A routine barn call to remove nonvenomous black rat snakes took a wild turn when a volunteer instead stumbled upon a venomous copperhead.
The individual who found the copperhead took a picture of it and shared the story to Reddit's r/Herpetology community.
What happened?
According to the original poster on Reddit, "Someone asked me to come get the black rat snakes out of their barn, [but] this is what I saw when I opened the door." The image showed a tightly coiled venomous copperhead.
The OP went on to state that the barn did, in fact, also have "some black snakes that would have been killed if I would not have relocated them."
One commenter jokingly responded, saying, "A bunch of rat snakes and a copperhead? It must be rodent-palooza in that barn."
Why does it matter?
People can easily misidentify snakes, which can be dangerous for both humans and the animals.
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Black rat snakes are generally beneficial around barns and outbuildings because they consume rodents. And while copperheads also play a similar role in regulating rodent populations, they should be given much more space because of the danger they pose to people.
It is important to understand, though, that a snake sighting is not always a random event. Human-made structures can unintentionally invite wildlife in, and fear can escalate quickly when people do not know what species they are seeing.
Barns provide shelter, warmth, and access to prey, especially when grain, feed, or clutter attract rodents. And as BBC Future has reported, many wildlife conflicts stem from people reshaping landscapes and creating new places where animals can hide, hunt, or den.
But calm identification and a safe response can prevent the unnecessary killing of harmless snakes or risky attempts to handle a venomous one.
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If you find a snake in a barn, garage, shed, or yard and you are not absolutely sure what it is, do not try to move it yourself. Back away, keep children and pets clear, and contact a local wildlife relocation expert, animal control office, or herpetology group if one is available in your area.
It can also help to make buildings less attractive to snakes in the first place. Reducing rodent problems, cleaning up clutter, sealing entry points after animals have safely left, and storing feed securely can all cut down on unwanted wildlife visits.
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