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I would have killed it too IF it was too dangerous to relocate to another area. (Not a good idea to mess with them trying to "relocate" so killing it was probably the right choice).
One thing you want to do is LEAVE other snakes alone, in particular the king snakes. They will drive off rattlers and copperheads from the area. I was so pissed at my dogs a month ago when they attacked/killed a huge black King snake in the yard.
As a child living on a farm in Oklahoma, I was taught from an early age to keep a lookout for snakes. I can remember going fishing in our ponds, and having to step around the copperheads sleeping in the grass, and always looking under rocks before sitting on them. Copperheads are not aggressive if you leave them alone. I was also taught to look out for other poisonous creatures, such as scorpions. We had our share of them, too. These things were just a fact of life, and I never heard of anyone getting bitten by anything poisonous while growing up. You can kill every poisonous creature you find, but you will not be able to kill them all, so don't assume after one killing your family is safe. Make your property less appealing to snakes, especially where the kids play, and teach your children to be watchful of them.
I'm quite certain you have that backwards. Either that, or, the connection with reality is completely broken.
Nope! Your reality is different than mine. Watch the kids closely or get them inside - the snakes live outside where they belong, and they all have a purpose for being here.
The kids are far more capable of killing as they age than the snakes are. Snakes don't kill 12-14 (whatever) people at a time in a movie theater or start wars....people do.
Sadly, there is always an opposite reaction to everything we do.
I like Twink's idea of making a safe, play zone for the nasty critters. Sorry, Twink, not a snake lover but I also don't need to kill any either since I've never, ever seen one around here.
rainroosty, Twink has a medical condition that makes typing difficult for her, so keep your nasty comments to yourself. My condition makes typing badly for me too but I go back and correct all my typos I can catch. Makes posting a little time consuming so I don't blame Twink for just letting her typing go.
I myself came within inches of stepping
on a copper head in my grass a few years back.
I guess I need adult supervision when playing outside...
Rainroosty...its impossible to see every snake that could be in a childs play area.
When kids hit 3 or 4 they often play in the yard when parents are watching from
another area of the yard..The boy that I knew that rolled over on a copper head in the yard was
10 years old. At that age they play everywhere in the yard & woods..
Not sure what area you are an expert in , but its not children for sure...
I know you can't kill every snake but the one I do kill will never bite my child...
“Rattlesnakes that take up temporary residence in high use areas such as in or near cottages, residences, and parks should be removed. It is best to contact the local Conservation Officer of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission to move such snakes.”
“According to a recent scientific study, displacing a timber rattlesnake 110 yards from its suspected direction of travel is a reasonable solution, considering the well-being of both the snake and the person. The study's subject snakes were able to get their bearings and continue on, not returning to the incident sites. Displacing rattlesnakes long distances has been shown to drastically affect behavior and jeopardize survival.”
Copperheads are also protected in PA and I assume that they would only be relocated 110 yards away by a Conservation Officer? That is; if you did not have the $25 license to kill that one snake a year.
110 yards does not sound like a good buffer zone for children. Some kids have been know to cover distances much greater than 330 feet. We are saying to our young to never walk or run through a field with high grass or to walk through the woods because we might disturb the venomous snakes.
Unless we are going to control our own population; we will continue to push into the the territory of venomous and nonvenomous snakes. We have altered our environment before; this would not be the first time.
Many years ago there were rattlesnake hunters that would help control the rattlesnakes at a den close to our hunting cabin. Today; hunting rattlesnakes and copperheads is a thing of the past in PA – you are only allowed one and it cost $25 for the permit. We are starting to see more and more rattlesnakes around our camp. At sometime in the future I hope that they acknowledge that we have more snakes and ease the restrictions.
There are times when the "What they don't know" rule, is quite useful.
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Your reality is different than mine. Watch the kids closely or get them inside - the snakes live outside where they belong, and they all have a purpose for being here.
