I hate snakes and was thinking the cold might lower my chance of meeting one. I went fishing in early summer and found a rattle snake along the water edge. You would of thought I saw a ghost the way I ran out of there!
When's a good time to avoid snakes
- Thread starter HerringKing
- Start date
Snakes do hibernate in the winter, so it's pretty unlikely you'll see one but, on occasion, if we get a warm spell during winter and the temperature starts climbing up into the 60's, they might venture out of their den. Most of the snakes I run into usually scurry away or freeze in their tracks, hoping I haven't spotted them. I would be far more concerned about ticks and chiggers than I would be about snakes. I have probably seen 20-25 rattlesnakes while hiking in various parts of the country. None of them have ever threatened me, but a tick made my life hell for nearly a year.
Rattlesnakes really aren't a problem in the pines. I have hiked 6,000+ miles out there and have only seen one rattlesnake. I have, however, seen plenty of pine snakes which, from a distance, and to a nervous and untrained eye, can be mistaken for a rattlesnake.
Here is a pic of a pine snake.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=pine snake pictures&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1366&bih=646&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=vXB33dgIh9SUcM:&imgrefurl=http://bohemianadventures.blogspot.com/2008/09/snake-trapping-in-angelina-nf.html&docid=N5nNk1hw75dM7M&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__b_W1JrOxAU/SMHVJHOEqVI/AAAAAAAABQc/dKlRv1l65ls/s400/lps.jpg&w=400&h=267&ei=7Fx_UKnjGfKN0QGTi4GABw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=856&vpy=313&dur=848&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=209&ty=113&sig=107099609982278975016&page=3&tbnh=136&tbnw=212&start=38&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:21,s:20,i:198
Hognose
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_horned_jew_lizard/112777668/in/photostream/
I have seen exactly one live rattler in the barren also Old Crazy and a few more in other states.I think the hognose is a better rattler mimic then the pine snake.Till I see the head they have occasionally made me think initially rattler! though upon close inspection the pattern is not the same either.Herp folks generally use the term brumation for reptiles which is basically the same as hibernation in mammals only of course reptiles have to worry about freezing while brumating so they have to go deep.A bear can curl up next to a deadfall on the ground and go to sleep,not a snake and bears don't really hibernate anyway like a groundhog does.I wish I seen more rattlers in my walks:-(
Actually ticks should concern you more ( but as Teegate stated do not let them impede your Pine exploration either ! ) .Much more likely to be bitten by a tick .There are 10 diseases other than Lyme . Left un-treated or mis-diagnosed as bad or worse than a snake bite .Rattlers are not common , and they will avoid you at all cost .
You won't encounter many snakes in the pines. I would try to get over the fear as there is nothing to be afraid of. They don't pursue you, they retreat when seen or hold still. Again you have nothing to be afraid of, business as usual.
It's funny how only one person actually attempted to answer the OP's question ("When's a good time to avoid snakes"). I'm also curious, is there a specific temperature at which snakes will not come out in the open? I realize that microclimate can be a lot different than the average temperature we hear on the weather report of course.
I've never wanted to avoid snakes,I've wanted to find them.All I could say is only hit the woods in winter if you don't want to see any.if by avoid you just mean not actually come into contact with but seeing them is okay I'd say stay out of thick brush where you can't see your feet and watch where you walk.The only snake in south jersey that can hurt you is a timber rattler so if you almost step on it it should rattle though not always but the chance of you encountering a rattler in the pines let alone stepping on one is so infitesimal why worry about it?More likely to step on a yellowjacket nest which I have actually done several times.
That was probably a garter snake though I can't remember.definitely our most cold hardy snake.I have seen them out in temps around the high 40's
November thru march you won't see them unless you get sustained temps above 60 for a period. Just avoid tromping through lots of undergrowth, stick to trails. I'd be suprised if what you saw actually was a rattlesnake, my guess is it was a water snake. Rattlesnake just don't hang out by water in the open, they like to be concealed and are a very shy animal that wants to avoid people as much as possible. There have been two rattlesnake bites to my knowledge in the last 10 years or more. Both occurred because the person wanted to pick it up, they were drunk, or they were stupid.
I saw a rattlesnake once in almost 20 years of hiking around the pines. But it was right in the midde of the trail, not far from the Carranza Memorial. I thought it was some other kind of snake, but didn't want to walk right up to it (I am not crazy about snakes either) so I tossed a little stick to scare it away. The stick landed a foot away and the snake attacked it, rattling its tail. Scared the hell out of me! 
I once sat down next to a rattler in wv.I was sitting on a ledge and he was about two feet from my ankle in the sun up under a small crack but visible,I just didn't see him.After several minutes a guy I had run inot minutes before and was talking to me and admiring the view saw the snake and he turned white.I calmly stood up and stepped out of strike distance which i was well within.I asked him to hand me his broom stick which he was using as a hiking stick.(no I didn't kill it) I pinned it's head,picked it up and he took a bunch of pics and then i Told him to take my camera and take some which he did.I found out upon returning home My ex wife had relieved the camera of it's film and never replaced it.I had asked her if there was film in it before I left and she said yes.This is why we are now divorced.I have no pics of my first rattler catch but some guy named John out there does:-(After checking the snake out I let it go where I caught it,it retreated into the same crack far enough that no one else could bother it.It never even started to rattle till i actually had it off the ground in my hands and then only a weak rattle.It was hot and the snake was warm so it wasn't nice because it was cold.Since them I have caught meaner snakes,one I ran over first but didn't actually hit.When i got out it was fighting mad.I caught it barefooted with no shirt on.The locals were in awe when they stopped that I had not only picked it up but had no intentions of killing it.They asked me if everyone in NJ was this crazy(I was in tennessee) I told them most of us were even crazier.I do have pics of this catch.Momma said i was her hero for letting her touch her first rattlesnake.after the locals left I let him go thirty feet off the road in thick brush.
Northern Brown Snake , to us "Old School " guys aka a DeKay snake . Perfectly harmless , very gentle . Actually not seen often in the pines , usually much more common outside the Pines . Can be found in suburban , even urban settings .You can actually find them in Philly ! 
Al, when I'm drunk i'm actually more intelligent but it depends on how many brews I got in me. There is an optimum level of alcohol that brings out my skills at their finest. Usually its about 4-5 beers, I'm best at darts, golf, shoes, etc, its a fine line though, hah.