Snakes: Be careful out there!

[mranum]

To me snakes are nothing but evil. Only good one is a dead as far as I'm concerned. You can occasionally find water moccasins near the rivers and some timber rattlers in the rockier regions but not to many around me thank goodness. It sort of bothers me that enviromental groups are pushing to enlarge the population of these creatures. No good can come of that in my view.

Wish the Mrs well on the recovery.

 

[Jkebxjunke]

Hope the Mrs feels better.
Keep an eye out for its mate.. I was told that copper heads hang around in pairs.
As for blacksnakes well I caught one trying to eat a large kitten... the kitten was larger than it could handle. the snake was prolly 6' or better.. it slithered under the shed. the next day my dad was going in the shed and when he opened the door it fell on him... lets just say it was hit with every thing but the kitchen sink. nice 80th birthday present for him eh?

 

[cjnspecial]

I know there's some Cottonmouth water moccasins around here that can look almost solid black . And yes they are very poisonous and can be very aggressive!

+1. Cottonmouths will swim up to your boat and try to get in.


Hope the wife gets better. Throw a couple moth balls in there and that should keep them away.

 

[ropensaddle]

I know there's some Cottonmouth water moccasins around here that can look almost solid black . And yes they are very poisonous and can be very aggressive!

You got that right in the fall I come across them and they just
set there with there mouths wide open, they would rather bite
than any of the poisonous snakes I have caught. There is many
water snakes that appear like a cottonmouth, some even have
fake fangs but a cotton mouth has real ones. I can usually
smell them in an area very pungent smell. I am glad we don't
or are not supposed to have the very deadly snakes of other
countries like black mamba, king brown, death adder etc. I
would hate to cut brush there!

 

[lawnmowertech37]

im glad she is doing better sorry to hear of her getting bit them copperhead and cottonmouth rattlesnakes are very poisoness snakes even the coral and the water mocassin

but we have a King snake in our area as well as a Black Racer how i know we have a black racer he scared me big time couple weeks ago took off sliding towards the bank and he was not going slow either i heard them two species of snakes chase and hunt down the others expecally the king snake they do not like poison snakes

i have had snakes see me heading to the shop take off the other way to avoid me all together

we have rat snakes mostly in my yard area and surrounding i believe the cats around the neighborhood love hunting them too


i may just get me a cat just to have around the house

calvin


the best way to get them going somewhere else eliminate there food source

if they cannot find food they will keep moving till they do

 

[cornraker]

i almost stepped on a copperhead while dove hunting last year. blew him to pieces with a load of 7 1/2. i'm not a fan of snakes btw

 

[Fastcast]

i almost stepped on a copperhead while dove hunting last year. blew him to pieces with a load of 7 1/2.

......

 

[irishcountry]

My mother is still scarred to this day from picking up a rock in Ky. where she grew up only to find a large copperhead she didn't get bit but to this day she hates ALL snakes. We try to get rid of them if they are close to the house i'm afraid one day she will have a heart attack we are in southern michigan and I know we have the mesasauga (spelling??) rattler I have never seen one but I would rather keep it that way. As far as insects go bats do a good job around here!! nuff said

 

[stihl sawing]

......

I stepped on a small timber rattler two years ago. About two feet long. When i felt some thing moving beneath the boot I knew better than to lift my foot. I looked down and seen i had his head pinned so i just put a lot more pressure with a little twisting action on him. I usually won't kill a non poisonous snake especially a king snake. They will eat poisonous snakes. They eat rats and mice. The worst snake to me is the water moccasin. I have had them try and get in the boat. Probably looked funny beating a snake in the water with a boat paddle.

 

[woodchuck361]

Hope the recovery is a speedy one. Was it a juvenile? They are the most dangerous. The adult knows it cant eat you (too big) so it will not usually waist its venom on you. The juvenile on the other hand is scared of you and will pump all the venom it has into you. Very deadly. Copperheads can be very aggressive I saw a boy get chased up a hill by a very determined copperhead.

