Copperhead

After hearing about baby copperhead snakes for a few years from several neighbors, we celebrated Mother's Day with our first close encounter. I may have run over one once with the lawnmower but the remains of that mangled snakes were not identifiable. What we saw today was living and close.

Sonya and I were playing a game. Dylan was doing his best to get in the middle, seemingly trying to disrupt a game he could not play but wanting to get my attention. I told him to stack up some nearby cones. He stopped - fortunately - and told me there was snake. Sure enough it was an inch or two from the nearest cone I had just instructed Dylan to pick up. We later asked Dylan how he was able to see the snake and he said he spotted it when the snake rattled its tail at him. I am so glad the snake announced itself and Dylan reacted correctly by immediately calling my attention to it. A neighbor had a dog get sick from one of these copperheads so we have coached the kids for a long time now that they need to get us whenever they see a snake.

First, I sent the kids inside. Second, I grabbed a flat headed shovel. Third, I paused. The snake was probably ten inches if stretched out. It was not happy to see me. It rattled a lime-tipped tail (a lure juveniles use to capture smaller prey) at me. When I did not react, I snapped forward at me several inches and I retreated several steps. I grabbed another yard tool and waited for reinforcements. I was rather uncertain about the whole thing and wanted to have a second armed person in case things got hectic. We discussed letting the snake go, but could not live with a venomous snake hanging out less than ten feet from our door and right next to the kids outdoor toy storage bin.

After we talked my father out of relocating the snake to another area, he grabbed the shovel and dealt the deathblow. I came in with our metal rake to pin the body, but the initial strike was thankfully sufficient. We scooped it into the trash bin. It writhed limply, so I pinned it with a smaller implement and used hand clippers to completely sever the head.

For many minutes we debated the species, but the two things that cement it as a copperhead to me were the aggression and the lime-tail tip. The hourglass pattern on its scale fully crossed the body and its head was triangular.

I have since read online that the majority of snake bites in the US are caused by copperheads, with North Carolina leading the way. The theory is the copperhead camouflage is so effective that humans easily overlook the snake and accidentally step on them. I read that many bites occur from failed attempts to capture or kill the snake. Kids, don't try this at home!