St. Johns County is snake country. Between the marshes along the Intracoastal, the retention ponds threaded through neighborhoods like Nocatee and Julington Creek, and the wooded buffers around St. Augustine, we have exactly the kind of habitat that supports a healthy — and sometimes venomous — snake population.
Most calls we get are about harmless species like black racers, corn snakes, and rat snakes doing exactly what they should: eating rodents around your property. But a meaningful percentage of our calls involve one of Florida’s six venomous species, and knowing the difference can genuinely matter for your safety.
The Venomous Species You’re Most Likely to Encounter Here
Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin). By far the most common venomous snake our St. Johns County and Nocatee customers encounter, usually near retention ponds, drainage ditches, or marsh edges. Thick-bodied, dark, and often mistaken for a harmless water snake — which is exactly why misidentification is so dangerous.
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Less common in dense residential areas but still present in the more wooded, undeveloped pockets around St. Augustine and the outer edges of St. Johns. The largest venomous snake in North America, and one that should never be approached.
Coral Snake. Small, brightly banded in red, yellow, and black, and often confused with the harmless scarlet kingsnake. The old rhyme “red touch yellow, kill a fellow” is a helpful memory aid, but we don’t recommend getting close enough to check.
Copperhead. Less common in our immediate coastal service area but occasionally found further inland, especially in wooded lots.
A Real Example of Why This Matters
We had a customer on our team’s radar not long ago who found a snake coiled on her front porch. Her first instinct — a completely understandable one — was to try to move it herself. Fortunately, she called us first. When our technician arrived, he identified it immediately as a cottonmouth, one of the more aggressive venomous species when it feels cornered, and handled the removal professionally and safely. What could have been a serious bite instead became a non-event.
That’s the entire point of this article: snake identification from a photo or a quick glance is genuinely difficult, even for people who think they know what they’re looking at. Juvenile cottonmouths, banded water snakes, and even some color phases of harmless species can look startlingly similar to something dangerous.
Why “Just Leave It Alone” Isn’t Always Realistic Advice
We agree with the general wildlife philosophy that snakes are beneficial and should be left alone whenever possible — they’re a critical part of controlling the rodent population around your property. But “leave it alone” gets complicated when the snake in question is:
- Inside a garage, screened porch, or living space
- Near where children or pets play
- Blocking a doorway or walkway
- Unable to be positively identified from a safe distance
In any of those situations, the right call is a professional, not a shovel, a broom, or a YouTube video.
What to Do If You Encounter a Snake
- Keep distance. Most bites happen when someone tries to move, kill, or capture a snake themselves.
- Keep an eye on it from a safe distance if possible, so you can point our technician to the right spot — but don’t corner it.
- Keep kids and pets away from the area immediately.
- Call a professional for positive identification and safe removal.
How Coastal Wildlife & Pest Services Handles Snake Calls
Our technicians are trained to correctly identify Florida’s native snake species on sight and handle each one according to what it actually is — venomous species are safely captured and relocated away from residential areas, while non-venomous, beneficial species are, in appropriate situations, safely relocated off the property as well. We’re certified through the National Wildlife Control Operators Association and the Florida Pest Management Association, and our team responds quickly — often within the hour for urgent situations, including nights and weekends.
If you live in St. Augustine, St. Johns, Nocatee, Julington Creek, or anywhere else along our coastal service area and you’ve spotted a snake you can’t confidently identify, don’t take the risk. A quick call gets you a fast, accurate answer and a safe resolution.
Serving St. Augustine, St. Johns, Nocatee, and surrounding areas. Call (904) 375-7736 for prompt, professional snake identification and removal.
