Had to take out a snake earlier

[ReVOLver]

I hate killing non-poisonous ones, but... I was out in the garage earlier getting ready to clean up some leaves with the blower and almost stepped on this guy. If he hadn't been curled that way, I wouldn't have seen him. I tried to scare him towards the garage door (I would have rather let him live out his useful purpose) but he didn't cooperate and ran back to the corner and curled up to strike at me. I tried to scare him towards the door again and he retreated behind a plastic tote full of tools. At that point I said "screw it" and pulled out the tote and killed him with a spade. Hated to do that but my wife wouldn't have slept in the house if I didn't get rid of him...

[BigOrange Maniac]

The only good snake is a dead snake. Except black snakes. Me and black snakes get along very well because they're so good at keeping both rodents and poisonous snakes away.

There's a hiking trail in the national park near my home that I hike regularly. There is an abundance of copperheads around that particular trail (due in part I think to century-old mines that have been sealed off to humans in the dense undergrowth above the trail and provide an abundance of denning areas for them, then at night they lay across the trail and warm themselves on the hard ground). I've never hiked the trail near or after dusk during the summer months that I haven't had to dispatch at least one, sometimes more, copperheads. Such was the case the other night when I was hiking out late by the light of an LED flashlight. Only I got too close to him and he struck at me. Thankfully he was a terrible aim. I broke his back and left him in the bushes where he hopefully suffered for a not insignificant amount of time before death.

I've never had a snake in my home before. Though I think it would be fun to see the look on my wife's face if she got up to shower one morning and stepped into the shower to come face-to-face with a 6-ft. chicken snake. 

[ReVOLver]

The only good snake is a dead snake. Except black snakes. Me and black snakes get along very well because they're so good at keeping both rodents and poisonous snakes away.

There's a hiking trail in the national park near my home that I hike regularly. There is an abundance of copperheads around that particular trail (due in part I think to century-old mines that have been sealed off to humans in the dense undergrowth above the trail and provide an abundance of denning areas for them, then at night they lay across the trail and warm themselves on the hard ground). I've never hiked the trail near or after dusk during the summer months that I haven't had to dispatch at least one, sometimes more, copperheads. Such was the case the other night when I was hiking out late by the light of an LED flashlight. Only I got too close to him and he struck at me. Thankfully he was a terrible aim. I broke his back and left him in the bushes where he hopefully suffered for a not insignificant amount of time before death.

I've never had a snake in my home before. Though I think it would be fun to see the look on my wife's face if she got up to shower one morning and stepped into the shower to come face-to-face with a 6-ft. chicken snake. 

Per my high school friend who works at the Memphis Zoo, that's a rat snake that I killed, which is a "good" snake.

I'm no fan of snakes per se but they don't freak me out like spiders do. I didn't want to kill it... I tried to shoo it towards the garage door. The right thing to do would've been to have left him alone and let him get out on his own... our garage door has a gap under it and I'm sure that's how he got in. But with three females in the house who are deathly afraid of snakes, that wasn't happening. He went the wrong way so I had to take care of bidness.

[EmerilVOL]

I'm no fan of snakes per se but they don't freak me out like spiders do.

True Story

My mother is afraid of snakes....but when confronted she is a 100 pound dynamo....when I was in college (yes this was when the earth was cooling and the protien chain molecules were forming ...heard all them jokes before)....she was at home with my younger brother who was 13 at the time.  Well there was a snake about 5 to 6 foot long laying across our driveway (gravel) and well my mom went out and killed the snake.  She does not like snakes "good" or "bad".  Well how did she kill it.  She shot it with my dad's police special....38 snub nosed...and she hit the snake...in fact she hit it very well...my Dad is an old fashioned guy and kept the pistol loaded with 5 shots.  Mom shot the snake 5 times...reloaded and shot it 3 times more.....every time that snake twitched she shot it again!  100 lb woman shoots snake!!!!

[VinnieVOL]

True Story

My mother is afraid of snakes....but when confronted she is a 100 pound dynamo....when I was in college (yes this was when the earth was cooling and the protien chain molecules were forming ...heard all them jokes before)....she was at home with my younger brother who was 13 at the time.  Well there was a snake about 5 to 6 foot long laying across our driveway (gravel) and well my mom went out and killed the snake.  She does not like snakes "good" or "bad".  Well how did she kill it.  She shot it with my dad's police special....38 snub nosed...and she hit the snake...in fact she hit it very well...my Dad is an old fashioned guy and kept the pistol loaded with 5 shots.  Mom shot the snake 5 times...reloaded and shot it 3 times more.....every time that snake twitched she shot it again!  100 lb woman shoots snake!!!!

Lol, great story.

[midtnvol]

I got something like this at Tractor Supply http://compare.ebay.com/like/251009071489?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar . I use it on the lawn tractor to pick up limbs, golf balls and such so I don't have to stop the mower, get off, and restart the mower. I got a call from an old lady here in town and wanted me to get a snake out of her laundry room. I took this and it worked just fine. The snake was small and i wouldn't have tried it on a rattsnake big as my wrist or anything like that. It would have worked on most of the copperheads I've ever seen (though I have seen some pretty good size ones I wouldn't have use it on). Another option would have been a broom and just sweep him out the door. P.S. If you get a grabber, get the longest one possible.

[Inspector Vol]

I got something like this at Tractor Supply http://compare.ebay.com/like/251009071489?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar . I use it on the lawn tractor to pick up limbs, golf balls and such so I don't have to stop the mower, get off, and restart the mower. I got a call from an old lady here in town and wanted me to get a snake out od her laundry room. I took this and it worked just fine. The snake was small and i wouldn't have tried it on a rattsnake big as my wrist or anything like that. It would have worked on most of the copperheads I've ever seen (though I have seen some pretty good size ones I wouldn't have use it on). Another option would have been a broom and just sweep him out the door. P.S. If you get a grabber, get the longest one possible.

  I couldnt help but think about this movie scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tK4fd0HFe0

[BigOrange Maniac]

It's not as bad as finding a snake in your home, but when you're out hiking and you set your pack down, then return a while later to see this crawling out of it, that's never a comfortable feeling.

[murfvol]

Fine stories, and nice accompanying photos as well.

BTW, BOM which trail is loaded with copperheads? Also, did that thing really crawl out from under your pack, and if so where?

[Jedi Master]

I don't blame Revolver for killing the snake, as he made a good faith attempt to get the snake to leave.   

Speaking of snakes, I took my 6 yr old son fishing this past Saturday morning.  At about 11am, a rat pops up from between two rocks on the shore, about 15ft from us.   He pauses and just looks at us for a few seconds, before scurrying away.  Sort of unusual, as they normally scurry about during night or at dawn/dusk.  Two minutes later, a long watersnake swims by the water's edge.  Now, the rat's behavior made sense.  My son wanted me to kill the snake, but I told him it was harmless and would keep the rats in check. 

I used to want to kill any and every snake.  But now I appreciate their place in the ecosystem.  Just adds to the beauty of being outdoors, IMO.

[BigOrange Maniac]

Fine stories, and nice accompanying photos as well.

BTW, BOM which trail is loaded with copperheads? Also, did that thing really crawl out from under your pack, and if so where?

The copperheads are on the trail to Angel Falls. I don't believe I've ever seen a copperhead along that trail during the heat of the day, or in the morning, but late evening/dusk is another story entirely.

The rattler was on the section of the John Muir trail near Grand Gap Loop. And, yeah, he really did crawl out from there...but he won't be crawling out of any more.