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.

Yes we do have adders. You are being very dramatic. Start thinking logically. Have you ever seen an Adder in the wild in your whole life? No

I live in Australia and our house backs onto bushland (national park), we are at the edge of our suburb. We have a lot of wildlife in our area, including snakes, lace monitors (big lizards), spiders, bird life and possums. So I can say from experience that while they may come near the house, once they see a human, they scuttle away. Except the magpies who have learned if they come into the house they can get the scraps from the dog’s breakfast 🙄 I truly think you are save from any of your local snakes coming into your home.

The snakes in our area are pythons and they are big - one to two metres long. But they are shy and don’t like humans. We coexist but they leave us alone. The thing that keeps them away are animals. Since we got our dog, we’ve only seen a snake a couple of times in the last few years, and they have been out behind the fence in the bush. Cats are pretty effective as well. If you are truly concerned, get a pet.

Your neighbour isn’t really well informed, I wouldn’t use him as a guide. But I understand your concern. Give it a few days and once you don’t see any snakes, hopefully you will feel more comfortable. After a lot of rain a couple of weeks ago, I found a funnel web in the house, it had come inside to escape the weather. Snakes don’t worry me but funnel webs do and I freaked out. I checked everything in the house thoroughly for a few days, and then started to calm down about it. So I understand your worry but give it a few days and trust what you see and experience rather than your neighbour’s alarmist views.

My dad ran one over in his car once and he cried 😂. They love sitting out in the sun on really warm days and it’s a hard job to spot them sometimes. My dog stepped on one, it raised its hard defensively and then quickly disappeared. They have been known to cause all sorts of issues when they bite pets, especially if they have a severe reaction to it.

There are lots of adders near me, they tend to be in rural areas up on the moors. They are venomous but they aren't big at all. They keep themselves to themselves.

He's having you on.

Grass snakes aren’t that big and they definitely won’t come searching out people. And Adders are even keener to avoid contact. There’s a reason that most people have never seen one. I grew up on the very edge of a town, where it met fields and woods for miles. I spent my childhood tramping through the countryside. There is more chance of a flock of Flamingos taking up residence in your bathroom than there is a grass snake or adder coming into your house and going anywhere near you or your children and your neighbour is a prat. He might have seen one (more likely to be a video he found on the internet) but there’s no way it would have stayed there and posed for him while he filmed it. It would have scarpered.

The most you’re ever likely to see is a squirrel, a hedgehog or the occasional fox, which you definitely would have seen those in the city.

Op has stated she doesnt live in Downing street ;)

Snakes are not wanting to interact with humans, they will hear you coming and move away. Now you know they are around just be careful near heavy undergrowth. I don't think they can get in windows!

Kindly I think you need to get some help for this thought process. This thinking is not healthy and will cause you lot of issues

Yeah, they can be long, but we’re not talking anaconda levels here. A metre? Just over?

We live very close to where there are lots of adders (mostly in the sand dunes). I've only seen one, and it was happily basking in the sun. People who have lived here their entire lives have never had one enter their house, so I'd imagine you'd be perfectly safe - your house will not be the kind of environment they want to be in.

If you are ever bitten by one (highly unlikely), seek medical attention as their venom can cause unpleasant symptoms, but is v unlikely to cause any serious harm. Our local hospital keeps an antidote there for any occurrences. They certainly won't be creeping in and wrapping themselves around anyone. And I'm saying this as someone who is also wary of snakes!

We do get adders. They are rarely seen. They are as others say shy. In Australia they say make a lot of noiseand no snake will come near.

If you're that worried, move. But hibestly you dont need to be scared x

Where are you and what sort of snake does he claim it to be?
"Britain has only three native snakes but a fourth species, the 2-metre-long Aesculapian snake, is breeding in the wild in at least two places – by exploiting the warmth of buildings and compost heaps."

