copperhead snake in my shop

The other evening I was changing the ball joints on my pickup, and a 3 foot long copperhead came across the concrete about 3 feet away from me. My son was close by, and grabbed an axe and hit it. After getting rid of that one, I was putting my tools away in the shop, and heard a little noise as I walked towards the toolchest. I looked down and saw that I had just walked about 1 foot in front of a second copperhead. This one got away before I could kill it. I put some glue boards out close to where I saw the snake. Yesterday, I checked the glue boards and had a 2 foot copperhead stuck to one. It was still very alive, but could not move at all. This one was easy to kill. If you live in copperhead country, you may want to keep some of these glue boards on your shop floor during the warm months. Make sure to put them where pets can't get to them, and if you have larger snakes, you should tie the board down so that a snake or rat can't drag it off.

Jacks, thanks for the useful tip, even though we don't have em up this far so far,we will keep it in mind. Our local DNR tried to reintroduce Timber Rattlers up here, but thank goodness they didn't like it up here. Hope the readers take your info to heart,just might save some pain and suffering even with children and pets.
LOU

No thanks I will just move out and let them have the place, I hate snakes
Walt

Thanks Lou- about 15 years ago a friend's child was bitten in the leg while playing in our yard. Caused a 3 day hospital stay and a lot of pain. There is no tolerance for poisonous snakes around my place. Jack

I know a guy who would agree with you.

Some 20 years ago we went to a remote location in west Texas to install some electronic gear. There were three of us. I was carrying in the equipment (roughly 20" square, 30lbs ea). There was one guy behind and one guy in front pulling off cabinet doors. Just as my 250lb self, carrying two pieces of equipment came through the 36" door, the guy in back tossed a cable over the front side. Fell'a in front thought it be a snake and proceed to get back in the truck. How he ever cleared me in that door way I'll never know. But he never touched me, nor did I drop anything. It took almost half an hour to get him to come back in.

Turnermac has a black snake in his shop being discussed on the Farmall IH board. At least his snake is non poisonous. Someone on that same discussion mentioned that DNR had reintroduced raddlesnakes to his area.

Harold H

Thats funny.

About 15 years ago I had a job to install a telephone on a ward of a mental institution. Had to drill down a 1/2" hole through the concrete floor into a long crawl space to pull a new 25 pair cable. I got down there and wasn't happy because it was a couple hundred feet long, low crawl space, on my hands and knees with a flashlight, and a coon or two lived down there as well. I wasn't happy about that job. So, I locate my hole, and shove up about 10' or so of cable, then slowly work my way back out, tie wrapping my cable to the floor joices, and the all of the way out without running into or angering a coon. Smooth!!! Nope, not at all. I go back into the ward to terminate my cable and hook up the phone, but the cable is not there, and there is nothing but the hole that I shoved it up out of. What the heck, I ask out loud, scratching my head. There were these two mentally challenged guys, inmates, patients, standing right there, and one is hugging and holding the other one to protect him and says to me, "Mikey is afraid of snakes, but I'm not and shoved him back into his hole". I went to find a nurse to lockup Mikey and the other guy, and back into the hole for me to push the snake bacup and out.

If life were perfect, it would be pretty boring.

Mark

That is scary to me...I hate ALL the copperheaded rattle moccasins that have ever been alive. Heck even the dead ones scare me. LOL

My Uncle told me a story about a guy that would always come into his auto repair shop and pull some prank on them. One morning my Uncle killed a Rattler and brought it over to the shop to show the guys. A little while later he sees this prankster coming down the road. He told the others to keep this guy busy for a little while...and out the babk door he goes. Well the prankster pulls in and comes inside to shoot the bull with my uncle. They told him my Uncle would be right back he had to go home a minute and kept this prankster busy. Uncle finally came back in the back door and started in on the conversation. This guy finally got ready to leave and everyine followed him out to his truck laughing and carrying on. The prankster climbed into his truck started it and put it into reverse. About that time this snake rolled out from under this guys seat and onto his feet. You know he never opened the door but went right out his window. The truck proceded to back up and into the ditch. My Uncle and his coworkers joined the prankster on the ground. All but one rolling around in laughter. Pranks ended that day from that guy.

The Northern Neck in Virginia is Copperhead and Black Snake country. I have learned that the two don't mix and black snakes kill copperheads. I'm very happy to have black snakes around the buildings.

yep ,this hot weather will drive them in where the concrete is cooler. back a hundred years ago i worked at the 0KC stockyards.old buildings there had walls of red brick about 18" thick.You Learned never to pick up a rope or piece of wire unless you poked it first. Had little pygmy rattlers ,didnt get too big ,but unless you were real quiet you couldnt hear them rattle.Luckily they arent as agressive as copperheads though.Friend of mine got bit on the hand by one of those pygmy rattlers and came very close to losing his hand.

First of all I WOULD OF SCREAMED LIKE A GIRL. 2nd chase the SOB down beat it with everything I could find. 3 lock the door to shop just to make sure it didn't leave and then burn the shop DOWN! I had a experience working on a dozer it the middle of the wetlands,I pulled the belly pan off and had 3 water snake land on me. I KNOW I BENCH PRESSED A D-4 DOZER to get out of there.