Copperhead snakes are nothing new around the D.C. area, but people don’t usually find the snakes in their yards until later in the summer.
This year, something is different.
Bill Crisp, a co-owner of the nonprofit , said his organization typically captures and relocates 40 to 50 copperheads each summer. Most of that activity occurs in July and August.
But this year’s unusual weather — going from super hot to chilly and rainy to dry — has brought the copperheads out a little early.
“We stepped it up just in the last couple days, so we’re about 20 right now that our organization has removed in the Prince William County area, and I think we may have had one or two in Fairfax,” Crisp said.
K2C Snake Consultants goes to Virginia homes and farms to capture and relocate snakes who get a little too close for property owners’ comfort.
“Most of these calls that we get are copperheads up against the house, near the front stairs or back steps, in landscaping, in their gardens, around pools, things like that,” he said.
Crisp said copperheads like to hide in plants, rock piles and woodpiles, and which is also where they find food. And they want nothing to do with you or your pets.
“They’re not out to get us. They’re not here to chase us; they don’t want to bite if they don’t have to,” Crisp said.
But more snake encounters can mean more snake bites, and if you are bitten, Crisp has this advice.
“No cold compresses. You don’t need a tourniquet. The whole cutting the bite and trying to suck out the venom out doesn’t work, only in the movies,” he said.
Don’t take any medications, he said, but do stay hydrated and get to a hospital as soon as possible.
And don’t try to capture the snake and bring it with you to the hospital.
“Even if you were to put it in a bucket and bring it to the emergency room, they are not going to let you in obviously with the snake,” Crisp said.
However, he said, it is a good idea to take a picture of the snake and bring that with you.
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