My son has copperheads in his back yard. Does anyone know what would work to get rid of them?

First of all, Copperheads are the single most mis-identified species in Texas so always try to get a pic for me. As for deterrence, they hate wide open spaces devoid of critical cover. None of the snake "repellents" on the market work, but Howard and I have been scheming on ideas that may indeed show promise. Stay tuned.

I'd kill them with a shovel but be careful. I live on the edge of town and I deal with them every spring. I walk my property with shovel in hand every evening. By the summer time they are not an issue.

they hate wide open spaces, if you don't have it take a shovel as M3carr suggests

After brushing the dogs I leave their hair on the ground near the house. We haven't had a snake problem in years.

I have plenty of dog hair I could put on my compost pile, but will it drive away a snake that is already settled in? I saw a copperhead (not a rat snake) while turning my compost pile Saturday. I had lots of leaves on the pile, and the snake was near the top, so I didn't think I could trap it with my spade. By the time I returned with snake shot in my pistol, the snake had retreated. My husband and I poked around, but couldn't get it to resurface so I could shoot it. I've had to take two dogs to the vet in the middle of the night for copperhead bites, and I don't want to do it again. What is the best solution to deal with this nasty creature? If my chickens get onto the compost pile, do I need to worry about them being bitten?

I hate that response to just kill them. Do you know what it is you are actually killing? Many people presume any snake is venomous and kill all they see. Most of them aren't venomous and they're fabulous for rodent control, so don't be hasty.

We have a good snake person on this site, and I have a talented reptile-collector friend who would love to answer questions about snakes, so please - shoot it first - WITH YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA! Send a photo, and let someone confirm what the species is.

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Northwesterner

You can send pics directly to me: Daryl@snakeshow.com. Killing the snake is the most likely way to get bitten, as the venom is not meant for self defense, it's meant for getting lunch. It's just a nice side-effect that lunch stops running away. Most dogs recognize the defensive posture of snakes as something to avoid, but inbred, purebred dogs sometimes don't and yep, you can drop $1500 in a few minutes and still lose the dog. There's a guy in CA that makes big bucks doing snake aversion therapy training for expensive purebred dogs.