Copperheads

Jim62

Jim62

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2020
Messages
671
Just thought I'd share what living in the deep woods brings into your life. This is the second one of these nasty little creatures I have found right in front of my porch. This is where the second one died and it was sitting on my front porch step when my dog and I nearly stepped on it. The previous one was at night two days before, directly in the path of the Dog when I took him out to do his thing. If I hadn't turned on the porch light for the first one we would have stepped on it for sure and one or both of us would have been bitten. It appears some silly female copperhead decided to give birth under my front porch. If you look at the pick the front section of the snake is still alive and dangerous. I should have taken video because it actually turned around looked and me and opened it's mouth like it wanted to bite me, then it tried to crawl off without it's lower half. I eventually used a shovel to move it away from the rocks and blasted it with a shot gun. The first one met the same fate. Been here ten years, and this is a first and I hope last I have to deal with these. Those things can litter from 3 to 11 young. I don't think I'm finished with this event.
Copper Head.JPG
 
Motoretrolia said:
OK, I partially own 100 acres in Kentucky and it's loaded with Copperheads. Nothing to mess with and no warning to strike. Snake boots and/or cold weather are my requirements before hiking through there. Good luck.
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The two I just got rid of make a total of three I've seen in 10 years so that's not bad but looks like this year may be a large population. This is the first time I've seen them near the house. At least they aren't aggressive. They will try to stay still and not be seen, but of course that can backfire into stepping on one or close enough it will strike. Which is what we came real close to doing. The dog actually had one of his feet on the same step this thing was on, luckily it was facing the other direction. He didn't even see it because it was not moving.
 
Be careful. I have spent most my life in the Southwest. Saw many rattlesnakes in my day. I usually tried to pick them up with a toy grabber that I used and replaced yearly and move the snake to a location far away from my family and dogs. Otherwise, they were dispatched by 12 guage or a well-placed 22 shot to the head.

These days, I am retired and live in NW Wisconsin. Had to get away from the heat. Anyway, the WI DNR says that there are rattle snakes in our area, but I have never seen one. Been here for a couple years. Not like the CA desert where they are everywhere and seen regularly.

I hate to sound too brutal, but the only good rattler is a dead one.
 
OldManModeller said:
Be careful. I have spent most my life in the Southwest. Saw many rattlesnakes in my day. I usually tried to pick them up with a toy grabber that I used and replaced yearly and move the snake to a location far away from my family and dogs. Otherwise, they were dispatched by 12 gauge or a well-placed 22 shot to the head.

These days, I am retired and live in NW Wisconsin. Had to get away from the heat. Anyway, the WI DNR says that there are rattle snakes in our area, but I have never seen one. Been here for a couple years. Not like the CA desert where they are everywhere and seen regularly.

I hate to sound too brutal, but the only good rattler is a dead one.
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I'll not bother them if they stay in our woods that's fine, come into my yard and they will meet their end. Funny thing is I thought I had smaller shot shells but I had grabbed 00 buckshot. It literally disintegrated their heads, which is fine with me, those heads are still dangerous if you just cut them in two. It was very odd seeing that second one I got trying to crawl away with half a body. I had just been watching some show called I was prey and a couple stories were about guys who cut rattle snakes in two then picked up the part with the head and got bit. I now believe that, after seeing that snake in action while in two parts.
 
Rob S said:
I ran across this guy at a jobsite in western NC. I was wishing I had eyes on the back of my head

View attachment 124846
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It does make you feel that way. I step outside very slowly now looking all over just to be safe. So far the two I got are all I've seen and that could be a good thing or bad. Grilling weather has returned and sitting in the front yard grilling will involve having my head on a swivel. It looks like it has a rattler, is it a timber rattler? That's our only rattlesnake here in Missouri.
 

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