I killed 3 of these babies (they were about 7-8 inches long) in my front flowerbed today while planting some new stuff.

I wasnt sure if they were poisonous or not, so unfortunately they met an untimely end with my rake. They were right outside my frontdoor and I was scared they may bite my dog one day/night while he's sniffing around.


Can anyone tell me what kind of snakes these are? This is in Durham. There is a pond about 100 yards from my house, so I figured they could verywell be copperheads. If you guys say they're harmless though, I'll let others go free if I find more tomorrow.

Also, since there were 3 of these within about 5 square feet of each other, does that mean momma/daddy may be nearby?




[Edited on June 22, 2012 at 9:13 PM. Reason : .]

6/22/2012 8:55:45 PM

Quote :

"I killed 3 of these guys in my front flowerbed today while planting some new stuff."

SO TUFF

6/22/2012 8:59:20 PM

wtf asshole

6/22/2012 9:01:22 PM

Quote :

"I killed 3 of these guys in my front flowerbed today while planting some new stuff."

That was stupid.

6/22/2012 9:04:49 PM

just looks like eastern garter snakes

6/22/2012 9:07:04 PM

I cant tell if you people are trolling or not. If it was stupid, tell me why. Are they non-venomous?

As I stated, if they're non-venomous I'll know from now on and let them slither away.

I just want to know if I had a family of copperheads living next to my front door.

6/22/2012 9:07:31 PM

Congrats...you killed 3 non poisonous brown snake that would eat the slugs, worms and snails out of your garden. Way to go jackass.

Grrrrrrrr.....

6/22/2012 9:08:08 PM

Yeah they werent doing anything but eating the vermin you dont want around anyway

6/22/2012 9:08:27 PM

For the future http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_nc/snakes/snakes.html

6/22/2012 9:09:52 PM

Lesson learned. They were good snakes. I feel bad now

I've just been a bit paranoid because I'd heard there have been several copperheads spotted in our part of the culdesac lately since our houses back up to the pond.

6/22/2012 9:10:15 PM

Just don't do it again

If it's a copperhead oh you will know. They are mean (if you're wielding a rake). Otherwise it would just hang out long enough (hopefully) for you to call someone to take it away.

[Edited on June 22, 2012 at 9:16 PM. Reason : ]

6/22/2012 9:13:50 PM

Youll know a copperhead when you see it

They're fucking angry

[Edited on June 22, 2012 at 9:15 PM. Reason : goddammit LK stop mindmining me]

6/22/2012 9:14:35 PM

Get off his case. Not everyone can identify poisonous snakes. If they were dangerous and he took pictures THEN came to TWW and they were copperheads*, you guys would be calling him a dumbass for not killing them when he had the chance.

*or whatever

6/22/2012 9:14:37 PM

6/22/2012 9:15:14 PM

^ KILL IT WITH FIRE!

6/22/2012 9:16:08 PM

Looking at the photos on that ID site, I'd say it was also a brown snake that I found just inside of my front door last summer. Took him over to the nearby creek before my dog decided to make him into a toy.

6/22/2012 9:16:26 PM

at least it wasn't the dreaded north american trouser snake

[Edited on June 22, 2012 at 9:19 PM. Reason : h]

6/22/2012 9:17:20 PM

Quote :

"goddammit LK stop mindmining me"

Whoa...we are creepy in sync tonight!

6/22/2012 9:17:24 PM

LK!

[Edited on June 22, 2012 at 9:19 PM. Reason : ahahahah no way]

6/22/2012 9:18:46 PM

Yeah, unfortunately I had to make a split second decision. I didnt want to risk letting THREE venomous snakes get away. I can sleep just a little easier knowing I killed three harmless snakes rather than let three harmful snakes go in my yard.

6/22/2012 9:20:48 PM

take your pick:

3 snakes

or

worms, slugs, bugs

6/22/2012 9:22:58 PM

well, honestly I'd still rather have worms/slugs/bugs than any kind of snake living a few feet from my front door. But know they're harmless, I dont really mind them being there (if there's more)

6/22/2012 9:25:32 PM

The only good snake is a dead one. Snakes are the DEVIL. It says so in my bible

6/22/2012 9:27:33 PM

I mean I'd pick the worms/snails/bugs/frogs/slugs any day of the week

6/22/2012 9:27:48 PM

S. dekayi, common brown snake. They dont get big, about 10-12 inches, so what you think are babies are actually not

6/22/2012 9:30:20 PM

obligatory how fucking hard is it to identify a copperhead

triangular head, vertical pupils


note the juvenile here, with green tail and full markings:

6/22/2012 9:31:01 PM

yep... dead snakes

6/22/2012 9:34:24 PM

STFU, Dr. Pepper.

