In full blown panic, husband just killed baby copperhead

[bookfiend]

at the bottom of our front steps!! :eek: !! :eek:

 

Here's what I want to know:

 

How many more are there?

Where are they living?

Can they get into my house?

What kills snakes (besides a mongoose?)

 

Please don't write back that snakes are good for us/sacred/helpful or any other "save the snake" response.

 

ETA: Husband alive, snake dead. Very sorry for confusing title, I've added an article, maybe that will help.

Edited October 5, 2010 by bookfiend

[Mama Geek]

Just looked it up on line...hawks, owls, wild pigs kill the norther copperhead. I assume that would kill a NC copperhead too.

[Liz CA]

I almost fell off my chair b/c I read "Husband was killed by baby copperhead."

First of all, I am relieved that your dh is okay and that the copperhead is dead.

 

I would call the local Humane Society. In our area they are supposed to have information on these things. If your HS cannot help you, I'd contact a Wildlife Center and ask those questions you posted.

Some of it may be on website info but I'd rather hear it from someone who is in the know.

[melissel]

I don't have any advice, but when I first read your subject line, I thought it said, "In full blown panic, husband just killed BY A copperhead"!!! My heart is still totally racing here :svengo: I'm so glad it was the other way around :grouphug:

[Abigail4476]

I've heard that chickens (or maybe certain types of chickens?) will kill snakes. It seems like a lot of work, though, keeping a flock of chickens just to keep snakes at bay. :D

 

We live in the country, and encounter snakes at least several times a year. Our best defense has been to educate our children on the types of snakes indigenous to our area, and discuss safety. They are required to wear boots for protection if they're going to be outside the immediate yard and in high grass/brush. In our area, all brightly colored snakes (or snakes with bright markings) are harmless. Ergo, the bright ones get to stay; the rest die if they are too close to the house or where our children play. Also, most bites occur when someone tries to catch or kill snakes, so make sure your kids know not to follow your husband's example of Snake Slayer. They should always steer clear.

[bookfiend]

So we live in a suburban neighborhood, chickens and wild pigs are against covenent; although, we do have a residential, red-tailed hawk. I'm hoping there are professional snake hunters/slayers for hire.

 

All kidding aside, this was the providential protection of God. I was standing on the steps when my younger son spotted the snake. I know you can picture the lean-over-curious, get-a-close-look posture of an 8yo. Our friend's daughter was bitten by baby copperheads nesting in their backyard woodpile. She nearly lost her foot and was in a wheelchair for 6 weeks. So I've been aware that these snakes can be in ordinary yards, when I saw it - I just knew.

Edited October 5, 2010 by bookfiend
spelling

[delaney]

I don't have any advice, but when I first read your subject line, I thought it said, "In full blown panic, husband just killed BY A copperhead"!!! My heart is still totally racing here :svengo: I'm so glad it was the other way around :grouphug:

See I thought it said that husband killed a baby! geez I must be tired:tongue_smilie:

[RegGuheert]

Are you sure it wasn't a black snake? I've never been able to tell the two apart when they are babies.

 

ETA: Here is a link to a picture of the two side-by-side.

Edited October 5, 2010 by RegGuheert

[Pretty in Pink]

I can sympathize. We have copperheads in our neighborhood. We found an adult in our flowerbed over the summer and ran across a baby on a walk one night. We only walk during the daylight hours now! :D

[bookfiend]

Are you sure it wasn't a black snake? I've never been able to tell the two apart when they are babies.

 

ETA: Here is a link to a picture of the two side-by-side.

 

OK, see I told hubby not to chop it all to pieces. Now we are going to have to dig up the body and look. I don't think it had a lemon yellow tail, but it surely did have that coppery body color. Also, it reared its tiny, snake head back into striking position the way that poisionous snakes do. I would think a friendly, black snake would just slither off.

 

Feeling somewhat calmer now that no one is actually dead.

 

ETA: No one has commented on snake's propensity to enter household.

