Certianly not survival.. but a question...

[jeff_c]

So you walk out in your garage (open car port) to walk your dogs and discover a positively identified copperhead.

Kill it or shoo it?

Now, I love the critters of the world... but if its poisons and that close to my door, its going to lose.

Lets just say the world is one less snakey tonight. I felt bad. I said a little prayer for it. But that's close to my cats and dogs.... and those little buggers are mean.

Can you eat the meat of a poisonous snake?

[Pict]

People eat rattlesnake all the time. I have never seen anyone eat a copperhead.

I'm with you on snakes, with me its all location. In the bush I never kill them but at our camp property in Brazil I would do it all the time. I can't afford a camper getting bit. Even the non poisonous snakes would cause people to panic and stampede.

I did run into an Anaconda there once that made me scream and run away like a little girl. Mac

[crashdive123]

Can you eat the meat of a poisonous snake?

You sure can. Rattlesnake is eaten often. Just don't cut into the poison glands (head area).

[Schleprok]

kill it, skin it, eat it, tan the hide, burn then bury the head...
any questions?

[endurance]

I'm all for live and let live when I'm in their territory, but when they're in mine, I take exception to their presence. I know with rattlesnakes, once they've established a territory, they're there to stay. Even if you got him out of the front yard, the odds of him coming back are exceedingly high. With pooches and family at risk, I think I'd have no choice but to remove the threat, permanently.

[flandersander]

I had a prarie rattler under my deck one time. Being a fairly endangered species, i called the Conservation Officer, the CO had about as much experience with snakes i do (none) so he ended up calling around for about half an hour, and eventually trapping it in a pipe with both ends capped (but could still breath) he said he'd take it to the middle of nowhere, and I haven't seen one since. I would have removed it myself, with a little more force, but for the effort it caused me, it was worth helping an endangered species.

[vthompson]

I kill them all except black snakes and green snakes. To me, the only good snake is a dead snake.

[FVR]

I live by this rule. If I see a copperhead, rattlesnake, black widow in the woods or at work, I shoo them or just go the other way.

If I see the same around my house, which contains two 6 yr olds, they're dead. No excuse, just not going to have the kids take a chance.

Depending on the size of the snake dictates if I skin it, eat it, and tan it.

[Ole WV Coot]

I kill anything that might harm me or anyone else. I seldom kill blacksnakes, copperheads die asap. Remember you will never or seldom see one copperhead, always another close and I can smell them.

[mountain mama]

I agree with FVR. If it ain't big enough to get much meat off of it, why bother? If it might hurt one of my kids, it's dead.

When I was in college, my brother and I worked at a summer camp in East Texas. My brother was the rowdy and was responsible for disposing of any snakes found within the camp area. One day he caught a little copperhead and put it in a mayonaise jar to keep. That weekend, we were headed home and he hands me the jar and says "here, hold this". WHAT!?!?! I don't think so! So he says, "that's fine, I'll just stick it in the back seat here and every time we hit a bump you can wonder". That did it. I sat there with that beady eyed little thing staring at me the whole trip.
That summer my brother ended up killing a 6 ft rattler (among others) and got a nice belt, hat band, and a bunch of meat, but not one camper got bit.

Sometimes I wish I lived in Alaska just so I wouldn't have to worry about the snakes. They are the one thing that freaks me out.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

the snake would be there because of a bigger problem, like mice or rats.

first never try to handle a snake.
open your garage door and leave it open until the snake leaves.(treatment for a snake bite can cost 10s of thousands of dollars.) dont risk a bite

if you have a means of killing the invader without risk of injury then do what you want/must.

just leaving the door open so the snake can find its way out is enough.

snakes are not sinsiter, they try to escape danger. copper head snakes are most aggressive during molting(sheding skin)
they wander and will only nest to lay eggs.

if you decide not to kill the snake and it wont leave you can call any fire dept or EMS and they will handle your snake problem while you watch the excitement

[wareagle69]

would certainly not kill it, educate your children about the hazards of where you live and how to handle any situation involving dangerous animals whether it be a snake,bear or santy claws

[jeff_c]

kill it, skin it, eat it, tan the hide, burn then bury the head...
any questions?

rinse and repeat!

[jeff_c]

I should note... I live by the notion that several of you commented on.... If I am in their territory... its THEIRS.. I am the odd man out LOL.

I would never kill a snake just for seeing it in the field. I would leave it alone and move on. But this one was a little close to home. I CHOSE to dispatch him. I live in the WOOODS! no doubt there are dozens around the house. But when they get that close I guess I have issues.

Thanks for the input everyone... just curious what my new group of online friend thought.

[RangerXanatos]

Me and my brother have killed an eaten a water mocassin. And I believe that you actually can eat the venom. Once the venom (protein) hits your stomach acid, it should be denatured and harmless. The real risk is when the venom gets in your blood stream.

[crashdive123]

Sooooooo - how about that small open sore in your mouth?

[Ole WV Coot]

Me and my brother have killed an eaten a water mocassin. And I believe that you actually can eat the venom. Once the venom (protein) hits your stomach acid, it should be denatured and harmless. The real risk is when the venom gets in your blood stream.

If I remember correctly some snakes are poisonous and others like the rattler are venomous. A poisonous snake is deadly from one end to the other and can't be eaten. The cottonmouth or rattler is venomous, meaning the poison has to be injected, which it is with hollow fangs. You are correct, the venom has to enter the bloodstream. Crash is correct, unless you wish to bet your life on no open sores, ulcers etc. It has been a few years since I was taught anything on snakes and didn't look it up. Go with Crash, why gamble?

[Mountain Man]

Around the house it goes BY BY.

Just like the gopher and mouse in the basement i'm working on!!!! L O L

[Rick]

I just hate to kill snakes of any kind. They consume so many rodents. They serve such a beneficial niche in the eco system and cause us so little harm. They wouldn't cause us any harm if we would learn to leave them alone.

But you bring up a rather delicate situation. My own fear of trying to handle a poisonous snake in any manner would probably dictate me killing it if it were on my property. That just speaks to my own stupidity, though.

I think the real concern about it being in your garage is the fact it might have been looking for some place to give birth. That would be pretty scary to me considering the consequences of me or a family member crossing paths with a copperhead. Just getting in and out of the car could be a hazard if you didn't know it was there.

[preachtheWORD]

I too have deep respect for all of God's creatures, and I do not like killing things unless it is necessary. Thus, I have to formulate a personal philosophy on snakes, spiders, and other creepy-crawlies:

If it's outside, live and let live. I won't even let my kids squash ants outside.

If it is in the house, it's gonna die. If it entered my home without permission, I will kill it. Intruders beware!