With a house full of guns, the first thing I reach for if there is a copperhead or a rattler around the house is a hoe. It's quiet, fast, cheap, leaves no doubt (two pieces), and honors my mom who in her life probably killed enough snakes with a hoe to feed starving masses.
Using a stick can backfire. My brother, who worked for the phone company for many years, had many encounters with rattlers. He lived in the Texas panhandle. Once he was beating a snake with a tree trimmer (long stick with rope and lopper on the end). He hit the snake, lifted the tool, couldn't see the snake on the ground, looked up, and the damned thing was crawling down the handle toward him at high speed. Brother was quite the jock, and he said he left stick and snake in the air and that they hit the ground as he crossed the 20 yard mark. CB
Using a stick can backfire. My brother, who worked for the phone company for many years, had many encounters with rattlers. He lived in the Texas panhandle. Once he was beating a snake with a tree trimmer (long stick with rope and lopper on the end). He hit the snake, lifted the tool, couldn't see the snake on the ground, looked up, and the damned thing was crawling down the handle toward him at high speed. Brother was quite the jock, and he said he left stick and snake in the air and that they hit the ground as he crossed the 20 yard mark. CB
He can. Don't tempt him.
