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Holy Cow! Copperhead in Laundry hamper


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2 hours ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

In a fairly long life so far, and with three generations of family lore, I've never seen nor heard of such a thing.

Thanks, um

a bunch.

"While they usually stay on the ground, copperheads will sometimes climb into low bushes or trees in search of prey or to bask in the sun. Sometimes, they even voluntarily go swimming."

https://www.livescience.com/43641-copperhead-snake.html

Now rat snakes, yes. Need a bit of roughness on the surface, but I've seen 8-9 footers on the face of brick walls, and also handily climbing up within walls.

When I lived in south Alabama there was a huge cotton field across from our home.......when they collected cotton.......rat snakes could be found on the brick walls of our home as well.

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3 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

I stepped on Cottonmouth when I was 11 or 12. They keep me in the hospital for 5 or 6 days back then. Thing bit me on the ball of the foot and my entire leg turned blue and swelled. Started studying snakes at that time and became fascinated with them. Most snakes we encounter are not given a fair shake and are harmless. Naturally you need to eliminate a poisonous in your house or yard. I would never kill a snake in its natural environment.    

I would have panicked lol.........I used to wear my Red Ball chest waders and bass fish in some snake infested areas.......stepped on several never bit thank God!........once I was chest deep when what appeared to be 6 foot water moccasin was a good 20 yards away decided to come check me out........closest I've ever been to walking on water?.........the noise I made never slowed its progress....

 Also have a pre-sunrise gator story I will save for another day.?

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9 minutes ago, kevon67 said:

I would have panicked lol.........I used to wear my Red Ball chest waders and bass fish in some snake infested areas.......stepped on several never bit thank God!........once I was chest deep when what appeared to be 6 foot water moccasin was a good 20 yards away decided to come check me out........closest I've ever been to walking on water?.........the noise I made never slowed its progress....

 Also have a pre-sunrise gator story I will save for another day.?

The good news is that they cannot strike from the water. Nothing to push off of.

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1 hour ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

The good news is that they cannot strike from the water. Nothing to push off of.

Honestly never realized that......learn something new?

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9 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Never had an unusual fear of snakes, but this thread has me reconsidering that position. 

People ask me all the time if I am afraid of snakes (or bears which we also have). 

 I tell them while I always watch where I sit or place my hands,  the wildlife threat I fear most is wasps.  Specifically, Bald Face hornets (especially when the nest is at a low level) and Yellowjackets (especially in the Fall).  The various paper wasps can also be a serious threat if you are canoeing or boating on a river with overhanging foliage. 

Edited by homersapien
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14 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

I stepped on Cottonmouth when I was 11 or 12. They keep me in the hospital for 5 or 6 days back then. Thing bit me on the ball of the foot and my entire leg turned blue and swelled. Started studying snakes at that time and became fascinated with them. Most snakes we encounter are not given a fair shake and are harmless. Naturally you need to eliminate a poisonous in your house or yard. I would never kill a snake in its natural environment.    

You must have gotten a pretty good dose of venom. Sometimes - especially in a defensive reflex bite - pit vipers will strike without injecting much if any venom (a dry bite).   

Pit viper venom acts by a hemolytic enzyme that kills tissue, which causes subsequent complications with infection, etc.  I suspect that historically,  most deaths caused by pit vipers was from these complications.  Thus, the hospital stay.  It's certainly not something you want to experience if you're 3 or 4 days from civilization. 

I am not going to ask how much it hurt.  I don't want to know.

 

Edited by homersapien
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So very true homer.......used to hike and camp on Blood Mountain in North GA.........always made sure to hang our food in a tree........didnt worry much at night because you could hear a squirrel fart from a mile away........of course I usually only slept for an hour or so..........friends would usually slap the tent making for one heck of a wake up lol.........I usually just pulled up tent stakes so their slide down hill would be swift?

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I hate snakes and I worked on my Dad's farm until college. Nightmares I'll have tonight just because I was dumb enough to read this thread. Best of luck Homer

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7 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

I hate snakes and I worked on my Dad's farm until college. Nightmares I'll have tonight just because I was dumb enough to read this thread. Best of luck Homer

Thought about you when I started reading, as we share that mutal feeling for snakes.........makes my hair stand on the back of my neck.

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1 hour ago, homersapien said:

People ask me all the time if I am afraid of snakes (or bears which we also have). 

While I tell them I always watch where I sit or place my hands,  the wildlife threat I fear most is wasps.  Specifically, Bald Face hornets (especially when the nest is at a low level) and Yellowjackets (especially in the Fall).  The various paper wasps can also be a serious threat if you are canoing or boating on a river with overhanging folage. 

We speak the same language, my friend. HATE ALL STINGING INSECTS. Much more bothered by those than things with teeth.

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2 hours ago, homersapien said:

You must have gotten a pretty good dose of venom. Sometimes - especially in a defensive reflex bite - pit vipers will strike without injecting much if any venom (a dry bite).   

Pit viper acts by a hemolytic enzyme that kills tissue, which causes subsequent complications with infection, etc.  I suspect that historically,  most deaths caused by pit vipers was from these complications.  Thus, the hospital stay.  It's certainly not something you want to experience if you're 3 or 4 days from civilization. 

I am not going to ask how much it hurt.  I don't want to know.

 

True story, bitten on a Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday I had been to the doctor with and ingrown big toe nail on same foot of the bite. Told to stay off the foot and shoe-less for a day or so. My mom left the house shopping. I immediately left the house and headed to the creek with some buddies, bare feet, running along the creek bank I thought I had stepped on a thorn. Looked down, saw the snake,  let all know I had been bitten and ran like hell home. Never will forget one of my pals yelling something about cutting it and sucking the blood out. I outran them all.    

