:funn:
Funny I should stumble upon this thread today. Was at a friends sitting by the pool last night, lights on in the pool. And there it was, a pygmy (sp?) rattler takin a dip. Had to herd the kids and dogs into the house, while the men dealt with it. Of course they were bullet proof after all the beverages they'd had that day :roll:
I was a lifeguard for many years, mostly in Georgia, and lived in fear of taking the lid off the skimmers. (Sssshiver...)
Pictures of juvenile cottonmouth I relocated out of my garden back in June. (one of two in as many weeks) Even with all of the poking and proding, not a single strike or aggressive posture. No need to kill. Just leave them alone and they'll do the same.
Sorry to hear about that. Yes, snakes can bite, but do so only in defense. Maybe you should leave the relocating to the professionals (SJ & myself)
I've been a landscape professional, mostly in Georgia, for the last 13 years. I worked at a camp in Jasper, Georgia that was literally infested with copperheads and rattlers. Those copperheads were aggressive. I had more than one come after me. At one point I was on a sidewalk in front of a building, and the snake came around from the back, straight toward me. I was barefooted that evening, so I was backpedaling and climbing the porch railings as fast as I could. I was joined by another adult, and the snake was determined to show us who was boss. I was able to jump the rail and run for a shovel, and the snake never gave any indication that it was willing to run.
At the same camp, I used to throw tantrums when the maintenance guys killed my black snakes. The black snakes (mostly king snakes, I believe) made every effort to stay out of our way, and I particularly loved that they are territorial. The rattlers weren't aggressive, either. In fact, I never saw one myself.
The copperhead i have seen has markings like the one on the left but were a lighter color like the ones on the right. And most moccasins I have seen look like the last pic
When I was visiting Hop a couple of months ago, he ran over what he thought was a moccasin. A passer-by told us that the copperheads and cottonmouths are closely related. I didn't realize that, but Googling confirmed it...
FOR THE RECORD: Even though my practice is to kill a venomous snake rather than risk being bitten by it later, it has never brought me any joy to kill anything. I usually leave that battle to the blacksnakes and my cat. I have nothing but respect for the likes of SJ and Grace for their mercy.
Last edited: