Remember that Copperhead I killed? I have no regrets now.

[kick-ass-bob]

An ambulance and fire truck pull up outside our house last night - turns out that my neighbor (just moved in - and she is a trail guide) was bitten by a copperhead. In talking with the neighbors, at least 3 others have been killed in the last few days - so that makes at least 5 since last week.

I am no longer taking my dog out without her leash.

What is the best tool to use to kill a snake?

[LynneSin]

1. I could loan you Evita for a few days

she'll kill those snakes!

[kick-ass-bob]

3. We have several cats in the 'hood,

they must be overwhelmed. I've never seen a copperhead here before even though it is a prime location for them, due to the cats.

[MissMillie]

38. Evita's a bad-ass!

She'd get the bugger for sure!

[NV Whino]

53. I though Evita specialized in song birds.

[Cannikin]

2. I've always found a hoe or shovel to be effective if you dont have a gun.

[HeeBGBz]

4. Wow, I think I've seen one snake all summer

My cousin got bit by a copperhead once when we were kids.

[supernova]

5. Try a straigh-edge hoe

You can chop off the head.

Are you living in the middle of a snake nest? That's a lotta copperheads.

[kick-ass-bob]

8. I'm gonna have to buy a ho?

I mean "hoe!!" :P

We live in a quite woody area fairly near Crabtree creek - a perfect place for snakes. We hadn't seen any before because of the outdoor cats wandering around.

[supernova]

13. I knew you were going to make that joke

:P

A hoe is a good way to immobilize the head too if you can more easily kill it another way.

By Crabtree Creek? No wonder.

Consider getting some Mongeese. :D

[OneGrassRoot]

22. Yikes, I have a question...........

I'm terrified of snakes, and reading through here my first thought is "Where do you live, kick-ass-bob"....then I see Crabtree Creek and am afraid it's right here in Raleigh.

Secondly, what do the cats have to do with snakes? I have lots of strays around here I feed.

:scared:

And is fall an active time in their cycle?

[kick-ass-bob]

23. Cats hunt snakes - and in my neighborhood they have done a very

good job in the past. We were warned several years ago about them, but never saw any, most likely because of the hunting by the cats.

The cats are still around in full force, but now we are seeing a lot of snakes.

From
http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/gawildlife/reptiles/squamata/serpentes/viperidae/acontortrix.html

Most Copperheads breed in the spring months of April and May, but mating may also take place in the fall in September and October. After a gestation period of 105 - 150 days the young are born alive and ready to feed. This snake is active from March through November in the South. In rocky, mountainous regions, it will congregate in rock crevices to hibernate for the winter months.

[OneGrassRoot]

26. crap............

so, do you live in the Raleigh, NC area?

[kick-ass-bob]

29. I do.

[Redstone]

15. I'll vote for the hoe, too. With a shovel, you gotta

get too close.

Redstone

[Deep13]

6. rodent shot

Any caliber will do. I'm pretty surprised. Why are they so aggressive?

[supernova]

7. Copper heads are an aggressive species

You don't want to be near them. ever.

[kick-ass-bob]

9. The one I held down with the broom was biting the shit out of the thing.

and it was only a young 'un.

I'm glad it wasn't my hand.

[liberalitch]

10. Their venom is more powerful when they are young....

call the local university tell them of your recent glut and they will probably send environmental science students to explore and find out what the attraction is.....
Of course if they believe in Intelligent design, they'll say it's a plague of god

[Stockholm]

39. Is it really?

I thought they just had not picked up on * message of conserving?

Seriously, what is the reason?

[liberalitch]

51. On a real scientific level.... I don't know. BUT in National Geographic...

It said that (on a naturalistic level) they need the extra juice to defend themselves from things that may eat them while they are small.... I guess birds of prey and such.

[wideopen]

11. I use a shotgun or

if I'm hiking I carry a .38 with shotshells. BTW, my dog was bit by a copperhead - she lived but it wasn't any fun.

[kick-ass-bob]

12. I think the city would frown on me blasting

a shotgun inside city limits.

:7

[wideopen]

30. I guess that could be an issue

I don't want to get close enough to them to use a tool.

[FLSurfer]

14. Kind of off the subject but,

My great-grandmother in North Texas swore she could smell them.
Said they were named Copperheads because they smelled like a new penny.
There are many family stories that prove, at least, her ability to sense them.
She always seemed to know when they were around.

Anybody able to verify if this is true? That they smell like new pennies? I would never get close enough, on purpose.

[kick-ass-bob]

17. tell you what, the next time I kill one

I'll take a big whiff and see what comes to me.
:D

[FLSurfer]

24. Thanks. I'd appreciate that.

But be careful. Make sure its really dead. I'd hate to be the cause of a Darwin Award.

