# Another Episode of "Biotop: Bad Copperhead Slayer"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-episode-of-biotop-bad-copperhead-slayer/758057>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 22, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-episode-of-biotop-bad-copperhead-slayer/758057 "2016-06-22T16:34:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-episode-of-biotop-bad-copperhead-slayer/758057/21 "2016-06-23T12:26:39Z")

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Check out “viperkeeper” on YouTube. Dude has a bunch of snakes, mostly poisonous. He likes to make videos when he works with them. Scares the crap out of me watching how close he gets to being bitten.

ETA: I catch and relocate garters, black snakes, milk snakes, etc from around our home to the woods. My gf has a mild phobia but wants me to catch and release them unharmed. My favorite tool is an old broom. I push down on the snake with the broom behind the head, then grab it. I get shat on but only bitten once.

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**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-episode-of-biotop-bad-copperhead-slayer/758057/22 "2016-06-23T13:23:42Z")

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> [@Biotop](#):
>
> Supposedly one can leave wet burlap sacks around and the copperheads will go inside and then one can attack the sacks with a shovel or ax. But my wife finds this idea ludicrous.

Ah, similar to the habits of [the common cormorant](http://nickbrowne.coraider.com/2005/05/common-cormorant.html).

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**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-episode-of-biotop-bad-copperhead-slayer/758057/23 "2016-06-23T18:13:42Z")

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I’ve killed one myself with a shovel. Worked well - just basically cut it’s head off. I do recommend a long handle and boots. A couple observations:

1. Don’t get too curious about the head. Even though it’s not attached to the rest of the snake - it can still bite. In fact, the head of this snake kept biting at thin air for a good 5 minutes after decapitation. Not sure if it could still inject venom - but I wouldn’t want to find out.
2. The rest of the body wriggles around for a long time too. Mostly just weird.
3. Being that close to a deadly animal scared the bejebus out of me. Turns out I’m not nearly as brave as I might like to think.

My wife also killed one. She drove over it with her car while it sunned in our driveway. That worked well too - although cleaning the driveway took some time. She recommends having a backup camera if you opt for this method.

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