Those photos could be from anywhere.
I remember taking a hike in the California mountains with my friends and telling my grandpa how proud I was that we stomped our feet every time the brush came close to the trail to scare away the snakes.
He almost fell over laughing and said that snakes don’t live that high up in the mountains. We wore ourselves out stomping, I can tell you that.
Grandpa told that story for years to everybody. lol
Be cautious. Don’t freak out. Don’t bother stomping.

I've seen a few adders and grass snakes in England and Wales, but only out in the wilds. I've never heard of anyone finding one in a house. If I were you, I'd be far more concerned about the lake monsters...

No, they were not slow worms, they were obviously snakes. There are many many slow worms in my garden; they are not at all similar to snakes.

I live in Australia on 3 acres of land, urban fringe. This year has been particularly bad for snakes. Normally I might see 1 a year. I live alone and I am wary because of that. (Lots of cats and dogs get bitten by snakes here).
So far I have seen a red bellied black once (about a metre long, mildly venomous but no human deaths) and apparently there's also a young Eastern Brown moved in (4 sighting in 3 months). Between 2000 and 2016, the eastern brown snake was responsible for 23 of the 35 snake bite deaths in Australia.
Never had a snake in the house, or look like they might want in, and they all bolt as soon as they see or hear me.
I know snakes seem scary and I know this is about your fear as opposed to real concern but I think this man is a bell-end (I think is the word, we have another word for it here).

Adder (Vipera berus):
This is the only venomous snake native to the UK. They are found across England, Wales, and Scotland. Adders are typically grey or brown in color, and males are often grey while females and juveniles are brown. They can be found in a variety of habitats, including woodlands, heathland, and sand dunes.

Grass Snake (Natrix helvetica):
These snakes are widespread across England and Wales. They are non-venomous and typically greyish-brown with darker markings. They are often found near water, such as ponds or rivers.

Smooth Snake (Coronella austriaca):
This is a rare snake found in southern England and a few sites in Wales. They are slender and usually grey or dark brown with dark markings along their back. They are typically found in heathland habitats.

https://www.wtwales.org/wildlife/how-to-identify/identify-uk-snakes

Get a cat.

No snake in this country will come near you or your children, if anything you would scare them away. They cannot strangle even the tiniest baby.

If your neighbour isn't winding you up, then someone has been winding him up. Try a bit of googling to find out the facts about snakes in England.

Adders live in many rural parts of the UK and are venemous. However they don't grow bigger than 80cm and mostly avoid humans.
They are not however entirely harmless. I live on an island in the Hebrides and there are loads of adders on the 2 neighbouring islands. Recently a pet dog was bitten by an adder and it was a vetinary emergency, The dog was very poorly and almost lost a leg.
However adder bites in the UK are relatively uncommon and certainly aren't something I'd be losing sleep over.
Mink getting into your house - now that's a shit show I do have experience of!

A relative of my husbands, many decades ago, was bitten by an adder he stepped on, on a countryside walk in the south of England. His leg turned a funny colour, apparently, but ultimately he was fine.
Don't know if I should point this out, but there are likely to be higher numbers of unusual reptiles in towns and cities, kept as pets. And sometimes they do escape. We found a corn snake on our street one evening, a couple of years ago. It must have either escaped or been set free. 😬

This is actually not correct. I know of a dog that was bitten by an adder not far from me and was very poorly and almost lost a leg.

Not quite true. I'm not helping the OP here - but we have friends with 'pet' snakes (in the UK) and they regularly came out of their vivarium for 'socialising'. One day one of them was laid out alongside a small child who was sleeping on the sofa - very different behaviour to usual - and following advice from professionals it turned out it was sizing up the child for consumption. This has been largely debunked as a myth but we know the experts and the zoologists from London who confirmed it - but this was a 'pet' - rather than a wild one which presumably wouldn't have been comfortable in the surroundings or thought they had the time etc to do such a thing. My sister has Corn snakes and they are quite friendly not not more than 60cms long. All constrictors in this case.