It's Always Fun To Work Around These When Doing Brush Cleanup

[fearofpavement]

Well, living in Georgia is certainly snake country and I believe we have the most types of venomous snakes of any state. (not all in the same place though thankfully) I rarely see copperheads, have never seen a live timber or diamondback rattler, coral snake or whatever. The most common venomous snake I encounter are water moccasins (cottonmouths).

I used to kill rat snakes when they were eating our eggs but now that we don't have chickens I leave them alone to eat other vermin. We see the occasional garter snake, black racer or ring snake but overall, I see very few snakes. I do wear snake chaps when busting brush hunting (especially while pig hunting)

We have guinea fowl and they freak out when snakes are around and sometimes our dogs will kill snakes too. (our dogs will double team them. I think a single dog just barks at them.)

Statistically, if you get bitten by a venomous snake, you knew it was there and were messing with it.

Snakes and people have been at odds since the Garden of Eden. They don't bother me if I'm aware of their presence but they can sure make me launch if they surprise me. (like the time in west Texas when I jumped out of a tree and landed on a western diamondback all coiled up.)

 

[gsrsol84mm]

Is that one getting ready to shed its skin? The eyes look rather milky is why I am asking, but it may have been if you used a flash when taking the picture also?

Did not use a flash. This copperhead seemed darker than others I have seen and did not look like he was in any stage of shedding. Maybe the eyes look milkier as this was a darker colored snake.

 

[CenterTree]

Glad I only have garter snakes up here.

Around the house I kill them as I don't want any snakes around the kids. Otherwise I let them go. Saw one back behind my shed yesterday and I was happy to let it pass as long as he keeps the mice out of my hunting gear.

Garter snakes are harmless (to people). I am sure you know that. So why do you kill them for the sake of the kids??

Why not educate the kids in a positive way about "good" snakes. Kids love to learn (if they are given a chance). Teach them the difference between snakes. If you don't have venomous ones then you have it made.

My little daughter likes to hold garters and red-bellied-racers I find while in the yard.
She also understands that when we go to our hunting camp that we all show a GREAT DEAL of respect for the rattlers that we occasionally come across there.

 

[bert the turtle]

WE had one come through our yard a few years ago. My son nearly stepped on it. First venomous snake either of us had seen in the wild and we were both pretty excited about it. Took a bunch of pictures and then went back in to eat dinner. He is marginally better about wearing shoes now. I take a live and let live attitude with snakes. I like them.

I will admit that I used to take the same live and let live attitude in general, but on more than one occasion, a nest of yellowjackets didn't hold up their end of the agreement and ended up on the receiving end of a genocidal chemical attack. Now I eliminate them upon detection.

 

[AdamG]

Hated snakes for the longest time. Now that I Live on my own with wood, a pond, and tall grass nearby- I have just learned to "deal" with them. Helps that there are very few poisonous out this way.

My only exception is the garage. Have seen 4 milk snakes in there just this yr. now- all of them I have just scooped up with a shovel or wrapped up in the tines of a rake and relocated in the woods across the street a good ways down. all have been 1.5-2.0ft at most.
Just found a complete skin behind my deep freezer that I know for a fact was not there 3 days ago, and it was a shade over 3ft. in length. Don't want to kill it- but at the same time, I'm damn tired of getting the crap scared out of me when i unsuspectingly stumble upon one. I may try a snake repellent powder or something before I resort to death.

 

[lambs]

I have always heard and believe it to be true that a copperhead tends to stand his ground when confronted. I think that is what makes them so dangerous. My wife and I were walking around the block last fall and walked up on one about 8 feet in front of us. He didn't move a bit. I was not certain at first that it was a copperhead, but got a good look at the top of his head and it had a copper like sheen. We knocked on several doors trying to find someone home with a garden hoe so I could take him out, but no luck. After maybe 10 minutes he decided to get out of the road and went into someone's back yard.

I have a good friend who was struck by one while walking down a paved street. She went to the ER, but they didn't treat her other than clean up the wound. She was several months healing up.

I don't often kill a snake of any kind, but I will kill a copperhead.

 

[barneyrb]

I have killed rattlers, copperheads, cotton mouths, and coral snakes in this area but all were killed too close to my home. Anytime I run up on one in the woods I will let it be except for a cotton mouth. Usually snakes can't take the vibes from running a saw and will leave in a hurry.

