Venomous snakes around the house are not tolerated as the wife runs barefoot or flip flops at times. Non-venomous get a pas as long as don't get into the bird cages.

Venomous=dead in my book.

I'm not going to chance myself, anyone in my family or a pet getting bitten by a venomous snake.
We have plenty of non venomous snakes around to keep the mice population in check.

I got cats to keep the mice population in check. Don't need snakes.

Did he ever end up going to the doctor?

No

This is a rattler snake year here in My part of pa. About every other warm day I see one or two, that is alot for me. The last copperhead I saw was years ago and in the sunlight they are pretty. I dont kill any in the orchards where I play(work) but if they are around house I dont mind people killing them then.......jk

Savell, what type of serpent was it that bit your Pa?

Your pa related to Vinke?

Copperhead

You sure that swollen leg ain't from kick'in you in the butt? That's where I'm putting my money.

I kill everyone I see also.

An elegant way of killing them with a 22 rifle or other is to point the
barrel toward the snake to get its attention then start slowly making circles
around in front of the snake, the snake will have all of its attention on the hole
in the barrel, make some smaller circles and the snake will be seriously
tracking the barrel hole. At that time pull the trigger, and the bullet will hit the snake
right on the nose every time.

I have seen this in a FFG magazine about 50 years ago. I have killed a lot of snakes
since then, probably hundreds, it has worked great. Some snakes will track the barrel fast ... They get the bullet faster.

Like I mentioned it says to kill them in the Bible! Bunch of snake hugging sinners on here !!!!

That's news to me, I must have missed that verse. Book, chapter and verse please.

Well not an explicit command to kill snakes, there's this:

Genesis 3:15

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

J-bird, you really do have too much time on your hands...


My area is sort of the center of the largest region of the CONUS that doesn't have any native venomous snakes. We have to go at least a 100 miles further west to find any or maybe the same distance or more to the south along the Missouri River bluffs of Iowa and Nebraska, if there. Its something that I don't worry about at all. Enjoy your serpents...

Yikes

Son just found a 3' black snake crawling out of the babys room and going down the hallway. I was proud of him for not putting .45 cal holes in the floor. Got the shovel and shortened his tail. His wife called me and asked if they make snake poision or she said she might have to burn the house down. Told her at least she won't have mice. She is not happy.

Pittsburgh news says a rattler in populated
Westmoreland County.
Like I said, I think the habitat is changing,
again.

Finster, What state forest were you in? I haven't seen a copperhead north of I-80 in many a moon.

Now rattlers, we got plenty of them in Elk County.

I've only killed one rattler since moving up here in 95. And that was because we were at camp and the dang thing was on the porch when I walked out to take a pee. Camp gets real active when a shotgun blast goes off at 6 a.m. and people are still hungover. I had a few repairs after that incident.

Most snakes now get removed from the area or left alone.