Found my Dad doing some work at a church close by and then my Mother came home. They took me back to my doctors office and immediately put my leg in ice and sent me to the hospital. The snake needed to be identified so Daddy went back with my buddies guiding and the Cottonmouth was still there. Biggest hurt was my Mother raising hell about me sneaking out of house. 

Edited by SaltyTiger
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7 hours ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

The good news is that they cannot strike from the water. Nothing to push off of.

Bet you still do not jump in the water and swim them faux?

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1 hour ago, SaltyTiger said:

Bet you still do not jump in the water and swim them faux?

They can wrap around you and bite the s*** out of you. 

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3 hours ago, homersapien said:

People ask me all the time if I am afraid of snakes (or bears which we also have). 

While I tell them I always watch where I sit or place my hands,  the wildlife threat I fear most is wasps.  Specifically, Bald Face hornets (especially when the nest is at a low level) and Yellowjackets (especially in the Fall).  The various paper wasps can also be a serious threat if you are canoing or boating on a river with overhanging folage. 

In my line of work(forestry) I am constantly exposed to all of nature's nasties. I'll take on all varieties of walking/furry/slithering/snarling beasties over the damn flying, stinging bunch of Satan's minions. Kill them all with fire. 

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4 minutes ago, alexava said:

They can wrap around you and bite the s*** out of you. 

I suppose they could but as rule they just want to get the heck away from you. The old banded water snake that people mistake for moccasins are different. They grow big and are harmless curious buggers.   

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2 minutes ago, Tiger Refuge said:

In my line of work(forestry) I am constantly exposed to all of nature's nasties. I'll take on all varieties of walking/furry/slithering/snarling beasties over the damn flying, stinging bunch of Satan's minions. Kill them all with fire. 

you got that right one right Refuge:hellyeah:

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44 minutes ago, Tiger Refuge said:

In my line of work(forestry) I am constantly exposed to all of nature's nasties. I'll take on all varieties of walking/furry/slithering/snarling beasties over the damn flying, stinging bunch of Satan's minions. Kill them all with fire. 

Down here in the marsh we get nasty yellow flies(not sure if correct name).......I carry 100% deet deep woods sport.......I swear they ignore it......I wear long sleeves 99% of the time when I fish.

 

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2 minutes ago, kevon67 said:

Down here in the marsh we get nasty yellow flies(not sure if correct name).......I carry 100% deet deep woods sport.......I swear they ignore it......I wear long sleeves 99% of the time when I fish.

 

I am familiar with these yellow flies. Bitey little bastages they are. About the only thing I found to keep them off is rotor wash from a helo.

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Now, we live in the forest, two miles to the nearest neighbor and two miles to a paved road. Kill an average of five venomous snakes around the house and barn per year. This year may end up being above average, as I've already killed one copperhead and one cottonmouth. We leave the harmless snakes alone. Our dogs get vaccinated with rattlesnake vaccine annually, but they still swell up and have a bad day when bitten. One outside dog has been hit twice and seems to have learned. The other one has suffered three bites and still goes after the snakes. We keep a 22 pistol loaded with rat shot on the porch and I keep another 22 with rat shot in the tractor's tool box. Living out like this has it's rewards, but you have a few drawbacks too.

If I had to guess, I'd say the snake in the hamper was in that bundle of clothes.

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59 minutes ago, kevon67 said:

Down here in the marsh we get nasty yellow flies(not sure if correct name).......I carry 100% deet deep woods sport.......I swear they ignore it......I wear long sleeves 99% of the time when I fish.

 

Deer flies?

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I’m allergic ( somewhat) to wasps. They are some hateful, painful mean bastards. And they don’t just want to get away from you. My reactions have never been life threatening but get worse with age. One of my trips to the doctor he gave me epipens but I haven’t refilled them since the prices skyrocketed. 

Still I don’t know how a snake bite would affect me. So I fear that. I kill the venomous ones if the situation allows. My son got one back on November 4 that somehow spared me. Cottonmouth.  Might still have a picture. 

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4 hours ago, alexava said:

I’m allergic ( somewhat) to wasps. They are some hateful, painful mean bastards. And they don’t just want to get away from you. My reactions have never been life threatening but get worse with age. One of my trips to the doctor he gave me epipens but I haven’t refilled them since the prices skyrocketed. 

Still I don’t know how a snake bite would affect me. So I fear that. I kill the venomous ones if the situation allows. My son got one back on November 4 that somehow spared me. Cottonmouth.  Might still have a picture. 

Post that pic?..........much as I fear, l am obsessed with looking at from a distance.

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7 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

I suppose they could but as rule they just want to get the heck away from you. The old banded water snake that people mistake for moccasins are different. They grow big and are harmless curious buggers.   

I did see plenty of water snakes at grass farm usually hiding in the high grass near the pond balled up......narrow head if I remember but quite long.......

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10 hours ago, Tiger Refuge said:

In my line of work(forestry) I am constantly exposed to all of nature's nasties. I'll take on all varieties of walking/furry/slithering/snarling beasties over the damn flying, stinging bunch of Satan's minions. Kill them all with fire. 

Image result for preach gif

 

@alexava, I've become allergic to them, too. Got popped a couple years ago and had to drive myself to the emergency room. When I walked in they pushed me to the front of the line. The steroid shot gave me an awesome buzz but I do not wish to repeat the experience. Should probably seek out an epi pen. 

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