Do snakes chase you?

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For the most part, any snake species that you are likely to come against is going to be much smaller in every way than you — their competition. In terms of predator versus prey, the outcome doesn't look good for them. You are many times their size, and probably many times their strength too. If the snake doesn't have a pretty good mechanism to defend itself on its side, such as venom in it's snappy bite, it know it probably won't win. These creatures don't tend to go after prey they know they can't overpower. That would be a waste of energy and, in the animal world, a waste of energy could also mean the end. If an animal doesn't have the energy to defend itself, it will be vulnerable to predatory attacks, even from animals that are much smaller than it.



When snakes and humans come together, the outcome is usually a great big startle. Both the human and the snake are not expecting to come up against the other, and both of them usually panic. Both parties will try to get out of the situation, out of fear, and may even head off in the same direction. If this were the case, it would certainly look as though the snake were coming towards you. If you have the snake cornered, however, the only way out is through you somehow. If the snake can scamper between legs or slither out of harm's reach, it will do just that. Learn morea about snakes as predators:

How do snakes kill their prey?

Many snakes, especially those that you will come across in the USA, are just too shy to stay and fight a battle with a human. Larger species may fancy their chances against a child, lashing out when the child accidentally comes across it, for example, or maybe even a small dog or cat, but many of them will not attack humans for no reason. If the snake is attacking you, you have provoked it in some way. This can often be something as trivial as not looking where you are going when out walking in rural areas. Long grass can hide snakes pretty well, and it's not unusual to accidentally stand on snakes. In cases such as this, you must remember that you have technically already attacked the snake, so it's only defense is to attack right back. You stood on it first, remember?

There are a few very aggressive species of snake, such as the Central American bushmaster, but just as the name suggests, these aggressive species are not generally found in urban areas of the United States. There are times when snakes will be more aggressive, such as when rock pythons are taking care of their young (a relatively new concept as it was previously believed that all snake species left their hatchlings to fend for themselves from birth), when they haven't eaten in a long time, or when they are getting ready to shed their skin, but you will generally find that snakes will not chase or attack humans unless they have a reason to.



For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How much does snake removal cost? - get the lowdown on prices.
How to get rid of snakes - my main snake removal info guide.
Example snake trapping photographs - get do-it-yourself ideas.
Snake job blog - learn from great examples of snake jobs I've done.