Edited October 5, 2010 by bookfiend

[RegGuheert]

I don't think it had a lemon yellow tail, but it surely did have that coppery body color. Also, it reared its tiny, snake head back into striking position the way that poisionous snakes do. I would think a friendly, black snake would just slither off.

The children found a baby blacksnake sitting on a pile of mulch a couple weeks ago. We were all looking at the snake when our cat lumbers through and steps DIRECTLY on the snake! :w00t: And this particular cat is a GREAT HUNTER who has even killed a baby blacksnake in the past. :glare:

ETA: No one has commented on snake's propensity to enter household.

This time of year I think they are more likely to come in. We killed a baby snake in our house a few years ago, though I think it was a black snake.

I can sympathize. We have copperheads in our neighborhood. We found an adult in our flowerbed over the summer and ran across a baby on a walk one night. We only walk during the daylight hours now! :D

We used to live near a lake and often took walks in the evening. One evening we were on the way home as it got dark. At the very last moment I saw a fat, short snake stretched out across the path in front of me. Yeah, I was pretty leery of walking after dark from then on!

 

BTW, I don't know if it is true, but I have heard that baby poisonous snakes can be more dangerous than adults due to the inability to properly control the glands that contain the venom. Who knows?

[bookfiend]

BTW, I don't know if it is true, but I have heard that baby poisonous snakes can be more dangerous than adults due to the inability to properly control the glands that contain the venom. Who knows?

 

Yes this is true which is why our friend's daughter was in such danger when she was bit.

[Dobela]

I killed a baby copperhead in my garage a few years ago. It didn't have the yellow tail anymore, and it didn't really look like a diamond shaped head yet, but it was cisciuos just like you described. About the size of a pencil...

[Katiebug_1976]

The best way I've been taught to tell if a snake is poisonous or not is to look at the scales on the belly of the snake (obviously, in my opinion, this can only be done after the snake is"dealt with." I'm NOT going near a live snake w/o a shot gun or BIG, LONG shovel!). If the scales at the end of the tail are solid across then it is not poisonous, but if they are split in half then it is poisonous. Either way, snakes DO NOT belong anywhere near my home or family!!

[FaithManor]

In my humble opinion, a hand grenade or a shoulder launch bazooka is the only appropriate method of dispatching a snake. All other methodologies require one to get too close to the enemy. I, for one, could never do it without high tech artillery and a fox hole.

 

Faith

[bookfiend]

The best way I've been taught to tell if a snake is poisonous or not is to look at the scales on the belly of the snake (obviously, in my opinion, this can only be done after the snake is"dealt with." I'm NOT going near a live snake w/o a shot gun or BIG, LONG shovel!). If the scales at the end of the tail are solid across then it is not poisonous, but if they are split in half then it is poisonous. Either way, snakes DO NOT belong anywhere near my home or family!!

 

So definitely digging up the snake tomorrow. I need to know what we are dealing with here.

 

The baby was found at the bottom of our front stairs. The stairs are brick and about six high with brick side walls. Underneath the stairs is an inaccessable, hollow cavern. I've always been suspicious things could be living under there...

[2cents]

Baby snakes aren't able to regulate how much venom they inject so that makes them very dangerous. Don't want to alarm you but if this is a copperhead baby then it is likely there is a nest close by. I would be calling a wildlife trapper in the morning to come and have a look at the property just be make sure there aren't any more around. I'm glad you are all safe. Snake bites scare me.

[Margo out of lurking]

How many more are there?

 

Probably others. Sorry.

 

Where are they living?

Babies...in brush, in hay bales, anywhere to keep warm when the sun is not out. Probably a lot of other places.

 

Can they get into my house?

 

Probably not, but it depends on how big of an opening they find, and if you have any food sources in your house.

What kills snakes (besides a mongoose?)

 

BLACK SNAKES kill copperheads. We had a one-eyed black snake (yes, the butt of countless jokes, sigh) that lived on/around our deck/porch one summer. The one eye made him less scary to me, plus more familiar (puh-lease, I knew it was the same one!), and the fact that he'd keep copperheads away was the only thing that saved him.

