Welcome to charlestonwvsnakes.com! I am David, a snake enthusiast living in Charleston, WV. Many people don't know that Charleston is in fact full of snakes! You just need to know where to find them - they can often be shy and elusive. Some West Virginia snake species are more common outside of the city limits, in different parts of Kanawah County WV, but many types of snakes are indeed common in the more urban parts of Charleston. This guide is meant to help educate you about the beautiful snakes of Charleston, and to help you identify the most common snakes of Charleston, as well as the venomous snakes of Charleston that you should learn to recognize and avoid. If you want more detail, click here for my complete list of ALL snake species in Charleston. Remember the following:
- Most snakes of Charleston are harmless and don't want to encounter you
- Venomous snakes exist but are uncommon in Charleston, West Virginia
- Snakes eat rats and mice and are a valuable part of the West Virginia ecosystem
- Never kill a snake - if you leave a snake alone, it will leave you alone.
Common Snake Species in Charleston
![Charleston snake](queensnake.jpg)
![Charleston snake](northernbrownsnake.jpg)
![Charleston snake](northernblackracer.jpg)
![Charleston snake](easterngartersnake.jpg)
![Charleston snake](easternhognose.jpg)
Venomous Snake Species in Charleston
![Charleston snake](northerncopperhead.jpg)
![Charleston snake](timberrattlesnake.jpg)
If you're unsure, you can email me a photo of the snake at info@charlestonwvsnakes.com and I will email you back with the snake's species. If you found a snake skin, read my Found a Skin? page, and you can email me a photo of the skin, and I'll identify the snake for you. If you need professional Charleston snake removal help, click my Get Help page, or see the below website sponsor I found, who provides that service.
Can I get the city or animal services to help me remove a snake?
Will the City Remove Snake Problems?
Snakes are a threat to you and your property. Whether venomous or not, you have to worry about the chance of them biting you or others. You cannot let them roam freely. You must take action immediately to remove the snake from your property, before anything goes wrong for you. There are a few ways to go about this, but many prefer the easiest option – getting someone else to do it. With animal services available in most areas, this is the common option. Animal services does seem perfect on paper. These are professionals whose job is to remove animals from properties. They should do the job, but will they? Are they going to help you, or are you wasting your time trying to get them to help?
Animal Services
Rarely will animal services be of any help. Generally, they are for pet-related issues, not pest or wildlife issues. Any pest- or wildlife-related problem you have is beyond their control. Animal control services do not receive training, equipment, or knowledge related to the removal of pest or wildlife. They are not equipped with anything to remove them. In most cases, they are going to outright deny going to your property. Frustrating as it may be, this is not something they can handle. It is not part of their job description, nor is it something they could do in general. You need specialist knowledge, tools, and skills to handle snakes.
What You Can Do
When you have a snake on your property, there are two options. If you do not want to do it yourself at all, you can contact a professional. There are services, that require payment, that will remove the snake for you. These services can, oftentimes, do the trick. Another option is to remove the snake yourself. Traps and exclusion methods can do this for you. Both work exceptionally well for removal and are easy to implement. They are low risk and high reward. What you do should depend on the situation. Professionals are a necessity for venomous snakes, while you can manage it on your own with the non-venomous kinds. So long as you stay safe, you can handle this task. There are ways to remove snakes from your property, but animal control services is not one of them. These services are not going to assist you with the removal at any point and are not able to do anything for you.
Remember, the term is not poisonous snakes of Charleston, it's venomous snakes of Charleston. Poison is generally something you eat, and venom is injected into you. That said, dangerous snakes are very rare in Charleston. The few venomous snakes of Kanawah County are rarely seen. But they are commonly misidentified, so learn about all the snake species of Charleston in order to correctly identify them. These snakes are usually also found in the surrounding towns of Charleston, South Charleston, Saint Albans, Cross Lanes, Elkview, Dunbar, Sissonville, Clendenin, Belle, Cedar Grove, Marmet, East Bank, Chesapeake, Pratt, Tornado, Glasgow, Chelyan, Jefferson, Pinch, Handley, Coal Fork, Big Chimney, Hugheston, Dawes, Shrewsbury, and the surrounding areas.
Read our article about:
Understanding The Black Racer Snake: Appearance, Biology, Life Cycle, Habitat, Diet, Behavior
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