 

[papossefan]

The two main poisonous snakes in my area are rattlers and copperheads. In the experiences I've had, copperheads are far worse than the rattlers. A rattle snake will most likely leave the area if it is startled and even if you surprise it they will rattle most of the time to warn you of them before they strike. Copperheads on the other hand seem to be much more aggressive and if confronted they have no problem sticking around to see what the commotion is they have even been known to come after people even after they start to back away. So for me, if I see a snake while in the woods, if at all possible I kill it, simple as that.

 

[danrclem]

The worst snake to me is the water moccasin. I have had them try and get in the boat. Probably looked funny beating a snake in the water with a boat paddle.

Speaking of water moccasins and boats, has anybody ever been on Reelfoot Lake in western Tn. There are more snakes there that you can shake a stick at. One of the locals said that when the mocassins start rutting is when they get really aggressive.

It kept me busy looking up in the cypress trees to make sure that one didn't fall in the boat.

 

[KMB]

Hope the Mrs feels better.
Keep an eye out for its mate.. I was told that copper heads hang around in pairs.
As for blacksnakes well I caught one trying to eat a large kitten... the kitten was larger than it could handle. the snake was prolly 6' or better.. it slithered under the shed. the next day my dad was going in the shed and when he opened the door it fell on him... lets just say it was hit with every thing but the kitchen sink. nice 80th birthday present for him eh?

I would have come UNPACKED if a snake would have fallen on me...I'd probably never be the same. Anybody ever see the blooper of Bill Dance bass fishing under a tree when a snake falls on him...it's funny, but I wouldn't want it happening to me.

I stepped on a small timber rattler two years ago. About two feet long. When i felt some thing moving beneath the boot I knew better than to lift my foot. I looked down and seen i had his head pinned so i just put a lot more pressure with a little twisting action on him. I usually won't kill a non poisonous snake especially a king snake. They will eat poisonous snakes. They eat rats and mice. The worst snake to me is the water moccasin. I have had them try and get in the boat. Probably looked funny beating a snake in the water with a boat paddle.

Them water moccasins will chase a lure through the water too. I heard about a fella hooking on to one while bass fishing at night...I think he didn't look down at what he was about to unhook and got bit.

Kevin

 

[milkie62]

I HATE SNAKES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glad there aren't any poisonous ones in my area.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

My best wishes goes out to you both , glad to hear of her speedy recovery so far.

Snakes anywhere are a given here. Thats OK with me if they go the other way they live another day. Back around the house though is a different story. If it is venonous it isn't going to last long around here. I have a few garden snakes around that dont bother me in the least. They are eating the mice so the stray cats go hungry and move on.

 

[Tesen]

Wife got bitten by a Copperhead on Saturday, right by the house in a raised bed where we grow our peppers...just getting out of the hospital today (I hope)..her right leg swollen, black and blue, can't walk on it yet...didn't find the 'lil SOB eiether...Y'all be careful out there!

I hope she gets better quick and that there are no lasting effects!

As for aggression that some people have talked about, Copperheads are pit vipers, and like a lot of pit vipers, they are ambush prediators. The main issue with bites in US, is instead of slithering away like a lot of non-aggressive snakes do, the Copperhead will freeze, which causes a lot of people not to notice them, since they do blend in well, get to close you get bit.

I discovered they love to freeze first hand when I first moved to the USA almost nine years ago. I was out back at my inlaws place, walking my mother inlaws dog, the dog started barking, getting very seriously worked up, I walked another foot, look down... okay, I admit it I screamed like a girl! I am scared to death of snakes, even gardner snakes and finding a copperhead at my feet, uhhhh, I jumped back what felt like a 100 feet, the damn dog kept going at it.

So yeah, becareful out there guys! Those things blend in so well, it is often very tough to tell if they are there until it is to late!

Tes

P.S: Snakes are EVIL! And best taken care of at distance with a thirty-aught-six ;-)

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Not so sure that is always true though....Some of these big blacks around our parts could care less you're around and as a matter of fact have come crawling out of who knows where to greet you.....

Yeah, backed in the family van one day in its usual parking space, got out, and about 3 feet from my head was a 6 foot black snake, just chilling on a branch. He wasn't the least bothered by the van or by me. Gave me a start, I tell you!



