First let me make it absolutely clear, that under no circumstances should anyone try to interpret this as a sport or recreational activity. All snakes (poisonous or not) are living and breathing creatures, with just as much right to exist as anyone else. So it is always best to avoid killing of snakes. As they have their own justified place in nature... Snakes are solidarity loving creatures, they don't really want to mess with you, if you too don't go poking around their habitat. Trouble unfortunately starts when either the snake unknowingly invades into our gardens. Or more likely, we arrogantly encroach into their natural habitats, (which humanity really shouldn't). But regardless of who is to blame for it, this post is about what to do - When you come face to face with a poisonous snake in your home. And everything becomes a fight for your own survival. Since my area only has poisonous snakes, here is what I was taught in my childhood, (following a bad experience) - If I ever came face to face with a poisonous snake while alone. Always place a few solid wooden club in several different places in and outside your home, (steel pipes are preferred over wooden clubs). Fat yet flexible cane or bamboo sicks are great too. Rule number one for kids is to get to safety and quickly seek help from an adult. However if that is not possible - Then grab that long stick or steel rod, and hit the snake in the middle of it's body (with as much force as possible). Idea is to break or very badly injure the snake's back! Snakes can move very fast, and are unbelievably flexible. So where with other creatures it would make sense to attack their head first - 90% of the times you are likely to miss a head strike when it comes to snakes... All poisonous snakes have a diamond shaped head because of the venom sacks behind their jaw. This also gives them excellent stereoscopic vision. So if you try to hit their head and miss (which is very likely to happen) - You now have a very angry snake in front of you, who will not hesitate to kill you... So never try to hit their head first. Always strike with a pole in the middle of their bodies. Since they have a long body, the likelihood of a good solid strike is very high. Seriously injuring or breaking their back also has an advantage of disabling their ability to stand up and jump at you. So now (after the strike) they just twist and curl around in the same spot - At which point you now don't waste anymore time, and either rain down repeated heavy blows on the snake with that stick. Or now you can safely smash it's head, (because now it can't jump at you). This way even if you miss a head strike, the snake is too badly injured to jump at you. Of course, if you have a good aim with something like a slingshot. Then by all means, use it! As the more distance there is between you and the snake - The better! My own preferred method is 12 gage bird shot ammunition fired from a fast repeater shotgun. However this basic method of using a stick or a steel pipe - Everyone must learn. Because as I had said so before, you need to place several of these sticks or steel rods in different areas in and outside your home, (for quick access). This is something which you can't do with a high quality prized competition shotgun rifle... So remember to first break or very badly injure it's back, (so it can't jump at you or raise it's head to bite). After which crush the head - Never attack their head first. As you are very likely to miss. After which the snake will immediately become steaming mad! And after you are sure the snake is dead. Either smash it's head with a big rock or a heavy brick. Or sever the head completely and burry it. Yes burry it. Because even after death, snakes can still give you a fatal bite. As they are cold-blooded creatures. So their reflexes might still kick in, for as long as 20 minutes after death. Never forget this... I had written a lot more, but accidentally closed the wrong tab of the browser while editing, (so over 2 hours of writing wasted). But I will rewrite about those subjects in the comments of this thread.
Of course now people say that having these snake bite kits is just a false sense of security, as they in reality don't do much in reality... Personally I too say that one shouldn't depend on it completely. But it's still better to have something then nothing, (specially if you are too far out of contact). However I leave the choice to you. So make up your own minds if a snake bite kit is worth having around or not.
