Unwelcome visitor

[mommucked]

Followed my dog into the yard to get some sheding fur off her and found this nasty viper 15' from the deck steps and 6' from my peeing dog who didn't see it this evening. It was relocated after I showed the neighborhood kids what to watch out for.

 

[XJfreakHO]

Yep. Unfortunately it is that time of year... I kill Copperheads on sight.

Though I have never seen one by my house, and behind my house is a lot of woods. Guess the cats around here eat all the mice, no food, no snakes.

 

[mommucked]

They are also fond of Toads and we have gobs of them in our yard, though I haven't seen any yet this year.

 

[Infamous1]

That's a nice one right there! I also kill them if they are close to the house, I hate to but I'm not tryin to get bit.

 

[Jake.]

Yeah they're pretty much like a psycho with a gun. You have to get rid of them before they get rid of you.

 

[Tom@Hilltop_Machine]

I havent seen the usual toads hanging out under the lights this year, so I guess they all have become snake food.

 

[mommucked]

We do have alot of Skinks all around the house that may be attracting them. I'm gonna start relocating them too because a few are pretty big and they poop on the porches and deck. We've always had alot of Toads in the yard but so far I have seen none this year and I'm starting to wonder if the prolonged freezing killed a lot of them that didn't burrow deep enough to avoid the freezing ground. I also haven't been bitten or seen any skeeters since a warm spell and thunderstorm in Dec. or Jan. when I think they were blown up here from way down south by a storm front. I would trade the weeks of bitter cold this year for less skeeter every time if that's what has made them scarce so far.

 

[BigClay]

Yeah, I am not a fan of the venemous snakes, but I leave the black snakes and such alone.

 

[BrianGreen]

My ROE on copperheads is "use of deadly force is authorized upon positive identification".













Then sometimes I have to shoot first to get that positive identification.

 

[Dylan W.]

Followed my dog into the yard to get some sheding fur off her and found this nasty viper 15' from the deck steps and 6' from my peeing dog who didn't see it this evening. It was relocated after I showed the neighborhood kids what to watch out for.

View attachment 155001

Kinda looks like a big one..please place a quarter in the pan, you know, for a size reference.

 

[ajbirkennewaccount]

WOW! a person that can actually tell the difference between a copperhead and a water snake or juvenile rat snake!!!! Why do so many people feel compelled to kill harmless snakes than act cool/macho bragging about the copperheads and moccasins the killed?

Kudos on your skills and non-lethal solution!

 

[mommucked]

Kinda looks like a big one..please place a quarter in the pan, you know, for a size reference.

It was about 2' long, It's in a 7 gallon bucket and could raise it's head right to the top, but no further. I told my wife to get the camera to take a pic of me holding it to show the size, but she ran in the house screaming sumthin like "OH HELL NO! and It's gonna bite you!" and would not come near me until I put it in the bucket. When I let go of it's body to dump some stuff out of the bucket it flailed wildly in the air and sent the wife screaming and running back into the house.............good times!

WOW! a person that can actually tell the difference between a copperhead and a water snake or juvenile rat snake!!!! Why do so many people feel compelled to kill harmless snakes than act cool/macho bragging about the copperheads and moccasins the killed?

Kudos on your skills and non-lethal solution!

It was easy to catch, I just grabbed a hoe and carefully set the flat side it on it's neck w just the head sticking out, then put a thumb/finger on on the side of its head and squeezed it's neck behind it's head and grabbed it's body w the other hand after dropping the hoe. It was missing a fang so I assume it recently tangled w something, and I named it Unifang!

 

[XJfreakHO]

WOW! a person that can actually tell the difference between a copperhead and a water snake or juvenile rat snake!!!! Why do so many people feel compelled to kill harmless snakes than act cool/macho bragging about the copperheads and moccasins the killed?

Kudos on your skills and non-lethal solution!

Killed an almost 4 foot copperhead about 2 years ago on a heat vent in the shop at my old job. I had no problem hacking his head off.
The house I just moved out of has had a large black snake living under it for several years, he did a great job keeping the rodents and other snakes away and I bragged about having him around.
I can absolutely tell the difference... if a copperhead or any venomous snake is in the driveway or yard around my house, it dies... in the woods I usually don't bother them.

Copperheads aren't harmless, nor are cottonmouths... so your argument is invalid.

 

[strange1]

Usually the smell of me crapping my pants runs them off.....

 

[shawn]

Copperheads aren't harmless, nor are cottonmouths... so your argument is invalid.

Yes. Copperheads will strike unprovoked. They get dead.

 

[ajbirkennewaccount]

I can absolutely tell the difference... if a copperhead or any venomous snake is in the driveway or yard around my house, it dies... in the woods I usually don't bother them.

Copperheads aren't harmless, nor are cottonmouths... so your argument is invalid.

I was referring to people killing baby rat snakes and water snakes "thinking" that they are killing copperheads and moccasins. If you can positively ID them and they are on your property fire away! If they are in the woods away from people...probably should leave them be.

 

[mommucked]

Yea the Northern Water snake is automatically a Cottonmouth to 90% of it's killers.....

 

[XJfreakHO]

I wouldn't fault anyone for killing the carolina watersnake because they thought it was a copperhead... they try to make themselves look like copperheads when they feel threatened and usually we don't see them til they are "threatened"

 

[mommucked]

I wouldn't fault anyone for killing the carolina watersnake because they thought it was a copperhead... they try to make themselves look like copperheads when they feel threatened and usually we don't see them til they are "threatened"

I disagree, Moccasins have a distinct profile and sharp edge from the top of their nose to the eyes and a triangulated head. Their bodies are also triangle shaped in cross section and they appear fat and flat when laying on the ground or floating compared to a Water snakes vertical oval cross section. The way the body of a Moccasin tapers abruptly near the tail is also a very good indicator that water snakes don't have. Waters snakes have long, slender tails, unless it's been gnawed off by a turtle or an Otter.

Compare these to the pics above and there's a lot of difference in everything but the the patterns/colors.