BTW.....copperheads make very pretty hatbands.......

 

[Sagetown]

Out here on the farm snakes are beneficial in keeping vermin in check, but every few years there seems to be an over abundance, and that's when they'll turn from their natural prey to your chicken coop, eating eggs, and baby chicks, and choking your families prize hens to death. That's when I put my foot down. This one had killed three hens before I found it early one morning high in the rafters. Birdshot won't penetrated the galvanized roofing, but a shot to the head will put these guy down for the count. Just don't let it fall on ya, and make you drop your flashlight, you may not live through the ordeal. Don't ask how I know that.

 

[svk]

Garter snakes are harmless (to people). I am sure you know that. So why do you kill them for the sake of the kids??

Why not educate the kids in a positive way about "good" snakes. Kids love to learn (if they are given a chance). Teach them the difference between snakes. If you don't have venomous ones then you have it made.

My little daughter likes to hold garters and red-bellied-racers I find while in the yard.
She also understands that when we go to our hunting camp that we all show a GREAT DEAL of respect for the rattlers that we occasionally come across there.

I also don't want snakes in the house. That's more than enough of a good reason for me. And my wife

 

[w8ye]

Where I grew up was on a lake in south Alabama and as a kid I killed every snake I came across. As a teenager I would go snake hunting and kill 15-20 in a hour. In the boat, I would cut down on them with the outboard motor.

I learned as a kid to not run over one with a bicycle as the snake will always twist to a angle almost parallel to your tire and throw you down with the snake.

As a old retired guy living in North Central Ohio, I leave the snakes alone. Around here they are mostly non poisonous but there are copper heads around. My outdoor cat always kills the smaller snakes if he comes across them. The young snakes are more feisty than the old ones.

We were out behind the barn trying out some saws the other day and I went to set on a log and there was a garter snake laying across it. I decided to stand instead. The other guy went over there and cut the log in two where the snake had been. I suppose the snake was long gone before the saw hit the wood?

 

[stihl sawing]

I will kill copperheads and water moccasins and Rattlers, any non poisonous ones I let go free.

 

[Flintknapper]

I have killed rattlers, copperheads, cotton mouths, and coral snakes in this area but all were killed too close to my home..
.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Same.....!

ALL snakes (venomous or not) are left to go their way when I encounter them in the woods. Non-Venomous snakes get a 'pass' when they venture into the yard, around the house or near my shop. Venomous snakes (invariably a Copperhead...here) are dispatched post-haste when they come around our dwellings.

I keep about 3 acres mowed around the house, that leaves over 320 acres for the snakes, seems fair enough.

I am not afraid of snakes in the least, I like to handle them in fact....but copperheads account for more bites (in the U.S.) than any other venomous snake and should not be allowed to take up residence near your home or other dwellings.

Snakes should NOT be killed indiscriminately or without good reason, BUT neither should they be allowed to pose a threat of any kind.

As concerns snakes and chainsaws....I will offer this one little 'pearl' of wisdom:

DON'T use the bottom of the bar to cut one up (unless you want the snake jerked up onto your feet)! Don't ask...........

Use the top of the bar, that way the chain (and anything making contact with it) is moving AWAY from you.

And yes, I screamed 'like a girl'.

 

[Big_Al]

Really glad we don't have any poisonous snakes around here.

 

[Sagetown]

We have lots of blue racers here. Once driving my truck through the pasture I ran over one, and saw him in my rear view mirror flipping about. So, I stopped the truck and walked back to take a look and him. Well, he was mad, and came at me and chased me all the way back to my truck, then he hightailed it. My heart was full of adrenaline, and I became mad then, so I took out after him and chased him down till he decided to put up a fight. Like a Cobra he stood high on his tail as we faced one another at about 6 feet apart. My son drove the truck up to us, and I told him to toss his hat at the snake. When the snake spun at the hat I lunged at him grabbing him with both hands just below the head. Man, he was strong trying to get out of my grip. I gave him a good scolding then turned him loose, and he skedaddled.

They can run on their tails at least as fast as a man, standing over 3' above the ground, and keep it up for a good 100 yards. Weirdest thing you ever saw.

