I often fly the United States Navy’s Union Jack flag at my front door, as after all, we are a Navy family. However, now I am wondering if the picture of the rattlesnake on that flag is attracting like minded poisonous serpents to come visit. Is it like the pineapple of hospitality for snakes?
We had a frightening visitor the other night which slithered under the wheels of my neighbor’s vehicle just as he was entering his garage. His final glimpse of the brightly reticulated serpent was of it scurrying onto our side lawn.
The next morning, after our mowing crew had run their wicked machinery on our lawn, we discovered the 2 to 2 1/2 foot creepy crawler dead as a door nail, stretched across the driveway.
I photographed it HERE, and it has been identified as a Southern Copperhead. My neighbor now tells me that over the years he has killed others of these varmints on his front lawn, but was told that they were harmless water snakes. Now I am reminded of a post I wrote a couple years ago about copperhead snakes. I think that we need to seek out the nests of these dreadful snakes wherever they are in our gardens, just like Zell Miller does:
“We were doing some work on my back porch back home, tearing out a section of old stacked rocks, when all of a sudden I uncovered a nest of copperhead snakes. I know the difference between those snakes that are harmless and those that will kill you. A copperhead will kill you. It could kill one of my dogs. It could kill one of my grandchildren. It could kill any one of my four great-grandchildren.
“And you know, when I discovered these copperheads, I didn’t call my wife Shirley for advice, like I do on most things. I didn’t go before the city council. I didn’t yell for help from my neighbors. I just took a hoe and knocked them in the head and killed them dead as a doorknob.
“’I guess you could call it a unilateral action,’ I said. ‘Or pre-emptive.’ Perhaps if you had been watching me, you could have even called it bellicose and reactive. I took their poisonous heads off because they were a threat to me. And they were a threat to my home and my family. They were a threat to all I hold dear.”
From Neddy’s Copperheads
The image, U.S. Navy Flag, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s 
account.
Visit Neddy’s Archives, for more of Edna’s writings.
I was reared in a part of Florida where snakes are still a constant concern. I’ve seen the damage snake bite can cause. I would have done precisely what you did without hesitation, with no apologies to snake enthusiasts who preach that no snake should be dispatched. I agree that one should not go out of one’s way to hunt down and destroy wildlife but…when the threat is immediate and too close we must protect the people and pets we love.
I have just things to say about this story. First of all this snake as others DO NOT like being around people. If given the chance they will escape as quickly as possible. The only reason snakes come into habitated areas are for food or water. Keep all grains in enclosed containers so mice and/or other rodents can not dine on this food source; which inturn is the main menu for snakes. during dry season place a pan of water at the your extreme property perimeter in the vacinity of folage or rocks, where snakes may emerge. Now my second comment, God gave man dominion over the animals. This does not give us the right to kill them just because we are ignorant about their habits and therefore fearful. Thank you for your time. Oh yes there is something to keep in mind, the average snake will eat 75 or more rodents a year.
Silver Eagle - Your comment is a thoughtful one and you offer some good advice. Only thing, from what you said about grains has caused me to be concerned about bird feeding. I once saw a non-poisonous snake in the garden trying to swallow a mouse that was bigger than the snake.
There is another side to the story from the comment of a medical person who had attended a child bitten by a copperhead snake: COMMENT.