Just accept it: If you live in Florida you’re eventually going to see a snake slither by.
The good news is that the vast majority of the serpents you are likely to run across are nonvenomous, with fewer than 10 people statewide thought to have died from snake bites in the past 20 years. Countless others have been injured, though, with long-term health consequences, and next to no research into the matter, according to a recent study by University of Florida.
Here’s a handy guide to the snakes you are most likely to happen upon in the Sunshine State, including a couple you’d want to give a wide berth.
Black racers
Black racers are among the most common and harmless snakes in Florida. But they can look menacing. As juveniles, the black racer has specks or blotches and reddish coloration sometimes confused with the venomous pygmy rattlesnake, making it a target for fearful homeowners to kill.
They grow to about 4.5 feet. Adults are black or bluish-black with white markings on their chin and throat, according to Florida Museum.
They’re found throughout mainland Florida in every county and in the Florida Keys.
Like most of Florida’s harmless snakes, black racers will avoid direct contact with people and pets. Racers are not aggressive or dangerous but will bite to defend themselves. Almost all bites happen when the snakes are intentionally harassed.
Southern ring-necked snake
Another harmless pint-sized serpent, the southern ring-necked snake grows about a foot long and is the most commonly found snake species in Florida urban areas.
Adults are small and slender with a black or slate gray body and a yellowish ring across the neck, which can be incomplete or missing, according to the Florida Museum. Their belly and underside of their tail are bright yellow, orange or red.
Brahminy blind snake
This small fry’s far from scary. You’ll see plenty of them but they won’t see you. Brahminy blind snakes are in fact, functionally blind, tiny (2–6 inches), brownish-black, earthworm-like snakes with almost invisible eyes and no distinct head or tail. Native to southern Asia, they were accidentally introduced to South Florida in the 1970s via the ornamental plant trade (hence the name “flower-pot snake”). They are one of the most commonly found snakes in Florida’s urban areas.
While they don’t belong in Florida and compete with native reptiles, they’re not considered a major ecological threat.
Rat/corn snakes
Rat or corn snakes are closely related but not the same snake. Both love to climb trees and are harmless to humans.
Rat and corn snakes are all similar and part of the same genus that includes the Eastern rat snake, chicken snake, yellow rat snake, and Everglades rat snake.
Corn snakes don’t eat corn but early American farmers often found them in structures used to store corn, where they helped keep rodents in check. Their belly’s checkerboard pattern also somewhat resembles kernels of corn. They eat mice, rats, lizards and birds.
Most adults are about 3.5 to 6 feet.
Garter snakes
Garter snakes and two species of Florida brown snakes also are harmles. They’re basically everywhere in Florida, including the Keys.
While harmless, somewhat like skunks, garter snakes can emit a foul-smelling musk from glands near their tail when they feel threatened. It’s an adaptive defensive mechanism to deter predators. Water snakes, rat snakes and corn snakes have similar stinky defensive abilities.
Banded water snakes
This one might be swimming in your pond near you. Banded water snakes go just about everywhere in Florida, except for the Keys.
They’re often confused with the cottonmouth. Cottonmouths have vertically elliptical (cat-like) pupils. Water snakes have round pupils. Cottonmouths have a facial pit between the nostril and the eye. Water snakes do not.
Banded snakes eat salamanders, frogs, fish, and crayfish and are often encountered along the edges of ditches and ponds. But because of their markings, they sometimes get confused with venomous snakes, so people kill them.
Water snakes, while nonvenomous, flatten their heads when agitated and may strike repeatedly.
Venomous snakes
OK, now for the scary ones. Florida is home to six snake species capable of killing you. Usually — but not always — you can tell the danger by the triangular shape of the snake’s head.
But while triangular heads tend to be venomous, this can be misleading, UF warns. Coral snakes lack triangular heads, so color pattern is the best way to identify them. Remember: red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Red touch black, friend of Jack (or venom lack). The harmless scarlet kingsnake and the Florida scarlet snake have very similar colors.
Beware: rattlesnakes don’t always rattle before striking. So make lots of noise while walking to alert them. Keep to trails, and don’t put your hands under rocks or logs.
The most dangerous snake in America: eastern diamondback
This is the one to really look out for and not mess with. The eastern diamondback is considered the most dangerous snake in the nation. It grows to six feet and contrary to folklore, doesn’t need to rattle before striking, increasing how dangerous it is, according to the Florida Museum.
The snake preys on species considered pests but is indiscriminately killed by humans.
Cottonmouth
Cottonmouths grow to about four feet. They’re not considered aggressive and avoid direct contact with people and pets, but their bites are very dangerous to both.
Most bites happen when the cottonmouth is intentionally messed with or accidentally stepped on.
Pygmy rattlesnake
According to UF’s Florida Museum, the pygmy rattlesnake is usually a foot or two long and is found statewide, except for in the Keys. It has a painful bite but generally not considered life-threatening. But bites can be more serious to children and small pets.
Pygmy rattlers are generally not aggressive. Most bites happen when the snake is intentionally harrassed or accidentally stepped on.
Eastern coral snake
Coral snakes have distinctive markings that resemble those of the nonvenomous king snake but differ in how the colors line up: Again, as the old folk rhyme warns, “red next to yellow, kills a fellow; red on black, venom lack.”
They grow up to almost three feet and range throughout Florida. The Florida Museum has a web post on how to tell them apart from the harmless snakes that look similar: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-snake-id/snake/harlequin-coralsnake/
Visit FWC’s snake website: https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/snakes/