Snakes Who Live In New Jersey

We do have a lot of snakes that creep and crawl and around Monmouth & Ocean Counties. It shouldn't be surprising to see a snake, but it is almost always unnerving.

We often see area residents sharing photos of snakes they've seen and hoping to get an answer on identifying the creatures on social media, basically so they can feel comfortable being near the area of the sighting, and who could blame them.

We have been seeing a number of sightings of one particular type of snake in the area, so as a public service, we reached out to some people in the know, and the general consensus is that this snake is a garter snake and that it's non-venomous. But we wanted some specifics for you to have handy, so we checked with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Listen to Lou Russo mornings on 94.3 The Point and download our free 94.3 The Point app.

And according to them, here's the deal. New Jersey is home to 22 different types of snakes. Yes 22. And of those 22, 2 of them are venomous. The poisonous ones are the northern copperhead and the timber rattlesnake.

Here's some good news for Jersey Shore residents. The northern copperhead is more of a North Jersey thing, and the timber rattler is......

So what about the sightings we've been hearing about recently in our area. It turns out the pictures we've been seeing on social are most likely that of a .........., and the good news is those snakes are harmless.

If you do spot a snake and are smart enough not to try be an amateur herpetologist (and there are a lot on social media) then you should take a look at the very comprehensive list of the 22 New Jersey snakes provided by the NJDEP.

And remember, the vast majority of New Jersey snakes, especially in our area, are harmless, so please don't harm them. Read about them at the DEP website. You may learn to respect, and even love them.

LOOK: Here are the 25 best places to live in New Jersey

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in New Jersey using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.

COVID relief for NJ municipalities: How much is your town getting?

The American Rescue Plan signed by President Joseph Biden awards $10.2 billion to New Jersey. Here is a a county-by-county and town-by-town breakdown.

Gallery Credit: Sergio Bichao

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli