OK, my husband and son are amatuer herpetologists, and enjoy all manner of reptiles. The EXCEPTION are copperheads living in and near our barn/house. If they are out on the property, well away from the inhabited parts of our place...no problem, live and let live we say. We have found TWO in two weeks, both were VERY aggressive, striking even when we weren't aware of their presence at first (and both are in formaldehyde now, LOL).
Problem is HOW to make them move out to more remote areas now?? :confused:
I am horribly allergic to most manner of insect bites, and fear if a copperhead bites me, I won't live to tell the tail. And YES we are 100% positive they are copperheads. Slitted eyes, FANGS, triangle heads, the works. IF one of us gets bitten what do we do??

I am sure James White will be along shortly to tell you in his professional capacity what to do. However, in the meantime, I will tell you in my non-professional capacity what to do with them. How to move them further from the house/barn? Low angle shot from a 12G. Any parts you can find will be significantly further away from the house.

Bump for James White.

Originally posted by huntr1
Low angle shot from a 12G. Any parts you can find will be significantly further away from the house. :yeahthat:

I'd be worried that the bunny huggers would come after me if I shot it, so maybe I outta stick to gas and a match. :biggrin:

Of course I'm full of crap, if I ever saw one, I would just pee my pants.

Originally posted by huntr1
"Low angle shot from a 12G. Any parts you can find will be significantly further away from the house. "


:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:
AMEN to THAT! I nearly spit my coffee onto the monitor - thanks for the laugh.

First off an official statement..lol
It is illegal in the State of Md. To kill any snake...ok did that part..lol


Copperheads have been increasing in numbers in the southern maryland area for the past 3 years.

Some of the main hot spots for them are.
CRE,ranch club,Hollywood,Waldorf ,Hughesville,And a few other places.

One question about the above post,I believe you said they kept striking,This is not normal for copperheads to do.Actaully a copperhead is very docile,and will only strike,when provoked.

For copperheads and all other snakes,You have to look at one thing.."WHY ARE THEY THERE ?"

If you have them,means you have a habitat ,that is table and plentyful of rodents and other things that are in the food chain,along with a great habitat for them to house up in,and breed,Such as high grass,woodpiles,sheds w/wooden floors,Or general clutter,As all the above draw in the food.

Clean up your mess,eliminate there food sourses,and they will go away.

The chances of you dying from a copperhead bite are slim,unless you are very young,or old and / or have a week immune system.Typically if bit,you should go to hospital,and be monitored,Main threat and what usually happens after a bite,is an attack on your muscular tissue makeup,which will swell your area of bite up ,very large.Anti-Venom is vary rarely used,The main thing is to the hospital to monitor for any other reasctions and to assure the swelling does not transent into areas which could cause loss of breath.Similiar to those who are allergic to bees and swell up.

Any other questions just ask.

It's illegal to kill a snake? Why? :confused:

Why??? Bunny huggers..lol

A long time law,that we are working on getting out or re phrased ,never enforced,will I shouldnt say never.

Actaully the law was put in a LONG time ago,and still has some merit today.It is well known the benifit of snakes in helping control the rodent popuation.The law was written in 1957.and has never changed.

Originally posted by James White
Actaully a copperhead is very docile,and will only strike,when provoked.

I have never seen a docile copperhead, every one that I have run across has been very aggressive. I lay no claim to being an expert on snakes, but the 7 or 8 times I've come across a copperhead, they have been far and away the most agressive snake I've ever seen.

Originally posted by otter
I have never seen a docile copperhead, every one that I have run across has been very aggressive. I lay no claim to being an expert on snakes, but the 7 or 8 times I've come across a copperhead, they have been far and away the most agressive snake I've ever seen.

I don't know; the most agressive snake I've ever seen is the trouser snake.....they'll even spit at ya.

Otter,
Maybe I should re phrase my input on agressiveness,
Copperheads along with many others ,will by nature,WARN you if you are getting to close,or they feel threatened,That means go away.

Agressivness,I am pertaining to is,actaully striking.

When I catch them,I can walk up on them and catch them bare handed,with know problem.

It is when many people scream,start swinging rakes and hoe's and whatever ,is when the put the fear into the snake to go into strike'defense mode.

Just walk away from them,and all will be fine.

NM has a point..:lmao:

Originally posted by nomoney
I don't know; the most agressive snake I've ever seen is the trouser snake.....they'll even spit at ya.

:killingme :lol:

Originally posted by James White
Otter,
Maybe I should re phrase my input on agressiveness,
Copperheads along with many others ,will by nature,WARN you if you are getting to close,or they feel threatened,That means go away.

Agressivness,I am pertaining to is,actaully striking.

When I catch them,I can walk up on them and catch them bare handed,with know problem.

It is when many people scream,start swinging rakes and hoe's and whatever ,is when the put the fear into the snake to go into strike'defense mode.

Just walk away from them,and all will be fine. Had one in the garden and tried that walking away thing. He followed me and kept on coming. Had to dispose of him. Black snakes, no problem, I'll keep them around for the mice, but Copperheads, they're history.

http://www.duracell.com/images/oem/photo_oem_alkaline_batt.jpg

Yikes!

:lmao: @ nomoney

Well James White, if they put me on trial for the murder of one copperhead, I will just plea temporary insanity.

Can I still kill a bug in my house or have the bunny huggers made that illegal too?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by James White
First off an official statement..lol
It is illegal in the State of Md. To kill any snake...ok did that part..lol

~WOW where is THAT posted??


[QUOTE]Originally posted by James White
"Actaully a copperhead is very docile,and will only strike,when provoked."

UM...if flagging him down with the trouser snake counts as provocation, then I guess he was duly provoked, LOL...the kid whipped it out to pizz, it was the edge of dark, and he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, up against the barn, at about the same time it struck at him again. Lucky he even managed to be able to get out of striking range, this kid is terrified of any kind of snake, ESPECIALLY one of these (he was there when we found the first one) I think his trouser snake rolled ITSELF back in too, come to think of it, LOL..hubby seems to think May/June are mating times and they tend to be a bit more aggressive during that season?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by James White
"Such as high grass,woodpiles,sheds w/wooden floors,Or general clutter,As all the above draw in the food. Clean up your mess,eliminate there food sourses,and they will go away."

HMM....it's not OUR mess yet, the previous occupants are still renting back....BUT we had bushogged the pasture, moved a lot of downed trees, etc. in the weeks prior, so we had hoped that would run them off. These are inhabiting the back side of the barn where there is a load of sandy soil, and it's very wooded behind there. No dogs currently, but the folks have a hunting maniac for a kitty though, and NO mice or rats, she's a mean one with lizards too. Does she count? She had chomped the first snake through the head, although it was still alive when we found it. But this second one was a lively snot. Oh and the house is a log cabin, as is the barn.

FWIW i am VERY allergic to everything that stings, and also lots of other stuff, so i'm a prime candidate to not live to tell the tale. Geeze. I guess i have to have my epi-pen prescription renewed....
Great info though. If we can keep the dogs from killing kitties, they will hopefully keep the population down. Maybe the dogs will help too... Hopefully they will gradually dissappear.

Originally posted by James White
Why??? Bunny huggers..lol

A long time law,that we are working on getting out or re phrased ,never enforced,will I shouldnt say never.

Actaully the law was put in a LONG time ago,and still has some merit today.It is well known the benifit of snakes in helping control the rodent popuation.The law was written in 1957.and has never changed.
Could you cite the law please? The only thing remotely close to prohibiting the killing of snakes is the Nongame and Endangered Species Act which came about in 1972 (I think) and was updated as recently as 2002.

Also when threatened by a dangerous animal isn't a person allowed to rid the danger for the safety of self, family, and property?

I am not sure either about a copperhead being extremely aggressive. My 12 yr old (who has had training) is able to catch them bare handed as well. If we get on around our house. He just merely relocates it back into the woods. I have had him bit more by a Black Rat then anything else. As far as her having them at her home. Have you tried to supply them with habitat at farest edges of your propert, such as along a forest line. That is what we do, and we haven't had any come near the home, since we have.

I am not sure either about a copperhead being extremely aggressive. My 12 yr old (who has had training) is able to catch them bare handed as well. If we get on around our house. He just merely relocates it back into the woods. I have had him bit more by a Black Rat then anything else. As far as her having them at her home. Have you tried to supply them with habitat at farest edges of your propert, such as along a forest line. That is what we do, and we haven't had any come near the home, since we have.

You need your Fing head examined!!!

:yeahthat: I would never let my 12 yr old try to catch a copperhead....that's just asking for trouble. It only takes one time with the wrong snake to get seriously injured. When we lived in Leonardtown, we had a dog that managed to get bitten twice by a copperhead. I guess he didn't learn his lesson the first time. I was also out in the pasture, moving a piece of plywood that got blown around by a storm, and when I lifted it up, I found curled up copperhead. My goat was pretty curious about what I was doing, so he came over. I was holding the plywood up and trying to keep the goat away, but the stupid goat stepped right on the snake. Luckily, the snake didn't bite him. I hollered for my brother, who brought me a shovel. I don't take chances with copperheads...especially with so many animals (pets and livestock) around.


And BTW Guties, what's with ressurrecting the 2 yr old tread?

First off an official statement..lol
It is illegal in the State of Md. To kill any snake...ok did that part..lol


Copperheads have been increasing in numbers in the southern maryland area for the past 3 years.

Some of the main hot spots for them are.
CRE,ranch club,Hollywood,Waldorf ,Hughesville,And a few other places.



Came across a copperhead in ranch club couple weeks ago, though it looked as somebody had already ran it over

I have never seen a docile copperhead, every one that I have run across has been very aggressive. I lay no claim to being an expert on snakes, but the 7 or 8 times I've come across a copperhead, they have been far and away the most agressive snake I've ever seen.

Hi there,

Well I realize that I'm really late (5 years) answering this, but I ran across your post while looking for snake related stuff. I have a suspicion that those 7 or 8 snakes that you encountered were likely hognose snakes. I've written a detailed article about copperheads and about the other snakes that they are commonly confused with: It's not a copperhead! Stop killing hognose snakes. (http://www.southernzombie.com/not_a_copperhead.html)

The reason I say that is copperheads are almost always calm and docile, hognose snakes however put on a very impressive defensive display.

I hope this helps,
-SZ

Hi there,

Well I realize that I'm really late (5 years) answering this, but I ran across your post while looking for snake related stuff. I have a suspicion that those 7 or 8 snakes that you encountered were likely hognose snakes. I've written a detailed article about copperheads and about the other snakes that they are commonly confused with: It's not a copperhead! Stop killing hognose snakes. (http://www.southernzombie.com/not_a_copperhead.html)

The reason I say that is copperheads are almost always calm and docile, hognose snakes however put on a very impressive defensive display.

I hope this helps,
-SZ
Wow! Great article! I'm going to bookmark it! Thanks!

One suggestion tho... the green against the black is hard to read. I found myself having to hilight the areas as I read it.

One suggestion tho... the green against the black is hard to read. I found myself having to hilight the areas as I read it.

Thank you for letting me know, I've made a small change that should make it easier to read :)

Thank you for letting me know, I've made a small change that should make it easier to read :)
Much better!

Awesome posting in a old thread! btw if your bitten goto hospital, like people said before me. anyways this thread may die again. pce :whistle:

Awesome posting in a old thread! btw if your bitten goto hospital, like people said before me. anyways this thread may die again. pce :whistle:

I'm sorry about that, instead of posting in an old thread I think I'll make a new one just for this, so it will be more accessible to everyone.

And yes...if you're bitten then go to a hospital. But the likelyhood of ever being bitten is incredibly low unless you were doing something that you're not supposed to (i.e. trying to catch it or kill it).

-SZ

I have never seen a docile copperhead, every one that I have run across has been very aggressive. I lay no claim to being an expert on snakes, but the 7 or 8 times I've come across a copperhead, they have been far and away the most agressive snake I've ever seen.

Well, you should see a Cottonmouth, those bastards are downright evil!

Well, you should see a Cottonmouth, those bastards are downright evil!

Get one in the boat with you.........:whistle:.....

Not only are you late (5 years) answering this, it would probably have been better if you had read the original posters entire message.

Else you would have seen this part

Your own webisite identifies that the pupil shape of the eyes are one of the determining factors


Furthermore the OP identified the triagnular head, a common trait of pitvipers


If you look more closely you will notice that I was not replying to the original poster, I was replying to another user who posted in the thread about encountering 7 or 8 aggressive snakes.

-SZ