I think I was just high from the gas fumes after cleaning the carburetor on my power washer.

6/22/2012 9:34:29 PM

6/22/2012 9:38:40 PM

^nice!

bath salts.

6/22/2012 9:40:14 PM

Quote :

"STFU, Dr. Pepper. I think I was just high from the gas fumes after cleaning the carburetor on my power washer. "

it doesnt count unless the gas fumes were from a soaked rag you were huffing out of.

6/22/2012 9:42:17 PM

who says it wasnt?

6/22/2012 9:46:45 PM

alright then.

6/22/2012 9:49:09 PM

Quote :

" I didnt want to risk letting THREE venomous snakes get away."

You've seen too many SyFy movies, there's no pirhanaconda...I mean, snakes don't really hunt people. There's nothing you can say that will make you look like less of a tardmo.

6/22/2012 11:16:51 PM

I doubt there is any more socially acceptable vertebrate to kill than a snake. Kill first, ask questions later.

Anyway, going to the questions/statements in the OP:

Water doesn't have a damn thing to do with copperheads. They're a wide-ranging generalist in terms of habitat and diet. You're not as likely to find them out and about during the daytime, as they primarily tend to move around dusk.

There were 3 of them within about 5 square feet because they tend to be common in suburban and even urban areas, particularly around gardens. There was probably something that attracted them to that area. I don't think this is breeding season for them, which would normally be a reason I'd throw out for there being several in a small area. It really probably boils down to your garden attracts the slugs and worms that serve as their primary diet. If you've got some large, flat items (especially stacked rocks/bricks/etc), it makes for a nice spot for them to spend their time. Were they just in leaf litter, or were they beneath something that you rolled over?

That said, even if you did happen to have a copperhead in your yard, doesn't mean you have to kill it. The fact is that you improve your chances of being bitten just by engaging a snake. Too bad for these snakes you killed...they wouldn't even attempt to bite if you picked them up. I've lived in the boonies and found copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes all around my yard...never killed a single one and my dog has never been bitten. In fact, the only dogs I've ever known to be bitten were the ones that were left to freely roam the property. Most sustained bites...and often those were multiple bites from the same encounter. What does that mean? The dogs fucked with the snakes after being bitten. Also, not a single one received treatment, and all survived with no long-term problems, just a few days of swelling. If you're legitimately afraid of your dog being bitten by a snake, have it trained to avoid snakes with a professional. I trained my dog by having a harmless snake nip her on the nose. That was 5 years ago, and she still will not approach any snake.

Just some friendly suggestions.

6/23/2012 12:13:37 AM

poisonous venomous

6/23/2012 12:17:47 AM

Bobby, I understand the thought processes that went into your decision. On the other hand, I can usually understand the thought processes behind my dog's behavior, too, and I have an exceptionally dumb dog.

Let me explain the reasons why I think you are stupid:

1) Living in Durham, there's realistically only one kind of venomous snake to worry about: the copperhead. I suppose you could run into a water moccasin, but realistically, no. So there's exactly one kind of "scary" snake in the neighborhood, and you have not bothered to learn what it looks like. At all. Those snakes look about as much like copperheads as I look like Morgan Freeman.
2) You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that copperheads must live near bodies of water. I don't even know where the fuck this idea came from. I've heard a lot of retarded theories about snakes over the years (including "You got to kill all the black snakes now, 'cause they been mixin' with the poisonous ones"), but "Since we live near a pond I thought it was a copperhead" is a new one by me.
3) The idea that by killing them you have done anything meaningful to reduce the snake population in the area.

6/23/2012 1:39:55 AM

Quote :

"Too bad for these snakes you killed...they wouldn't even attempt to bite if you picked them up."

