Why the heck did he tell me this?

[Newbie5542]

I can’t sleep and feel really terrified. My idiot neighbour this evening told me there are huge snakes where we live (in uk). I didn’t believe him and he showed me pictures on his phone. We live near a lake and I’ve been here for 2 years but not seen one. I’m terrified and can’t sleep, I know I sound crazy but please help me. I kept checking under my bed and I keep checking in on my kids. I’m a single parent and have no one in my life to help me out of this fear, I’m so afraid to sleep.

if they do exist the snakes will be scared of you and stay well away. You are safe.

@Hazeltwig i hate that image you put up! It’s scaring me.

You need a mongoose

UK snakes are probably more scared of you, than you are of them.

So there are grass snakes and adders. Grass snakes do swim but aren't venomous and DEFINITELY will not be trying to get in your house. I have never seen a snake in the UK in all of my many years of life! I genuinely don't think you need to worry about snakes in the UK.

Given he said grass snakes and showed you an adder he doesn't sound very reliable. They aren't very big and will do their best to avoid you.
They bask on paths sometimes but can sense the vibration of walking feet and will generally disappear into bushes.
Grass snakes quite like a pond as they'll eat frogs. Adders are more likely to be on heaths.

I'd love to see a grass snake in my garden.

FGS 🙄

Yeah he is taking the piss. In Aus I think they have like 19 of the worlds 20 most poisonous snakes, in Ireland where I am we have none cos our saintly patrick drove em all out cos he was a gent. The only big snakes ye get in the UK are in government so I genuinely would not be worried. You might get a large worm or something but I think you are all good ;)

Thank you everyone. 100% he’s not kidding he’s not that type of person to wind people up, he’s actually very helpful. He’s given me advice on the garden etc. the conversation came up naturally. I’m really scared.

Chances are it's a case of him believing bollocks he's seen on Facebook

I love the words of reassurance that they are not poisonous/venomous but if these were spiders we were talking this would not comfort me at all 😳. Sympathies op.

Adders aren't harmful and don't come into people's houses.
You need to ignore your stupid neighbour who's trying to freak you out for no reason.
There are no poisonous snakes in this country.

Next time he says it say 'oh that's good if there are because I saw about twenty huge rats running into your house about an hour ago. Maybe the snake will catch them?' then give him a broad smile and walk away. 🤣

Thank you for understand my fear! So I don’t want to say where we live but it’s uk, quite rural and there a big lake and small ponds where we live. Our back gardens back into a forest. It’s very green and lots of places for wildlife to hide away

I've seen an adder three times in my life, all in heathland or other remote countryside, you don't get them near houses. If you live rurally you might see a grass snake in your garden very occasionally, they're completely harmless. And both adders and grass snakes are small. Your friend is talking rubbish.

I know it’s a phobia but you’re being utterly ridiculous. A snake will not come into your house. They don’t want to be anywhere near humans.

What are you scared of though? If by some tiny chance you come into contact with a snake, it’s an even tinier chance that it’s a poisonous one or would get close enough to constrict you.

How would it get upstairs to your bedroom??

Snakes are shy.

Snakes are rarely seen in the wild in the UK.

Could he be pulling your leg in a (not so passive) aggressive move knowing you’re a single woman household?

And probably the most reassuring thing I can tell you - a massive proportion of what you see on Facebook is absolute bullshit, a wind up or at best exaggerated.

Just some thoughts!

He's being a twat - we're in a area - Gower - with 'loads of adders' - which are the only slightly dangerous ones - and they're only dangerous to dogs etc really - and they always slither off before you see them - I've NEVER seen one - we've seen loads of grass snakes which are beautiful and completely harmless.

Where are you?

ETA - I've just seen you don't want to say - but we also have a property in West Wales in about 25acres of woodland with lakes/small rivers etc - and NEVER seen an Adder there - go to sleep!

I think you need help with anxiety. I'm an arachnophobe (trying to recover) but the chance of a large spider entering my home is 'likely' on the probability scale in any given year.

The chance of a snake entering your UK home at any given point this year is '0'

@TheyreLikeUsButRichAndThin to answer your question what am I scared of - I’m scared even typing this but my fear is I’m sleeping and it’s slithering all over me. Also my fear is it’s gone into my kids room and strangling them. I can’t help it that’s where my mind is going

How long have you lived in the UK? I’ve only seen an adder (it was tiny and we were on a hike in the middle of nowhere and is really only venomous to dogs and small creatures) and a grass snake (which are harmless) once in my life. They definitely won’t come in your house. Unless you do a lot of hiking, which I assume you don’t, you’re unlikely to see either.

Ok. So acknowledge the part of your brain that knows those fears are unnecessary and listen to it!

@Miyagi99 I was born in uk but lived in city all my life. Moved here 2 years ago, it’s very countryside type of place with a huge lake near by and a few ponds near my home. Back garden backs into a huge forest

They have adders in Chester zoo, I thought it was a little pile of dog poo as it was about that size (and colour) I think the smug mouse in the gruffalo probably would have been a bit much for it.

How long have you lived in your house? Have you ever seen a snake in it before? They aren't suddenly going to start coming in just because your neighbour mentioned them.

Apparently snakes don't like the smell of clove or cinnamon so you could get your spices out and that might give you some peace of mind?

According to wildlifetrusts.org the UK has three snakes and the only long one is the harmless Grass Snake whose diet consists of amphibians, fish, small mammals and birds. According to the WT website, when confronted by a predator they play dead, so in the highly unlikely event you come across one, it's not going to do anything other than freeze. As for coming into your house, it has absolutely no reason to do so!
As a lifelong dog owner, I've spent a considerable amount of time in the environments our native snakes live in and I've never seen a single one.