N80
Super Member
BTDT, almost any snake can make a bad smell. In fact, it is probably a more common defense for non-poisonous snakes than poisonous ones. Hog nosed snakes in particular for making bad smells. Its a form of musk.
I'm firmly with BamaRob on this one. I don't kill snakes of any sort. There is simply no need. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. And remember, most poisonous snakes are solitary, shy and rare compared to non-poisonous ones. There are obvious exceptions.
A couple of things to remember: Nearly any snake will act aggressive if cornered. They will coil, hiss, strike and many will even put their tail in the leaves and rattle it like a rattler. Corn snakes get mistaken for copperheads. Brown and banded water snakes get mistaken for water moccasins. Water snakes are highly aggressive, they are fat and their heads are often diamond shaped somewhat. I've caught and handled lots of non-poisonous snakes but I don't mess with water snakes if possible. (I have handled a Coral Snake).
Another sort of myth is the deadly nature of these snakes. Most poisonous snake bites are non-fatal, even with the big diamondbacks. Water moccasins and copperheads are highly unlikely to kill an adult, or even a dog. They rarely kill children. That doesn't mean anyone wants to be bitten, but the effects of these snakes tends to get exaggerated. There are fatalities every year from snake bites, but I'd be willing to bet that snake bite fatalities are far lower than bee sting deaths and few of us go around killing bees.
I spent a few years growing up in Jacksonville, Florida. There was a burned out field in the back yard full of gopher turtle holes. We constantly had rattlers in the yard. Mostly cane break and pygmy rattlers. Had a bunch of baby pygmys born in the garage. A little girl picked up several of them and they did not bite her. My Dad scooped them up in a box and let them go in the woods. I guess it is that background that made me not particularly fearful of snakes.
Sadly, the Eastern Diamondback is nearly endangered. It is the largest poisonous snake on the continent. They are beautiful and awesome to see, especially a big six footer. I think it is sad to see them on decline. They have never been responsible for any significant level of human injury and as in many snake bite cases it is because someone is messing with them.
I'm firmly with BamaRob on this one. I don't kill snakes of any sort. There is simply no need. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. And remember, most poisonous snakes are solitary, shy and rare compared to non-poisonous ones. There are obvious exceptions.
A couple of things to remember: Nearly any snake will act aggressive if cornered. They will coil, hiss, strike and many will even put their tail in the leaves and rattle it like a rattler. Corn snakes get mistaken for copperheads. Brown and banded water snakes get mistaken for water moccasins. Water snakes are highly aggressive, they are fat and their heads are often diamond shaped somewhat. I've caught and handled lots of non-poisonous snakes but I don't mess with water snakes if possible. (I have handled a Coral Snake).
Another sort of myth is the deadly nature of these snakes. Most poisonous snake bites are non-fatal, even with the big diamondbacks. Water moccasins and copperheads are highly unlikely to kill an adult, or even a dog. They rarely kill children. That doesn't mean anyone wants to be bitten, but the effects of these snakes tends to get exaggerated. There are fatalities every year from snake bites, but I'd be willing to bet that snake bite fatalities are far lower than bee sting deaths and few of us go around killing bees.
I spent a few years growing up in Jacksonville, Florida. There was a burned out field in the back yard full of gopher turtle holes. We constantly had rattlers in the yard. Mostly cane break and pygmy rattlers. Had a bunch of baby pygmys born in the garage. A little girl picked up several of them and they did not bite her. My Dad scooped them up in a box and let them go in the woods. I guess it is that background that made me not particularly fearful of snakes.
Sadly, the Eastern Diamondback is nearly endangered. It is the largest poisonous snake on the continent. They are beautiful and awesome to see, especially a big six footer. I think it is sad to see them on decline. They have never been responsible for any significant level of human injury and as in many snake bite cases it is because someone is messing with them.
In 1979, two friends and I were fishing at night in my bass boat at Cedar Creek Lake. We were tied up under a bridge, fishing straight down with minnows. The bridge was high enough to drive under in the boat and tie up under there, but not high enough for a man to stand up in the boat. And then we saw a big moccasin coming straight at us. It seemed it was coming to attack, although of course I figure it was just attracted to the light from the lantern. When it got close enough to the boat, one of the guys hit at it with the tip of his rod and his line was still out with a sinker in about 25' of water. And he threw a half hitch around that snake's tail; no way he could have ever done that on purpose, but when he raised the tip of his rod, he had the snake caught. The other guy promptly whipped out a knife to cut the line, but I stopped him before he could cut it and had the one with the snake caught to swing it over against the side of the boat and I beat the thing to death with a paddle.
