We live smack dab in the middle of the forest. Most of our neighbors are animals. The few snakes that come around are tiny little garter snakes and Forest mulch snakes. But they've been here longer than we have so they can go wherever they like.
Ah, I've never heard about that. I lived in the woods in a camper around middle TN for about 5 years. The main things I had to deal with were mice, ticks, and chiggers. Only saw 1 snake on the whole property. But there were many cats, horses, cows, and dogs. So maybe that helped a bit.