Copperhead snake sightings on the rise this summer, experts say

This post comes at the request of a neighbor in Stone Valley who sent in an email – “We just had a dead Copperhead snake in our front garden. We should post warning notifications alerting the neighborhood to be on the lookout for snakes. A neighbor who notified us of a dead Copperhead snake in our front garden. The snake appears to have been hit by a car and was able to crawl into our garden. A warning should be sent to our neighborhood to be on the lookout for snakes”

First I’d like to thank our neighbor for sharing information like this. I know I for one, have been much more diligent around my garden since I read her email.

Then it occurred to me that I just saw an article in the newspaper that Copperheads come out to eat one of their favorite snacks this time of year …”Cicadas”

She writes: Sightings of copperhead snake congregations are on the rise as the venomous reptiles are looking for their favorite seasonal snack this summer— cicadas. ›› Read Full Story

To lessen the risk of injury from these snakes, have a clean up around the yard, remove any trash and replace any vegative garden mulch with gravel mulch, which will stop the snakes hiding in it. Be very careful when lifting any old logs or other trash that no snakes are lurking beneath them, a good pair of thick gloves, boots and thick jeans are a good precaution also.

Small copperhead snakes are notorious for getting “Everywhere” in the garden, in flower beds, in cars, coming up around porches and decks, many being so small they are an invitation to small children and pets to investigate. Even the smallest baby copperhead is capable of inflicting a painful and dangerous bite

Venom from copperheads is not deadly, and when people die from copperhead snake bites it is due to an allergic reaction. People who are weak or either very old or very young may experience a significant impact on their body functions from a copperhead snake bite.

The copperhead injects its venom through ducts in its fangs. Its venom disrupts the red blood cells of its prey that in turn becomes completely subdued. Copperhead snakes have jaws that are flexible enough to swallow prey larger than twice its own diameter.

I think  we all should exercise caution during these summer months, particularly if you have lots of plants in your garden or like me lots of logs stacked up around my backyard.  But as I researched about the danger of Copperheads, I take comfort at least in this one statistic … “The chance of a fatal bite and envenomation by a copperhead is probably less than 1 to 5,000”.