 

 

.

[Sahamamama]

http://www.susanwisebauer.com/blog/coping-with-the-farm/hey-mom-look-what-i-caught/

[bookfiend]

In my humble opinion, a hand grenade or a shoulder launch bazooka is the only appropriate method of dispatching a snake. All other methodologies require one to get too close to the enemy. I, for one, could never do it without high tech artillery and a fox hole.

 

Faith

 

as an alternative I'm investigating this pulse unit. http://www.stop-snakes.com/

[AuntieM]

OK, see I told hubby not to chop it all to pieces. Now we are going to have to dig up the body and look. I don't think it had a lemon yellow tail, but it surely did have that coppery body color. Also, it reared its tiny, snake head back into striking position the way that poisionous snakes do. I would think a friendly, black snake would just slither off.

 

Feeling somewhat calmer now that no one is actually dead.

 

ETA: No one has commented on snake's propensity to enter household.

 

Black racers are very aggressive and this is exactly what one would do. I've had hatchlings try to attack me, only to find that their tiny mouths couldn't open wide enough to get a grip!

 

Hope you discover that's what you actually had, instead of a copperhead.

[Tree House Academy]

OK, see I told hubby not to chop it all to pieces. Now we are going to have to dig up the body and look. I don't think it had a lemon yellow tail, but it surely did have that coppery body color. Also, it reared its tiny, snake head back into striking position the way that poisionous snakes do. I would think a friendly, black snake would just slither off.

 

Feeling somewhat calmer now that no one is actually dead.

 

ETA: No one has commented on snake's propensity to enter household.

 

Likely it was not a copperhead. It is hard to tell when they are babies. Look at the markings. You also need to look at the head and see if you see pits. We killed a baby milk snake in the yard last week because it resembled a copperhead and it also reared up and struck at us. I think that is snake intuition when someone is killing you.

 

Copperheads have very shiny heads (like copper) and a very distinctive pattern on their bodies. They also have the flattened heads with pits on the side.

[cjbeach]

OMG!

I don't do well with anything that slithers, period.

One day I walked from my car smack dab into a snake in my driveway (central FL house on the water). Of course I went screaming into the house. DH came out and thought, mistakenly, that it was a coral snake so we scooted, quickly. Thank goodness for Google because it turned out to be a scarlet king snake, which is very similar in color/patterning but not poisonous (snake mimic).

Yikes.

I think I'd play inside tomorrow!!!!

 

ETA- my black racer story.

Our 2nd month in FL (from Jersey) we walked outside to find a 4-5 foot black racer in our driveway. Our neighbor saw it as well and called the front gate (WHAT our goofy front gate security people were supposed to do I have NO idea but he called them). Front gate security called back and said they called animal patrol. Meanwhile, the racer had made it's way pretty far up the block!!! A few minutes later a police car showed up and the woman officer who got out asked who called, asked about the snake, then asked my dh for a shovel! LOL. We left a few minutes later to go to the store and there she was up at the corner of our street with a shovel. We have only seen animal control come out for the occasional gator though last year they showed up with flareguns after the freeze...so many fish had died in our lake that we had vultures everywhere. Ewwww. They scared the vultures away with the flares.

Edited October 6, 2010 by cjbeach

[MaryElizabeth]

I saw where you live in North Carolinas. If I recall my herpatology (isn't that the correct word?) South Carolina is home to the most species of copperhead, so you're in that area. I live where copperheads abound here in the south. So, they're a common sight. They like wooded areas/vines/etc. Of course you know that the mamas give birth to live babies by the dozens. As for entering your house, this isn’t too common although who knows where they seek to hibernate. Guess I'd only be concerned if you're house was somehow very permeable (which I doubt).

In all my years, I’ve never known anyone personally who had a snake in their home (now my friend who lives in Indonesia has…J).

