Killing Snakes

Snakes don't usually come too close to the house; the animals usually keep them away.  But I had to kill a poisonous snake this week that had come up on the porch.  I went out to water the front flower bed, and as I pulled my hand away from the faucet I saw him.  He was only about eight inches long, but his little mouth was wide open.  He shook it back a forth at me as he raised up.  It was a baby copperhead.  We had cleaned out a nest of them a week ago, and he was probably one that got away.  Young copperheads will bite, and the venom can make you sick.  Although you should go to the emergency room, they seldom administer anti-venom for a copperhead bite.  It can be more dangerous than the bite itself.  This little snake was angry!  When they are young, copperheads have a green/yellow tip on their tails to lure in their prey.  He was shaking his little booty at me, and I think if he had been bigger I could have heard him hiss.  Normally, I will just move a blacksnake, but this little guy was small enough to go up the siding, and he was a threat to me, the animals and the grandchildren.  So suffice it to say he lost his head.  I always feel so bad when I have to kill a creature.  Maybe I'm writing about this because I still feel sorry to have killed him and a bit scared that he was making himself at home by my front door.  The porch isn't big enough for the two of us, and this time I prevailed.