Hope your wife gets a full recovery, soon, Mike! And thanks for the warning; that's close to home. You aren't all that far from me.

 

[walexa07]

I never kill a snake unless it is near my house AND poisonous......don't want to take a chance on my kids getting bit. Otherwise I enjoy having them around, but then again my father was the same way and instilled it in me. Growing up he would catch king snakes, grass snakes, garter snakes, basically any of the non-poisonous ones for me.......I'd keep them a while and let them go. Now days I will catch any of them.......just because I can, and they never startle me. Fear of snakes is a learned response, not a natural one.

But I do wish your wife a speedy recovery........if it were me I'd be looking for the one who bit her to see how he likes the bite of my shovel.

Regarding toxicity of the venom.........I have read the copperhead is the least deadly, the water moccasin is worse, and the rattlesnake is the worst of the pit vipers.

Here is some info on the copperhead I found:

"Equipped with long fangs curved to the back for holding onto prey, Copperheads are efficient predators but their bite is rarely deadly to human victims. Many snake bites delivered by snakes in the Copperhead family occur on the outer extremities such as hands and feet where there is little muscle tissue to absorb the envenomization. These hemotoxic snake bites usually result in severe swelling, throbbing and nausea to the victim. An effective Copperhead Antivenom exists, but is only administered as a last resort because the threat of allergic reaction is usually more dangerous to the victim than the snakebite itself. "

I believe the only snake more poisonous in the US than the rattlesnake is the coral snake.

My cousin got bit by a copperhead a few years back.......she was wearing flip flops and stepped on a small one near a flowerbed. They took her to the hospital, but no antivenom was used, and she suffered no permanent damage.

Waylan

 

[Fastcast]

The worst snake to me is the water moccasin. I have had them try and get in the boat. Probably looked funny beating a snake in the water with a boat paddle.

Sounds like you needed a load of bird shot too......

Yeah, backed in the family van one day in its usual parking space, got out, and about 3 feet from my head was a 6 foot black snake, just chilling on a branch. He wasn't the least bothered by the van or by me. Gave me a start, I tell you!

:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[ropensaddle]

I never kill a snake unless it is near my house AND poisonous......don't want to take a chance on my kids getting bit. Otherwise I enjoy having them around, but then again my father was the same way and instilled it in me. Growing up he would catch king snakes, grass snakes, garter snakes, basically any of the non-poisonous ones for me.......I'd keep them a while and let them go. Now days I will catch any of them.......just because I can, and they never startle me. Fear of snakes is a learned response, not a natural one.

But I do wish your wife a speedy recovery........if it were me I'd be looking for the one who bit her to see how he likes the bite of my shovel.

Regarding toxicity of the venom.........I have read the copperhead is the least deadly, the water moccasin is worse, and the rattlesnake is the worst of the pit vipers.

Here is some info on the copperhead I found:

"Equipped with long fangs curved to the back for holding onto prey, Copperheads are efficient predators but their bite is rarely deadly to human victims. Many snake bites delivered by snakes in the Copperhead family occur on the outer extremities such as hands and feet where there is little muscle tissue to absorb the envenomization. These hemotoxic snake bites usually result in severe swelling, throbbing and nausea to the victim. An effective Copperhead Antivenom exists, but is only administered as a last resort because the threat of allergic reaction is usually more dangerous to the victim than the snakebite itself. "

I believe the only snake more poisonous in the US than the rattlesnake is the coral snake.

My cousin got bit by a copperhead a few years back.......she was wearing flip flops and stepped on a small one near a flowerbed. They took her to the hospital, but no antivenom was used, and she suffered no permanent damage.

Waylan

+1 of coarse even the cottonmouth and rattler seldom end in death
but are more serious. The coral is rare I have only seen one in my life
despite living in there range my whole life, however if bit and without quick medical treatment it is over. They don't have fangs like pit vipers so they have to chew to secrete their venom. red touching yellow kill a fellow,
red touching black venom lack. The milk snake closely resembles this
deadly snake and a few others are similar!