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

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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:39 AM
Original message
Remember that Copperhead I killed? I have no regrets now.
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?
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LynneSin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:40 AM
Response to Original message
1. I could loan you Evita for a few days
she'll kill those snakes!
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:42 AM
Response to Reply #1
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.
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MissMillie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:51 AM
Response to Reply #1
38. Evita's a bad-ass!
She'd get the bugger for sure!
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NV Whino Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 04:48 PM
Response to Reply #1
53. I though Evita specialized in song birds.
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Cannikin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:40 AM
Response to Original message
2. I've always found a hoe or shovel to be effective if you dont have a gun.
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HeeBGBz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:43 AM
Response to Original message
4. Wow, I think I've seen one snake all summer
My cousin got bit by a copperhead once when we were kids.
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supernova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:44 AM
Response to Original message
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:49 AM
Response to Reply #5
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.
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supernova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:07 AM
Response to Reply #8
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
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:15 AM
Response to Reply #8
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?
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:18 AM
Response to Reply #22
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.
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:24 AM
Response to Reply #23
26. crap............
so, do you live in the Raleigh, NC area?
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:27 AM
Response to Reply #26
29. I do.
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:09 AM
Response to Reply #5
15. I'll vote for the hoe, too. With a shovel, you gotta
get too close.

Redstone
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Deep13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:47 AM
Response to Original message
6. rodent shot
Any caliber will do. I'm pretty surprised. Why are they so aggressive?
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supernova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:48 AM
Response to Reply #6
7. Copper heads are an aggressive species
You don't want to be near them. ever.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:51 AM
Response to Reply #7
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.
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liberalitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:56 AM
Response to Reply #9
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
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Stockholm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:52 AM
Response to Reply #10
39. Is it really?
I thought they just had not picked up on * message of conserving?

Seriously, what is the reason?
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liberalitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 04:23 PM
Response to Reply #39
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.
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wideopen Donating Member (563 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:58 AM
Response to Original message
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:01 AM
Response to Reply #11
12. I think the city would frown on me blasting
a shotgun inside city limits.

:7
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wideopen Donating Member (563 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:28 AM
Response to Reply #12
30. I guess that could be an issue
I don't want to get close enough to them to use a tool.
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FLSurfer Donating Member (350 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:08 AM
Response to Original message
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:11 AM
Response to Reply #14
17. tell you what, the next time I kill one
I'll take a big whiff and see what comes to me.
:D
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FLSurfer Donating Member (350 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:19 AM
Response to Reply #17
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:22 AM
Response to Reply #24
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:
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wideopen Donating Member (563 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:31 AM
Response to Reply #14
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:41 AM
Response to Reply #32
33. cucumbers or pennies?
I'm gonna have to look this one up...
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Midlodemocrat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:10 AM
Response to Original message
16. Flamethrowers work well also.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:12 AM
Response to Reply #16
18. So does napalm.
:crazy:
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Cannikin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:13 AM
Response to Original message
19. Harsh language
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:14 AM
Response to Reply #19
20. that's just my screen name.
:D

:hi:
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OneGrassRoot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:25 AM
Response to Reply #19
27. well, if profanity keeps them away.........
then I'm safe.......:evilgrin:
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Shell Beau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:14 AM
Response to Original message
21. Wow! That is scary. Maybe the mom just had some babies.
Edited on Wed Sep-28-05 08:16 AM by Shell Beau
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:26 AM
Response to Reply #21
28. too many other animals
for any poison to do any good. I just need to whip these cats into fighting mode. :D
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Shell Beau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:28 AM
Response to Reply #28
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!
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bearfan454 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:43 AM
Response to Original message
34. I like a shotgun, but in the city
a long rake or hoe works. Chop the head off.
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underpants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:45 AM
Response to Original message
35. We have to fight them there so we don't have to fight them here
See my sigline
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #35
36. is that angel-poop?
:shrug:
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underpants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:48 AM
Response to Reply #36
37. flying turd
It's big with the kids this year
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Squatch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 08:59 AM
Response to Original message
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:02 AM
Response to Reply #40
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
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Squatch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:09 AM
Response to Reply #41
45. In self-defense, shooting is OK.
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:04 AM
Response to Original message
42. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:07 AM
Response to Reply #42
43. dog vs snake.
Edited on Wed Sep-28-05 09:09 AM by kick-ass-bob
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:
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arwalden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:23 AM
Response to Reply #43
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:
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supernova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:08 AM
Response to Reply #42
44. Then they can live with the copperhead in the house
:P
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deebo550 Donating Member (58 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 05:18 PM
Response to Reply #42
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.
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Canadian Socialist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:26 AM
Response to Original message
47. Has no one here ever read "The Jungle Book"
You need a mongoose, my friend.
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Squatch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:40 AM
Response to Reply #47
48. "Rikki Tikki Tavi"?
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Rabrrrrrr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 09:42 AM
Response to Original message
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.
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kick-ass-bob Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 10:03 AM
Response to Reply #49
50. 5 snakes.
:)

I'm not sure if the one that bit the neighbor is dead, either.
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LSK Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 04:38 PM
Response to Original message
52. get a pet King Cobra
They eat other snakes! Problem solved! :dunce:
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jmowreader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:22 PM
Response to Reply #52
56. Yeah, that's a solution all right
Kinda like fixing a bleeding finger by cutting it off with a cleaver.
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pitohui Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 04:50 PM
Response to Original message
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
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KyndCulture Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-05 07:25 PM
Response to Original message
57. a sharp shovel....
I've done it twice. With the right UMPHF they won't be biting anything ever again.
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