to
Florida. I never heard of anyone getting harmed by a snake in a Floridian
suburbia.
Before moving to Florida, my mom was very afraid of snakes too, and just as
afraid of the alligators. She had nightmares about alligators crashing
through the sliding glass doors into our house. Of course, she raised two
boys who were rather fond of anything that moved, so she was eventually
forced to adjust to her sons catching snakes, and sometimes bringing them
into the house. She has learned they really are harmless, so no longer
minds them as much as she once did. But she still dislikes them.
As for the alligators, she now names them and enjoys watching them bask on
our lawn. Like most alligators, the ones by our house are very afraid of
people and won't let anyone get within 60 feet of them. (BTW, NEVER feed an
alligator or it will lose its fear of humans and may become dangerous.) She
even let her son bring a live baby alligator into the kitchen one day. =]
But I diverge. The bottom line is, you'll be just fine and your jogs will
almost certainly be snake free (and alligator free unless you jog around a
lake, at which point you might see one swimming away from you).
Post by Chris McMartinPost by r***@yahoo.comDid you ever see a snake in the wild when you lived in Florida? How
long did you live in Florida? I'm just trying to guage what it's like
down there. I want warm weather but snakes (and kind, any size) scare
me. I don't want to ever see a snake on the road when I go for a bicyle
ride.
Didn't see one (wasn't looking for one). Lived in the panhandle for about 6
months. If you WANT to find snakes, and know where to look, you'll find
them. If you DON'T want to find snakes, and don't hang out where the snakes
do, you will only see occasional snakes.
It sounds like you have an irrational fear of snakes (you and probably half
the population). :) Believe me, there are plenty of Floridians who are
scared to death of snakes, but they still choose to live there. Programs
exist whereby you can "desensitize" yourself such that you won't totally
freak out if you happen to see a snake in the wild.