Got Copperheads?

[G.T. Smith]

As you know from the location thing at the top of tis post, I live in South Central Missouri. The Ozarks. Last year I went on and on about the number of copperheads I killed throughout the summer. I have killed 6 so far this year. I killed 2 fair sized ones last night coming home on my 3 miles of dirt road. I do live at the end of a 2 mile private lane smack in the woods, but they seem to be plentiful this year. They really don't bother me too much as I am always armed with something weather it be a hoe,(garden type) or a handgun. I do worry about my 2 year old grandaughter when she's playin' out here.
I was just kinda wondering if ya'll have noticed an increase in snakes this year where you live. I do take precautions like mowing frequently and removing things that make good hiding places for them, but they still seem to abound.
Peace,
gordon

 

[357larry]

I usually have an abundance of copperheads around my place. So far this year I have only come across a few that are in the 10 to 14 inch range.

I was driving down a road a few miles from my house about an hour ago and ran over a rattler that I estimate was over 7 feet long. Stretched out he went across most of one lane of the road.

 

[Texas Star]

I usually have an abundance of copperheads around my place. So far this year I have only come across a few that are in the 10 to 14 inch range.

I was driving down a road a few miles from my house about an hour ago and ran over a rattler that I estimate was over 7 feet long. Stretched out he went across most of one lane of the road.

Was that a Prairie rattler? (Crotalus viridus.) I thought that's what you have in Kansas?

That's a VERY big one. Or, do you have other rattlers? The Diamondbacks get that large. I've seen probably credible reports of an Eastern Diamondback to 11 feet!

T-Star

 

[dkees]

I live in northwest Arkansas (1 mile from Missouri and 4 miles from Oklahoma.)

Being originally from Indiana, I wasn't used to seeing anything but garter snakes.

I look in the middle of my driveway and see this snake about 18" long. I've never been bothered by snakes and usually go out my way to leave them alone.

As I get closer all of a sudden this snake turns around, comes to attention, and stares at me. I said to myself, "this ain't no garter snake."

It was a copperhead and it wouldn't move. I stomped and kicked thinking I could get it to crawl off into the woods, but it just gave me a good tongue - flicking and stayed.

So I cut it in half with a shovel and said so much for copperheads!

 

[JcMack]

Off topic sorry: I was watching a TV prog today and they interviewed an Aussie movie star. (Young guy I never heard of) They asked him about the poisonous snakes "down under". He said "He grew up around them and didn't pay them much attention. You do have to watch for them when your on your motorbike, because they'll wrap around the wheel and bite you". Something I never thought of.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Rattlesnakes can go extinct for all I care, but copperheads are barely a nuisance snake to me. They are excellent vermin eating machines and almost always slither away when you come near. Sometimes they stand their ground but all they are doing is hiding waiting for you to go away. The two times I have been bit was not watching wear I was walking through brush. One was just a scare tactic (which I confess worked pretty darn good) and the other broke skin but no venom. I just cleaned the heck out of it and tried to tell myself I don't need a third lesson in watch where you are walking. Even the occasional cottonmouth around where I live is less threatening to me than rattlesnakes. They also do their best to either avoid you or scare you off with the big open hissing mouth moves. So I see if it is all about where kids might be but killing them all if seen is a bit extreme since if you are seeing an increase in snakes of any species then that means you have an increase in food source for them like mice or rats around. They are going to be more guilty of damage or disease than the snakes. But rattlesnakes... No likey. I still cringe at the thought of how bad that bite hurt and the doc laughing at me for my eyes rolling back in my head. Not the best bedside manners on that guy. And we have way too many of the pigmy rattlers here. They like to set in the palm trees and bushes right next to the front door like they own the place. I am going to get in so much trouble when I end one with my shotgun someday...

 

[The Big D]

Was minding my own business this very afternoon whilst reading the newspaper when I caught a glimpse of something slithering nearby. 'Twas a snake. Yelled at it and its slithery arse slunk away under the steps. Plugged the hole where it went in and monitored the situation. Soon thereafter the miserable creature "dug" its way out. (Kid you not; head was covered with dirt.)

Yes, I did what you might expect.

Be safe.

 

[ThirtyAcres]

I also live in the Missouri Ozarks. Northern Wright County.

Snakes do seem to be bad this year.

Last year I bought a pair of plastic Ranger Snake Leggings. Easy to put on and take off.

Piece of mind when clearing fencerows and stomping around in the woods.

Next year I am going to get some Guineas. Supposed to be A-1 snake killers and tick eaters.

 

[Kelly Green]

I’ve seen more diamondbacks in Brazos County, Texas than in the past. Might be from all the lack of rain that’s bringing them to water.

They make good eating. Taste a little like alligator or frog legs. Rattlesnake makes a good chili too.

 

[Doug Add]

Haven't encountered one yet this season, though I did kill one baby with the lawnmower last year. My across the street neighbor has already killed one on the dirt path that goes up into the woods between our houses. Another neighbor lost a Golden Retriever to one a few years ago in the same woods. Yet another neighbor walks her Golden with hoe in hand.

