HOUSTON – It may not be the “prime” snake season but there is one type of snake you need to be aware of.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife, venomous Copperheads have chestnut or reddish-brown crossbands on a lighter-colored body. These snakes are found in rocky areas and wooded bottomlands and are rare in dry areas.
“When you think about it they could be anywhere,” said Clint Pustejovsky, the “Snake Man”.
Pustejovsky says that Copperheads love cicadas which come out a lot in the summer.
“That’s their candy. That’s their favorite food,” he explained. “They’ll climb in trees to get to them and they do anything. They will crawl over your foot to get to one. If they have water, and they have cicadas, that is a happy snake, and it doesn’t matter if it’s 100 degrees outside.”
Residents in areas where these Copperheads tend to show up often, such as The Woodlands, are concerned about their pets and small children.
Amy Coffelt has two small dogs, Janice and Theo. They say they saw a snake in her yard and she is now taking extra steps to make sure she and her pets stay safe.
She hired a company to come out and survey her land to make sure there wasn’t anything a snake would want to eat such as rodents.
“If I’m out here, and it’s dark, I won’t let them go any further than this little area in my yard,” noted Coffelt.
Pustejovsky says pet owners should be concerned about swelling after a Copperhead bite.
He says the bites usually happen on their faces which can cause swelling in their mouths and potentially affect or cut off oxygen.
It’s not just pets anyone should be thinking about. He says small children are also vulnerable and parents should teach them to never approach a snake when they see one.
So, what does it feel like to get bit by a Copperhead snake?
Pustejovsky says he has never been bit but has been told it feels like putting your hand in a boiling pot of oil.
“I’ve had women tell me it’s more painful than childbirth.”
According to Pustejovsky, a vile of anti-venom for a pet can cost thousands of dollars and for a human, it can be in the tens of thousands.
And if you see a Copperhead, Pustejovsky says do not go near it, take three big steps backward. And one thing you should never do is step on its back.
“Copperheads are very well known for doing a back bend and stabbing you with their fangs,” he explained.
Another step you can take to deter Copperheads is to make sure you use some kind of cedar product like mulch in your yard. Pustejovsky says cedar tends to deter the things snakes eat and the snakes themselves. He also says if you see a Copperhead near a playground or where there are children, call someone to safely remove it.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, there are three subspecies of Copperheads in Texas; Southern copperhead (A.c. contortrix), 20-30 inches long and found in the eastern one-third of the state; Broadbanded copperhead (A.c. laticinctus), about two feet long, widely scattered in central and western Texas; and the Trans-Pecos copperhead (A.c. pictigaster), 20-30 inches in length and found near springs in the southern part of the Trans-Pecos.