 

Make sure it’s not a brown rat snake -- they can look similarly as babes I think. This is a brown rat snake:

 

 

 

Now you KNOW that if you bury a snake then its siblings and "family members" will know its scent and be drawn to the area within HOURS of the scent and you'll have created a snake mecca.

 

 

 

 

So, whatever you do DO NOT CHOP IT UP AND BURY IT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I'm just joking with you in that above paragraph, by the way).

 

 

 

 

Back to seriousness, copperheads are not aggressive like water moccasins (who'll come at you). They only bite (with their relatively less toxic bite) if stepped on and when they feel extremely threatened. They freeze when scared.

 

 

 

 

You've likely just found a lone traveler who's looking for a good winter hideout.

 

 

 

 

As for snake hunters, I've heard that schnauzers and jack russell terriers will watch for snakes. However, I wouldn't get a dog FOR THIS REASON as he'd get little "experience" using this skill in his lifespan.

 

 

 

 

Take heart....think of how many 1000s of folks trapse through the woods DAILY and how few people you know who've ever been bit by a snake PERIOD, much less by a copperhead specifically. So, the ODDs are WAY in your favor. I'd just give my house and around it a good check to make sure you don't have a nest of newborns that you can readily find and then rest easy.

 

 

 

 

Or...you could start breeding KING SNAKES and have them guard your home for ya;). My dad has a resident King Snake that comes to lay out on their sidewalk at least once a week and they've named him "Sir Hiss." But...they know to leave him be as he'll eat the "bad guys" readily enough.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2010 by MaryElizabeth

[gaillardia]

In my humble opinion, a hand grenade or a shoulder launch bazooka is the only appropriate method of dispatching a snake. All other methodologies require one to get too close to the enemy. I, for one, could never do it without high tech artillery and a fox hole.

 

Faith

Could we see a picture of you doing that?

 

Brave son killed a king snake because neighbor said, "oh, yeah, that's a bad one." Well, king snakes kill rattle snakes but their patterns look scary.

Edited October 6, 2010 by gingerh
add info on king snakes

[cjzimmer1]

See I thought it said that husband killed a baby! geez I must be tired:tongue_smilie:

 

That's what I read too until I did a double take.

[Denisemomof4]

I had to reread your title. I did not see the word copperhead at the end the first time. :eek::eek::eek::scared::scared::scared::svengo:

[Denisemomof4]

That's what I read too until I did a double take.

 

See I thought it said that husband killed a baby! geez I must be tired:tongue_smilie:

 

Whew! It wasn't just me this time! How refreshing!:tongue_smilie:

[specialmama]

The children found a baby blacksnake sitting on a pile of mulch a couple weeks ago. We were all looking at the snake when our cat lumbers through and steps DIRECTLY on the snake! :w00t: And this particular cat is a GREAT HUNTER who has even killed a baby blacksnake in the past.

 

Well, great. It's contagious! I read "And this particular cat is a GREAT HUNTER who has even been killed by a baby blacksnake in the past." There goes another life. :tongue_smilie::lol:

[elfgivas]

fwiw, we live in the high desert, without many houses around, so we have lots of "wild life".

 

what we do to keep rattlesnakes away from our house:

 

1) trap mice and rats alllll the time (no snake food, no snakes)

2) don't ever feed animals outside or leave food accessible (to limit mice)

3) always have a house cat and a dog (most snakes will avoid something that might hunt them)

4) catch non poisonous snakes and bring them home and put them under the house.... they eat the mice we miss trapping and therefore fill the snake niche around our house.

5) at this time of year, if you keep your entryways really cold, then the snakes won't come in seeking warmth.

 

we've also discovered that if we empty the mouse traps and leave the contents around, the ravens and red tail hawks come and visit regularly just in case there is an easy meal for them.... and they will also hunt snakes. dh throws them on the roof, so they are clearly bird food and not snake food.

 

fwiw,

ann

[bookfiend]

the rest of the story..