 

[jeepjeepwhat]

I encountered two garter snakes within 10 feet of each other while mushroom/ramp hunting a few weeks a go. Also I had to remove a black snake from the building I work in yesterday. I usually don't really see any snakes until juneish in my area so I would say that 3 in early May would be unusual for me and my area.

 

[Pasifikawv]

I haven't seen any snakes of any type yet this spring. We only have 2 venemous snakes in the area: copperheads and rattlers. The rattlers seem to stay on the higher, rocky ridge tops but the copper heads are everywhere. Thankfully copperheads are ususally not deadly like rattlers, but still no fun at all.

Had one get me about 20 years ago. It was in late August and late at night. He was on the concrete stoop that held heat from the day's sun. There was a step from the door down to the stoop and when the screen door swung out, I couldn't see the sucker, but he had a clear shot at my feet under the door. Zap! Zap! Mean ol' snake struck twice. I had killed one just 2 days before right beside the same stoop.

 

[Win75]

I live in southeast Missouri, St. Francois county. So far, I have not seen any snakes of any type this year. I usually see a lot of baby copperheads but very few adults.

 

[Jst1mr]

Got Copperheads...?

Nope....got winter!

 

[wbraswell]

Most places between the Equator and the Great Lakes have Copperheads. I think Pygmy rattlers are the most aggresive viper we have in North America. Luckily they are dinky and aren't the monsters that Diamondbacks are. To me, an 11 foot Eastern Diamondback, which is the biggest rattler, is kind of like a 20 ft. Alligator, I'd have to see it. But in the Everglades, I wouldn't say "never".

 

[cass]

Only had two this spring. Last Sat a small one <18", bit the lower lip of our Boxer. Within an hour his lip was huge - hanging down and discharging blood/probably a little venom. His neck had a golf ball size knot under it. Within 24 hours, all was gone except the pain. The other one was larger, but is now just as dead. Thus far, it's been a slow year for them.

 

[Rio Vista Slim]

This admittedly inferior photograph was made at 4:00 a.m. on December 18th, 2008. This copperhead is about two feet from my front door, and somewhat startled me as I was leaving for work.

If you'll look behind the head, you'll see that the snake's body is swollen from a recent meal. I took the picture, and left him where he was.

I prefer the copperheads to the rats and mice, which are this species main diet, in my area of rural Texas.

I normally average seeing 6 to 10 copperheads per year, around my property. I've only had to kill one in the ten years I've been out here.

 

[Cobroller]

Gordon,

I was on Rattlesnake Ridge just south of St. Joe this morning. My coworker brought a big rattlesnake, minus the head, to show us. It stretched most of the way across the tailgate. I thought of this thread and took pics which failed.
I am now back in the copperhead country in SW MO, but it is a little cool for them. I hate those beady eyed critters.
Sunday, I head back to the flooded parts of SE MO, hoping not to see any cottonmouths.

 

[MK]

I also live in the Missouri Ozarks. Northern Wright County.

Snakes do seem to be bad this year.

Last year I bought a pair of plastic Ranger Snake Leggings. Easy to put on and take off.

Piece of mind when clearing fencerows and stomping around in the woods.

Next year I am going to get some Guineas. Supposed to be A-1 snake killers and tick eaters.

I've got a pair of those too.. I do feel much safer wearing
those. Or at least from ones lying in the grass or hiding
behind logs,that want to eat your legs.
Cheap insurance to avoid something that could really turn out to
be a pain in the differential. My dirt patch is fairly out in the sticks.
It would take a while to get to a doctor, and even longer to get to
a real hospital. It takes 20 minutes just to drive the dirt county roads
out to get on the highway. :/

Those plastic versions are so light, I hardly notice em..
The ones I have I got at Academy for about $20 or so..
My dirt patch is up in OK, but it's wooded and kinda similar to
the Ozarks. I actually haven't had much trouble with them so far.
But I know they are there.. I've just been lucky. There are rattlers,
copperheads, and water moccasins down at the lake.

Even the little snakes can be a pain. They don't regulate their
venom well, and they can give a nasty bite.
I ain't got much use for the poisonous snakes no matter what
type. :/
If they get close to me, they stand a good chance of being
terminated. The non poisonous, I don't worry about. I let them
go to it. I actually see a lot more of the last type..

 

[tom turner]

I have a friend here in Georgia who was working around his house last year. He moved a piece of wood and copperhead was underneath that bit him on the leg.

My friend is a big fellow with circulation problems in his legs, and that snake bite changed the rest of his life!

He spent time in the hospital . . . needed surgery on his legs . . . and now the fluids still pool dangerously in his legs because they can't flow back up his body as normal.

For the rest of his life he's got to hook up to a machine when he goes to bed every night. The machine constricts around the legs and helps reduce the swelling and he has to wear it all night long.

Worse, he's having a lot of trouble at work due to the leg problems and he's going to have to prematurely retire very soon . . . and it was "just" a small copperhead bite.