[kick-ass-bob]

25. don't worry.

The head will be completely severed before I get close enough to smell it.

HEADLINE -- on Matcom news, no less:

Man dies sniffing copperhead.

"He thought it might smell like pennies, so he wanted to find out."

:silly:

[wideopen]

32. Similar story

A friend of mine (farmer for 40 years) says they smell like cucumbers.
I have no intention to get close enough to verify or disprove either of these theorys.

[kick-ass-bob]

33. cucumbers or pennies?

I'm gonna have to look this one up...

[Midlodemocrat]

16. Flamethrowers work well also.

[kick-ass-bob]

18. So does napalm.

:crazy:

[Cannikin]

19. Harsh language

[kick-ass-bob]

20. that's just my screen name.

:D

:hi:

[OneGrassRoot]

27. well, if profanity keeps them away.........

then I'm safe.......:evilgrin:

[Shell Beau]

21. Wow! That is scary. Maybe the mom just had some babies.

I don't know what is used to kill snakes. Poison maybe. :shrug: Good idea about the dog.

On edit, my hubby always uses his shovel to chop off the head, but you need to solve the problem. That just kills one.

[kick-ass-bob]

28. too many other animals

for any poison to do any good. I just need to whip these cats into fighting mode. :D

[Shell Beau]

31. That is true, you don't want to harm any thing else.

Just carry a shovel with you at all times! :shrug: Or run like hell!

[bearfan454]

34. I like a shotgun, but in the city

a long rake or hoe works. Chop the head off.

[underpants]

35. We have to fight them there so we don't have to fight them here

See my sigline

[kick-ass-bob]

36. is that angel-poop?

:shrug:

[underpants]

37. flying turd

It's big with the kids this year

[Squatch]

40. .22 Longrifle shotshell...like this:

Link

I can't find a picture, but it's Index number 9322. When I'm on my brother's farm, that's what I carry. A hell of a lot better than schelping around a shotgun and a lot less dangerous to the shooter.

[kick-ass-bob]

41. I am inside the city limits. So no shooting allowed.

I don't need to be known as "the crazy liberal with a gun."

Just "crazy liberal" will do just fine.

:D

[Squatch]

45. In self-defense, shooting is OK.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kick-ass-bob]

43. dog vs snake.

sorry, I'm gonna have to choose my dog.

:shrug:

any "peta kooks" who beg to differ can kiss my ass.

edit to say :hi:

[arwalden]

46. I've Had Two Dogs That Were Bitten By Snakes...

And BOTH SURVIVED! It was a water moccasin vs a cocker spaniel and black-lab. (I lived near a wetland nature preserve in Florida, and the moccasins were VERY common.)

Obviously we were able to get them to the vet's... we were very lucky... and we lived about 2 miles from the animal hospital. But still... it's something to avoided if at all possible.

I kept a .22 rifle with bird-shot handy. Minimal aiming required and the length of the rifle allowed me to get close but stay at a safe distance. One dry summer we killed 18 snakes that kept coming on to the property for water... and kept coming into the greenhouse for frogs and lizards.

:hi:

[supernova]

44. Then they can live with the copperhead in the house

:P

[deebo550]

55. arwalden, please have some respect.

I don't think it is very "progressive" of you to call PETA supporters "kooks." I am aware of many DU members who are also members of PETA, and I don't consider them "kooks," nor do I think they would appreciate you calling them names, either.

Please attempt to have some respect for others viewpoints, even if you personally do not share in their viewpoints. Thanks.

[Canadian Socialist]

47. Has no one here ever read "The Jungle Book"

You need a mongoose, my friend.

[Squatch]

48. "Rikki Tikki Tavi"?

[Rabrrrrrr]

49. Holy Shit!

That's a lot of people getting killed by snakes. Or did you mean 5 snakes killed?

Either way, I'd be paranoid.

[kick-ass-bob]

50. 5 snakes.

:)

I'm not sure if the one that bit the neighbor is dead, either.

[LSK]

52. get a pet King Cobra

They eat other snakes! Problem solved! :dunce:

[jmowreader]

56. Yeah, that's a solution all right

Kinda like fixing a bleeding finger by cutting it off with a cleaver.

[pitohui]

54. wow

be careful, did you have a hatching or something?

my dad tells a story of a big ball of copperheads he found in a junk auto, i think he called fish & wildlife to tow it away tho so i don't know how the snakes were ultimately removed from the scene

[KyndCulture]

57. a sharp shovel....

I've done it twice. With the right UMPHF they won't be biting anything ever again.