Which tool do you want???

[0TreeLemur]

While looking for zip ties in the tool box, this greeted my wife last night.   She handled it real well with a burst of adrenaline, and a "OH MY GOD THERE'S A SNAKE IN THE TOOL BOX!!!!"

For those of you unfamiliar with the particularities of southern U.S. snake species, that's a venomous copperhead.   How/why  the heck it got up there, I have no idea.  It is the time of year when they are attracted by warmth as the evenings are beginning to cool off here.  The copperhead's venom is not particularly strong, and they are not very aggressive because of their excellent camouflage when in leaves, not climbing on a toolbox!

[201er]

You sure you weren’t looking for something to pull electrical wires? Or clear a drain? Or a sort of oil?

[EricJ]

Controlling the rodent population for you!  

[MikeOH]

At least it wasn't in the plane

[N201MKTurbo]

Looks like a gopher snake. Wish I had one in my hangar. They are cool.

[AJ88V]

13 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Looks like a gopher snake. Wish I had one in my hangar. They are cool.

Sure looks like a copperhead to me.  Look at the shape of the head. 

That would scare the crap out of me!!!

[N201MKTurbo]

1 hour ago, AJ88V said:

Sure looks like a copperhead to me.  Look at the shape of the head. 

That would scare the crap out of me!!!

Oh, you are right. I missed the triangle head.

I had a lot of interaction with rattle snakes when I was a kid and maintaining the county’s radio systems. The last thing they want to do is bite a human. But you can convince them that it’s a good idea. 

[DonMuncy]

It would scare the crap out of me, as well, until I could get to the closest tool to kill it.

That looks awfully big for the copperheads we have around here. I don't think I have ever seen/killed one over 18 or 20 inches long.

[dkkim73]

And I was complaining about my broken boost pump switch and bumping my head. 

That is pretty cool, though. Great hangar accessory. We have some Western Rattlesnakes out here, and they are pretty much not wanting to mix it up so I usually leave them alone. No sightings at the airport (yet). 

Glad all are well. 

[ArtVandelay]

Never seen one climb, they usually stay on the ground.

[DonMuncy]

I have only seen copperheads on the ground. And always outside. 

[MooneyMitch]

That would make my skin crawl…..I’ll be looking at my tool box differently now ! 

[Ragsf15e]

10 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Never seen one climb, they usually stay on the ground.

Just from the head I’d say venomous, but what kind of snake is that?  I’m lucky to live somewhere that has very few rattlesnakes and no other venomous snakes, so when the kids and I see one we usually get to hold the nice garter snake!

[ArtVandelay]

Just from the head I’d say venomous, but what kind of snake is that?  I’m lucky to live somewhere that has very few rattlesnakes and no other venomous snakes, so when the kids and I see one we usually get to hold the nice garter snake!

Don’t know, but if you look closely at the body above his head it looks like he has eaten something.

[Pinecone]

I live in the country with woods and fields around, so have had mouse issues.  At one point, two black snakes moved in.  We only knew from the skins they leaving in the wiring above the electric panel.  Two sizes.  

They were eating well enough to shed once a week.

They ate all the mice and left.  And while I get a mouse every so often, not large numbers.

[GeeBee]

This time of year, when I go out to my dock or walk in the neighborhood I usually carry my 357 AirLite 340PD with 38 shot loads in the first two chambers to kill copperheads. I've nailed about a half dozen and you are correct, they love piles of leaves. 

[Hank]

My neighbor killed a baby copperhead with her walking stick yesterday at the end of her morning walk. Little guy wasn't a foot long, and kept coming after her.

[MooneyMitch]

40 minutes ago, Hank said:

Little guy wasn't a foot long, and kept coming after her.

Courageous ! 

[Ragsf15e]

You southerners complaining about copperheads is funny… you should be complaining about the cottonmouths!  I lived in Alabama for a year and played s lot of golf.  If you hit your ball in the water, you didn’t go looking for it!  Those dang cottonmouths were aggressive!  Had one sitting on a cartpath once as we walked by and he took a fake strike at my friend who happened to be an exchange student from Australia.  He grabbed a 9 iron and went after that snake quicker than you can say, “He had a go at you, mate!” We had to talk him down from chasing it off into the bushes.

[0TreeLemur]

On 9/30/2024 at 6:30 PM, DonMuncy said:

It would scare the crap out of me, as well, until I could get to the closest tool to kill it.

That looks awfully big for the copperheads we have around here. I don't think I have ever seen/killed one over 18 or 20 inches long.

My wife works for a large forest resource company headquartered here.  The head of their wildlife division saw that photo and said that it was about the biggest copperhead he ever seen!

We shooed it into the drawer and closed it up.   Then we rolled the toolbox outdoors.  It moved to the drawer below and  I lifted it out with a long rod. 

I reckon that it was about 30" long before I took about 4" off its front end with a hoe. 

Normally I'm a live and let live kind of guy, but that thing came into our space.

[N201MKTurbo]

No reason to kill it. Just take it out and let it go. 
 

If you do kill it, you should eat it. They taste pretty good.

Here in AZ you have to have a hunting license to legally kill a snake. Six per day is all you are allowed.

[MikeOH]

8 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

No reason to kill it. Just take it out and let it go. 
 

If you do kill it, you should eat it. They taste pretty good.

Here in AZ you have to have a hunting license to legally kill a snake. Six per day is all you are allowed.

So, do they taste like chicken?

[Shadrach]

On 9/30/2024 at 12:54 PM, AJ88V said:

Sure looks like a copperhead to me.  Look at the shape of the head. 

That would scare the crap out of me!!!

It is obviously a pit viper and most definitely as you point out, a copperhead.  They are one of two venomous snakes in my state and the bites are supposed to be excruciating. Most bites around here occur when someone inadvertently steps on one.

[Shadrach]

On 10/1/2024 at 4:05 PM, Pinecone said:

I live in the country with woods and fields around, so have had mouse issues.  At one point, two black snakes moved in.  We only knew from the skins they leaving in the wiring above the electric panel.  Two sizes.  

They were eating well enough to shed once a week.

They ate all the mice and left.  And while I get a mouse every so often, not large numbers.

I live in a very old field stone house. The foundation is 26" thick and made of stone and mortar.  When we moved in, the basement was like a scene from an Indiana Jones film. Heads would appear and retract into the foundation.  I relocated a few the first few months. Now I only see a few.  They do keep the rodent population down for 3 seasons, but in the winter we usually have a field mouse or two try to move indoors. I have three cats and none of them are worth a $#!t when it comes to mousing.

[N201MKTurbo]

13 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

So, do they taste like chicken?

Once you have the head off, split the belly back a few inches and peel the skin off. Clean out the guts and cut the meat into 4 inch pieces. Fry it like fish. It is like eating a bony fish. And yes, it tastes like chicken.

When I worked for the county as a kid (19 yr old). I was 4 wheeling every day. I saw snakes all the time. Well, in the spring mostly. I caught quite few and always ate them. No reason to kill them unless you are going to eat them. The last thing they want to do is attack a human. 

To get them to bite, you usually have to step on them twice. The first time they will coil up and buzz. This is telling you to get away. if you come at them after that, they will bite.

Coiling up and buzzing is a defensive move. they are trying to protect themselves. If they are hunting, they don't buzz, it will scare off the prey.