Okay, since I have been bitten by copperheads TWICE, and nearly died the 2d time, my personal advice is, if you are not a crack shot with that pistol full of some kind of lethal ammo --and I am not, nor do I own one-- keep lots of SHOVELS around--the wooden tool with a large spade on one end. An axe will also do nicely. Yes, an AXE. Chop them into small pieces if you can. Burying the heads is a good idea. I also burn them with the trash if possible. I keep shovels in various locations around my garden this time of year for SELF DEFENSE. Technically, one is not supposed to kill snakes around here, but they do make an exception for self defense. If it is in my yard or house, it is always self defense. If they are in my chicken coop, or near my pets, it is defending innocent victims. Missouri has several kinds of poisonous vipers: copperheads, rattle snakes, cotton mouths, and one other kind I keep forgetting. https://sites.wustl.edu/monh/venomous-snakes-of-missouri/ There are some good pictures of the vermin on this website. Missouri also has "harmless" snakes, which will not kill you, cause gangrene, or otherwise make you sick, and I try to leave them alone. If I find one in my chicken coop, and DS happens to be handy, I have him put them in the witness protection program and give them a free ride to Timbuktu. Otherwise, their days are numbered. In case you had not noticed, I hate snakes. Oh sure, they eat rodents, baby birds, bigger birds, and other small animals. They attack my pets too. They just better practice a LOT of social distancing on my account! If DS was handy to put a mask on them, he could tie it extra tight since they have no ears to hang them on.
@AAnightowl I think you should share your experience. As this thread is about spreading awareness, and so is educational. By the way, that's not a pistol magazine I showed above - It's a fast rate gas piston operated 12 gage assault rifle. Used by military and law enforcement, but also perfect for speed shooting competitions too... Snakes don't stand a chance against this, not even the jumpers with lightning fast reflexes. Of course, ear protection is a must with such a weapon. And if you fire it indoors, then don't be surprised when all the windows and mirrors in your home shatter, (including crockery). Because this really will awaken everybody in the entire neighborhood, and beyond. It's actually an overkill for snakes... Weapons of this class (heavy caliber automatic and semiautomatic selectables) are often referred to as "street sweeper", "show stopper", "shoulder cannon", "train wrecker", or "gospel reminder"... But generally speaking, street sweeper is the most popular nickname. However, this is a weapon for personal protection and home defense. At least that's what I keep it for, (I actually detest hunting of animals and birds for sport). So this gun is always nearby wherever I am, for quick and easy access. But of course, I can't (and shouldn't) be carrying it around when gardening. I mean, that's just crazy... So obviously, strategically placing sticks, steel pipes and rods, as well as shovels in and around your house - Is always a very smart thing to do. Having a small axe is another great idea! Which anyone can carry while gardening. But if anyone feels safer using a firearm against snakes, (as more distance between you and the snake, the better), then there is a review of snake specific ammunition which can be used in guns. Revolvers are ideal for mini shot shells, as they don't need to cycle, (pistols do). As shot shells often don't have enough energy in them to properly cycle a pistol. So these one can carry easily in the garden. And as always, I would like to say that one shouldn't be killing any creature, snake or otherwise - Unless it's a direct threat to you or your family's life. People really shouldn't be going anywhere near poisonous snakes. They all need to be left in their own environment. Therefore DO NOT encroach into their habitat for the sake of adventure. But if a poisonous snake is in your house or yard - Then you have no choice but to kill, or be killed... There are of course tools which wildlife experts use to catch snakes, (catch not kill). However to effectively use such tools, you need a certain level of skill and training - So if you aren't sure, please don't attempt to capture a poisonous snake alive. But say for the sake of the argument that you did capture a poisonous snake alive, (without injuring it) - Then what to do next??? Well, you can call your local zoo, or wildlife control and management to take the snake away. But it is actually best to contact the nearest university or any close by medical research center. They really are always extremely grateful to get a perfectly healthy poisonous snake that isn't injured. It really goes a very long way in their research - They do not harm the snake in any way, they feed it milk and eggs, plus everything else a snake loves to eat. They just keep collecting it's venom. To either make anti-venom, or to do further medicinal research. Including anti cancer research. Wildlife experts often relocate the snake. Zoos keep them only if they look attractive, otherwise they too call in the wildlife department... So in all of this, medical researchers are unfortunately always getting ignored - And in my opinion, they are the ones who need such snakes very badly. But again, DON'T attempt to capture a deadly snake on your own. Unless you yourself are an expert - I am not, therefore I wouldn't take the chance...