I call bullshit, unless this species is some type of super nice human loving species. I've picked up plenty of tiny garden snakes that bit me

I think its good you trained your dog that way and I will consider it if I move back out to the woods

also, if you cant tell venomous snakes by their head shape and coloring then youre dumb

6/23/2012 1:50:53 AM

kill em all

6/23/2012 2:05:11 AM

Quote :

" Also, not a single one received treatment, and all survived with no long-term problems, just a few days of swelling"

Obviously they didn'T get bit by a rattlesnake then.

I have no problems killing a rattlesnake or copperhead that has taken up residence near my house. Out in the woods, we can just go our separate ways, but in my yard, you gonna die bro.

6/23/2012 8:58:12 AM

Maybe I'm jaded, but I don't think copperheads are all that angry unless you fuck with them. Sure there is an occasional asshole, but I wouldn't be shaking in my boots if I saw one in my yard - just leave it alone, people

6/23/2012 9:17:45 AM

The only snakes I've ever made a point to kill on sight are cottonmouths. Grew up on a lake and those fuckers were always finding their way into my personal space. Even when i saw them on land I'd kill them just because i didnt want to run into it in the water one day. Used garden tools, .22 rifles, BB guns, large rocks, skidding truck tires, even killed one in the water with a .38 revolver that had a fish in it's mouth

Otherwise i love snakes and keep nicer ones as pets! Have a beautiful hog island boa right now

6/23/2012 9:36:24 AM

OMG KILL IT

6/23/2012 9:59:19 AM

Quote :

"I call bullshit, unless this species is some type of super nice human loving species. I've picked up plenty of tiny garden snakes that bit me"

Well if you'd read the fucking thread, you'd see that it has not been identified as a "garden" snake, it's a brown snake. Yes, that is the common name for the species. They are not "super nice human loving," but they don't bite. Do you want to make the opposing bet for $100 with a snake ecologist?

Why does every snake thread have to turn into a goddamn troll thread.

6/23/2012 10:43:07 AM

Quote :

"So there's exactly one kind of "scary" snake in the neighborhood, and you have not bothered to learn what it looks like. At all. "

You sound like an exceptional human being. Please invite me over the next time you shit. I want to see if it doesn't stink.

6/23/2012 10:52:43 AM

Quote :

"1) Living in Durham, there's realistically only one kind of venomous snake to worry about: the copperhead. I suppose you could run into a water moccasin, but realistically, no. So there's exactly one kind of "scary" snake in the neighborhood, and you have not bothered to learn what it looks like. At all. Those snakes look about as much like copperheads as I look like Morgan Freeman."

No need to even bring the water moccasin into the equation. They don't live this far west and you're definitely not going to see one in Durham. I agree on the Copperhead part. They're pretty unmistakable after seeing a few pics and a couple in the wild. Anything else is non-venomous regardless of how fat it is, how triangular its head is, or what kind of pattern it has.

6/23/2012 11:45:15 AM

Quote :

"So there's exactly one kind of "scary" snake in the neighborhood, and you have not bothered to learn what it looks like. At all. "

yea, this should be common sense for people. learn the poisonous plants and animals of your region so when shit like this happens again, you can be better prepared.


also merbig, this is hardly a snub from an elitist who thinks he is better than you. Poisonous plants and animals have been a problem for humans since human existence began... there is enough info on the internet that you should feel a little dumb if you cannot at least name and somewhat describe an organism native to your region that could kill you or a pet. (Bobbylight, this isn't meant to hate on you, just merbig and his kill everything tude)


or at least just expect to never go outside.




[Edited on June 23, 2012 at 12:00 PM. Reason : .]

6/23/2012 11:52:49 AM

^ Kill first, as questions later also works.

6/23/2012 11:53:48 AM

Quote :

"Youll know a copperhead when you see it They're fucking angry "

That is bullshit. I am pretty sure copperheads are among the most timid of the viper family. They will generally not strike unless really provoked or cornered. They will generally demonstrate their "dont fuck with me behavior" and try to escape before they waste a bite on something they know is not prey. If you want to talk about agressive vipers talk about Cottonmouths, Fer de Lances, Bushmasters, and Russel's Vipers.


I have encountered many a copperhead while camping, one time I almost totally stepped on it. It was coiled in between my legs hissing at me until I slowly backed away. It did not strike me luckily.

6/23/2012 12:07:50 PM

Quote :

"Fer de Lances"

true story a Fer de Lance in a dirt road almost got me when I was walking down it, fucker was leaping at me before there was even a warning.

6/23/2012 12:11:28 PM