That is how it was at one of our first homes about 50+ years ago. We lived beside a swamp in SC and it meant nothing to see enormous rattlers sunning themselves on the sidewalks during cool mornings. One time some neighborhood teenage boys caught and killed a 5' one that was about 3" in diameter right in my driveway. It took two of them to carry this critter off. I did not go outside or let my toddler play outside for days.