There is absolutely NO DANGER of me trying to capture any snake--poisonous or harmless. I never go hunting for any kind of snakes. I try not to harm a non-poisonous snake, but no guarantees. I also hate firearms, and refuse to use them. (I have tried them on a few occasions when a boyfriend wanted me to target shoot--soda bottles or tin cans, nothing live.) I have had a lot of experiences in my life, that I would have rather not had. However, if you like I can share my 2 snake bite experiences. 1. The first time that I was bitten was the summer of 2005. I had a dog that hated snakes worse than I do, and he had a certain high pitched bark which was his way of screaming "SNAKE! SNAKE!". One night around midnight, he started screaming SNAKE!, and I went to see about it, because we do have some poison snakes here. Silly me, I went out to check on him in flip-flops. Sure enough, he had a copperhead he was trying to kill. (this was before I had my shovel collection...). There was a fence post near by, but they are not convenient for killing snakes. I tried, but the little vermin bit me right on the left foot. I was rather surprised, but should not have been. I went in the house and called 911, and asked them what to do. They asked me some health questions, and yes, I am diabetic so they said I really needed to go to the ER, and sent the ambulance. It is good that I went, because their bites are excruciatingly painful. I ended up spending the weekend in the hospital, and getting morphine every two hours. My leg swelled all the way to my groin, about 3 times its normal size. I had had pictures, but lost them when that computer died. The ER doctors were whispering in a corner about "necrosis", and I know very well what that means--gangrene. They were concerned about the possibility of me losing my leg. I spent the weekend in the hospital, but my doctor finally let me come home Sunday evening, and a neighbor came and got me. 2. In the summer of 2014, I was pulling weeds in an overgrown area (DON'T DO THAT!) and had not checked first. I saw a flash of something reach out and bite my right index finger... I went indoors and called my kids who were out. They would not be able to come quickly, so I called the ambulance. I KNEW what I was in for this time. The EMS people here are great. I love them. I had asked my kids to please take care of my animals for the evening, because I knew I would not be home for a bit. In the ER, they ask the usual questions about your medicines and allergies, and thankfully, I have a Medic Alert, so I just give them that, and they can call and get all of my information. When they had me hooked up to all of their machinery, the nurse put some medicine in my IV, and did not get two steps away when I crashed. I set off all the alarms and the doctors and nurses come running. It took them six hours to stabilize me in the ER. Then I spent over 28 hours in ICU, and was very sick. I had had an anaphylactic reaction to the pain medicine they gave me, so no more pain medicine. They wanted to give me some "new antivenin".... I refused. One anaphylactic reaction is more than enough for me. The nurses and doctors were great, but the hospital's new beds were not great. The new beds were miserable. My right arm was swollen and in horrible pain. My left arm had the IV, they had wires all over me just in case. I cannot sleep on my back or my stomach.... The mattresses were skinny, and the beds no longer go high enough to put one's knees up for comfort. They did bring some extra pillows to help me be comfortable. After all that time in ICU (and their promising to give me that antivenin if the swelling did not stop) they put me in a regular room for most of a day. BTW, when I finally got home and looked under my shirt, the swelling had not stopped. I was very swollen to my shoulder and down my side, and black and blue all over. I had a necrosis on my finger also, which required surgery. This is just the swelling in my hand... (they scribble times and dates all over you the mark the progress of the swelling...) Okay, it put my pictures at top... After the surgery, I used some tea made with heal all, or prunella vulgaris, which helped it heal in about ten days. My regular doctor and the surgeon were quite pleased.
The pictures go with snake bite #2, not #1 but I have no idea how to fix that. I was and am quite thankful for God helping me through those ordeals! I really was praying both times.
Sorry, I liked your post, I just can relate to it. I grew up in Africa and snakes were one of the dangers „noga“ snake. Nogana means earthworm in Setswana. One of our family friends was a vet working in the snake park and so I got to watch the milking and get to hold and stroke the non toxic snakes. Another friend broke the world record for snake sitting at the time. I remember when we went to see him in his glass cage with snakes all over the place. He subsequently got bitten and was hospitalised. He lived with the snakes for about six months if I remember correctly.
Odif, you could not pay me enough money to live with a snake for one minute, much less six months!!!! Here is a picture that did not show up on my post for some odd reason:
A few days after I got out of the hospital with bite #2, a very large three foot copperhead had the nerve to come up on my porch. I started to call for DIL to get the shovel when I remembered that I had an axe on the porch. No way was I going to allow him in my house...
