They are most commonly seen in forested areas, particularly mixed hardwoods, but tend to shy away from open areas. Areas with rocks or rock piles are favored as well, and copperheads may occasionally be found in lowland riverine or swamp areas.
Don't Make Your Garden Their Ideal Habitat
Therefore, they love wooded areas, places with many rocks, unattended-to compost bins, sawdust piles, woodpiles, leaf piles, cluttered areas, and structures that are abandoned or not highly frequented by people.
According to various posts on social media, the emerging cicadas attract venomous copperhead snakes that make their way to bases of trees to dine of the bugs. In some cases, posters claim the snakes are everywhere during such events and more than a dozen can be found in a single yard.
Use a snake repellent such as Snake Out around your yard and perimeter to ward off Copperhead Snakes and deter them from the area. If you have ponds or backyard pools that are attracting snakes like copperheads, you can pour white vinegar around the edge of the water to help keep them away.
Copperhead snakes are attracted to areas with abundant prey, so control rodents, insect, and bird populations to eliminate potential food sources. Regular pest control efforts to prevent rodent and insect infestations, particularly cicadas and other large insects, can deter snakes.
Copperheads can sometimes be found in wood and sawdust piles, abandoned farm buildings, junkyards and old construction areas. They "often seek shelter under surface cover such as boards, sheet metal, logs or large flat rocks," said Beane.
Copperheads have many predators and are most vulnerable when young. Multiple snake taxa, including kingsnakes, racers, and cottonmouths prey on copperheads. They can also be preyed upon by bullfrogs, alligators, American crows, hawks, owls, opposums, coyotes, and feral cats.
Keep your distance. While many bites occur when someone inadvertently puts a hand or foot near a copperhead, NC Wildlife notes that many bites occur when a person is trying to kill or remove a copperhead. “Admire them from a safe distance and leave them alone,” said Beane, who does not advocate for killing the snakes.
Likely, snakes don't even notice poop much. While no one can say for sure what goes on in their minds, it's unlikely that anything that we would consider nasty acts as a deterrent for a creature who lives constantly on the ground, slithering over or around anything that crosses their path.
Not true — rat snakes are actually snuggle buddies with rattlesnakes and copperheads when they den up for the winter. A black rat snake is seen climbing a wall. I'm pretty sure I know how that rural myth got started.
The safest way to identify a copperhead is by its pattern and head size because you can do it from a distance. Copperheads have dark-colored crossbands along their body, wide on the sides and narrow near the backbone like an imperfect hourglass. Their heads are also much wider than their necks.
Copperheads feed on baby cottontails, swamp rabbits, rats, mice, birds, snakes, lizards, baby turtles, frogs, toads, and insects, especially grasshoppers and cicadas. They are preyed on by other snakes and raptors (birds of prey).
Mothballs are commonly thought to repel snakes, but they are not intended to be used this way and have little effect on snakes.
Copperheads are most active from the late afternoon into the evening, and prefer cooler areas to hide. They hibernate in the winter, and emerge in the spring for mating season. Their diet consists of small rodents and other pests, so if you have a rodent problem, your property can likely attract these serpents.
Firstly, if you come upon a snake- any snake- in our park, it is best to give it a wide berth (20 ft) and walk around it. If you need to go off trail to do so, that is acceptable. Do not throw rocks or attempt to frighten the reptile away, as it can become defensive and display heightened aggression towards you.
Snakes instead sense vibrations in the ground. Their inner ears are attached to their jaws, meaning as they slither around, vibrations are picked up and transmitted via these inner ears to the brain. Stamping your feet, therefore, will scare off a snake more readily than yelling, ”Go away snake!” False.
Can coffee grounds repel snakes? No - there is no evidence that snakes dislike or are repelled by the smell of coffee grounds. This is not an effective snake prevention method - despite the many anecdotal accounts on the internet.
Snakes are highly sensitive to odors, so those currently denning in the home can be “evicted” by applying products such as vinegar, lime mixed with hot pepper, garlic or onions, Epsom salt, or oils such as clove, cinnamon, cedarwood, or peppermint to the perimeter.
Hawks, owls, foxes, raccoons, and domestic cats are also predators of copperheads. Predators like kingsnakes play a crucial role in controlling copperhead populations. Preying on copperheads prevents overabundance of venomous snakes.
Dens are typically located near edges of these wetlands in dense, damp forested habitat. Copperheads will lie motionless in leaf litter or under debris while waiting for their prey.
Any commercially available cinnamon oil, clove oil or eugenol with 95 percent or greater purity are acceptable for use in brown treesnake repellent mixtures. Spray the mixture directly on the snake, aiming for its head. Direct contact with the snake will trigger escape behavior.
Most snakes are able to emit a musk from their scent glands when they feel threatened, and copperheads are no exception. The defensive odor “may also be mixed with feces,” according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. “It smells different to different people,” Foley said. “To me, it just smells terrible.”
Stay for observation: Envenomations (meaning bites that inject venom into the patient) need at least 24 hours of monitoring. “The worst comes between the 24 and 48 hour mark, when you see how bad it's going to be,” German said. Patients with venomous bites typically stay for 36 hours.
Eastern Ratsnake. The most common snake misidentified as a copperhead is the harmless juvenile Eastern Ratsnake (formerly called the blackrat snake). The Eastern Ratsnake starts life with a strong pattern of gray or brown blotches on a pale gray background.