 

[Sagetown]

Well; I gotta fill in the whole story.
After he put me in the truck the first time. I jumped out and picked up some rocks, and took out after him. When i chunked the last rock at him, he turned on me again and put me back in the truck. We went through that once more, and I grabbed my leather gloves off the seat determined I was going to man up to that sucker.

 

[shootingarts]

depends

While snake bites don't often kill they do leave behind awful damage sometimes and as has been mentioned it can be very expensive. Poisonous snakes in a densely populated subdivision, dead. Sorry but the children are far more important than the snakes. Poisonous snakes in the wild usually get a pass. Not when they got in my crawfish traps when I was commercial fishing though, they made good bait!

I was wading a 93 acre pond when they drained the rest of the ponds on a twelve hundred acre crawfish and rice farm. A very high density of cottonmouths anyway and when I had the only water I was almost kicking them out the way to wade. Thousands in that pond and my only protection wading in up to waist deep water was calf high rubber boots and blue jeans. Even the croc hunter acknowledged cottonmouths had an attitude. Speaking of which, shared the waters with easily hundreds of gators, probably over a thousand over the years. Only one or two in all that time seemed like they wanted to do lunch!

Nonpoisonous snakes almost always get a pass. When I have a mix of poisonous and nonpoisonous in dark buildings they all go except speckled king snakes. I don't want to injure myself when I grab ahold of a snake or one drops on me and occasions like that there is no time to request a pedigree. Too a friend once showed me a snake in the bed of his pick-up after he had been fishing. Harmless banded watersnake, normally something to ignore. He opened this one's mouth with a stick to reveal folding fangs and a white mouth. I don't know how that came to be but I saw it first hand, saw the poison sacks on the side of it's head too, no doubt regardless of shape or paint job he was poisonous!

Snakes that present a real and fairly large danger have to go one way or another. Most snakes I am glad to have around most places. A poisonous snake in the blind fixing to shed or during shedding I'm not going to work around. A cottonmouth that isn't inclined to move, I'm not going to spend any length of time working around, too much distraction. I have had a few fly at me when they felt threatened and it was mostly blind luck I wasn't bitten. Working alone hours from help it is an unacceptable risk. If I'm not working cheek and jowl with the poisonous snake and they are inclined to leave I am usually fine with that. I hate poisonous snakes in my work area when it is cold, they are much less inclined to move. Easy to step on one or accidentally annoy it. Warm weather they are more inclined to move out of the way.

Hu

 

[Mo. Jim]

Well; I gotta fill in the whole story.
After he put me in the truck the first time. I jumped out and picked up some rocks, and took out after him. When i chunked the last rock at him, he turned on me again and put me back in the truck. We went through that once more, and I grabbed my leather gloves off the seat determined I was going to man up to that sucker.

Great story Sage,would have loved to been there,as I have never heard of a snake getting a come to Jesus meeting.:msp_smile:

 

[barneyrb]

Does everyone know how to tell what kind of snake shed is when you find one? The way to tell if a shed is left by a pit viper is to look behind the vent (azz ) and if the underneath belly scales are one piece across then you found a shed of a pit viper. Two piece scale (zig zag down the middle) will not be a viper. Remember this is only behind his bum only and I don't know if it applies to snakes on any continent other the NA....Also works on live snakes but I've always had trouble getting them to roll over and let me look

 

[stihl sawing]

Does everyone know how to tell what kind of snake shed is when you find one? The way to tell if a shed is left by a pit viper is to look behind the vent (azz ) and if the underneath belly scales are one piece across then you found a shed of a pit viper. Two piece scale (zig zag down the middle) will not be a viper. Remember this is only behind his bum only and I don't know if it applies to snakes on any continuent other the NA....Also works on live snakes but I've always had trouble getting them to roll over and let me look

LOL. that head tells me if their a viper.

 

[GSW]

Contrary to the OP's experience and that of others on this thread, the trademark of copperheads is that they ARE aggressive. I've heard of 2 cases of them giving chase to people that simply got within a few feet of them, in one case landing a bite on a Police Officer's lower leg that sent him to the hospital for several days. Black snakes and rat snakes are always kindly ushered out of the yard and away from the house. A copperhead is dispatched on site. Sorry if that puts some snake lover's panties in a twist.