A Copper Head in our Living room!!!!

[melodie_a]

Oh my goodness! I am glad everything ended up ok. That is so scary. We have found a ton of copperheads in our yard this year very close to the house. My parents live next door and I think they have killed 4 on their carport so far, it seems like they are much worse this year than normal.

I am not scared of very many things, and really snakes don't scare me.. but copperheads are just bad news!

 

[bossynbella]

It was little. About 10-12" long. We have been on the look out for more since then but havn't seen any. Hopefully we don't! MysticalMom I am glad your daughter is okay. that is scary looking!

 

[Riocotesei]

I'm so glad you guys are ok! Ugh I can't stand copperheads. we've had 2 close calls with them the past year.
One was right on our front porch and almost got my dad but he saw it before he almost stepped on it.
Then one time I was changing chickens waters and was kneeling down on the ground lifting the water bucket up and had set it aside, then looked over and there was a little baby copperhead looking at me. I was like "Oh crap!" Then the chickens looked at like "oooh! nom noms" So to save the chickens I threw the water bucket back on top of the snake, lol I was only like 2 ft away from it. scary scary.
We came back later and killed it with a shovel, as that's how we kill all our snake visitors.

Just a month ago we had a snake (don't know what type) in the calf pen. They were only like 4 months old and were hopping around trying to avoid the snake.


Anyways...encounters I don't enjoy.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Snakes can get in through some pretty small openings and tend to be chasing dinner. Get some of that foam insulation stuff an fill any interior holes you can find. Especially around outlets and pipes. Check window and door closure and seals. Check around your chimney and attic, espcially if you have trees that hang over the house.

I'm not a proponet of killing snakes in general, but copperheads are some of the nastiest snakes I've ever come in contact with!! I'll take a hoe to any that come into my yard!

Glad everybody is ok

 

[MysticalMom]

Funny thing is... this is a 260 acre farm, surrounded by woods, corn fields and christmas tree fields and I have never seen a copperhead here. She was at a friends house in a neighborhood when she got bitten. The father of the friend she was playing with got the snake, killed it, put it in a freezer bag and my daughter toted it with her through her whole hospital stay. She wanted to keep it forever, but have you ever smelled 3 day old dead reptile? UGH! I trashed it when she wasn't looking on the way home.

Copperheads were bad in Maryland this year. I still wonder why. Our local news even did a series about the increase in the area of copperhead bites.

Still, having one in the house brings it to a whole new level.

 

[chicknduck]

I am glad no one got hurt, except the snake. (I would have done the same thing)

MysticalMom, I am glad your little one is alright, that had to be sooooo scary.

 

[patandchickens]

Could be worse though. IME copperheads are the most laid-back venomous snake in North America. I've had students STEP ON them by accident, and nothing happened, and guys in the lab in grad school used to barehand them often (testosterone poisoning

). Not that they *can't* hurt you, they can, but I'd waaaaaay rather have one of them than a rattler or (my pesonal least fave) a water moccasin. Moccasins in particular are NASTY. I have been chased by big ones. On land. Rather rapidly. Did not enjoy it.

Glad you and the cats are ok,

Pat

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I always heard sulfur around the perimeter of your house is supposed to deter snakes from getting in - don't know how true or reliable it is but they make the 'snake away' stuff thats primarily sulfur and people swear by it. I've had rat snakes get in the house plenty of times - older houses are more prone to getting snakes in as the foundation and all move and make openings that you don't anticipate for them and their prey to get in. At 12" your copperhead was young probably last season's hatch and it probably was born/hatched near your house so I would be careful to clean up any debris in the house, attic, basement, under the house and seal any crack, crevice, and hole in the house interior and exterior. Older model air/heat systems and vent pipes are an easy way for them to get into the house as well so if possible I would get some 1/4" hardware cloth and fit a piece in each ventilation cover and make sure your ventilation covers are secured/screwed into the floor to eliminate that as any possible entry point.

Where I live there are many many species of snakes including cotton mouths (my least favorite), copperheads (don't mind them actually even though I was bitten by one and still have nerve damage in the side of my foot similar to Mystic mom's daughter's finger) and timber rattlers have been found here as well. I have rarely seen a venomous snake and have not seen any snakes except a corn and 2 rat snakes this year.

 

[Jeeper1540]

my sister found a garden snake in her bathroom. i know they are nonvenomous but still, finding a snake in your house would be so scary!

 

[geebs]

Yikes.... Scarey stuff.. thanks for posting... Wow...I like snakes less now.