 

Panic over - we've dug up the remains,

[Laurie4b]

Back to seriousness, copperheads are not aggressive like water moccasins (who'll come at you). They only bite (with their relatively less toxic bite) if stepped on and when they feel extremely threatened. They freeze when scared.

 

 

 

Our experience with copperheads (and it is fairly extensive: 6 close-up encounters in our family, a neighbor bitten, and a friend bitten) does not support the statement that they are not aggressive. Some are not aggressive (my ds stepped on one once and it didn't react and I almost stepped on one, leaping over it at the last minute); others are: I was walking down the drive at dusk and several feet in front of me, a vague impression formed in my mind of snake in strike mode. It chrystalized and yes, it was copperhead in strike mode. Lots of bushed located just 2 feet away and it could have chosen to slither under them, but it stood to strike. Another ds walked out back last summer and had the same experience; he jumped back and it still struck at him. Friend who was bitten says the snake came after her.

[Laurie4b]

Black racers are very aggressive and this is exactly what one would do. I've had hatchlings try to attack me, only to find that their tiny mouths couldn't open wide enough to get a grip!

 

Hope you discover that's what you actually had, instead of a copperhead.

 

I agree about black racers. If there are dry leaves about, they will also rattle their tails so that they sound like rattlesnakes. Racers are fast and mean. Black snakes not as fast and generally have good tempers.

[Jenny in Atl]

I nearly stepped on an adult Copperhead about a couple weeks ago. Poor think was coming up out of the creek looking for water (no rain in weeks). A day later it was hit by a car. Poor thing, it rained the next day. If only the Copperhead had waited a day, water would have come to him/her.

 

I don't worry much about the copperheads in our area, since we have a King snake living under our back porch. :D

[OnTheBrink]

In my humble opinion, a hand grenade or a shoulder launch bazooka is the only appropriate method of dispatching a snake. All other methodologies require one to get too close to the enemy. I, for one, could never do it without high tech artillery and a fox hole.

 

Faith

 

I SO agree with you!

 

And, I'm happy that the OP's dh was not killed by a snake!

[mcconnellboys]

Where I grew up in TN, the babies were born in September. I would tend to think that where one baby was found, others would be around. They are just as venomous as the adults.

 

My mother puts sticky boards (sometimes used to catch mice) at some of her doors. She recently caught 8 ring-necked babies in a single day attempting to enter her house. This is not a method I'd normally recommend for catching anything, but it might be effective to help keep snakes out of your house (if they're younger ones).

 

If any were caught in this way, the person disposing of them would have to be mega-careful with handling as they'd still be alive for a while after being caught.....

[katemary63]

Are you sure it wasn't a black snake? I've never been able to tell the two apart when they are babies.

 

ETA: Here is a link to a picture of the two side-by-side.

 

That's odd. I've seen and killed many copperheads of all sizes. Once you've seen one, you could never confuse it with any other species of snake. There are many species that can be confused for each other, but copperheads are COPPER and extremely distinctive in appearance. Even your picture shows a noticable color difference. If it was brilliant copper, it was a copperhead.

 

BTW: I'm not afraid of copperheads. They are very calm, slow moving snakes that usually don't bite unless you step right on them. I do kill them when they are near the house or barn yard.

[bookfiend]

That's odd. I've seen and killed many copperheads of all sizes. Once you've seen one, you could never confuse it with any other species of snake. There are many species that can be confused for each other, but copperheads are COPPER and extremely distinctive in appearance. Even your picture shows a noticable color difference. If it was brilliant copper, it was a copperhead.

 

BTW: I'm not afraid of copperheads. They are very calm, slow moving snakes that usually don't bite unless you step right on them. I do kill them when they are near the house or barn yard.

 

What the picture doesn't show is that the baby black racer has a distinct copper tone to the scaling. Perhaps if I had ever seen an actual baby copperhead, I wouldn't have been tricked. Now I know that the baby copperhead also has a bright limey green tail end. Still not eager to entertain snakes at my front steps however.