Homeowner shares stunning photos after stumbling on backyard visitor: 'I was blowing leaves and came across this'

It can be a scary situation to come across critters in your yard. While many homeowners would love to spot the occasional bunny, fox, or butterfly, some animals are less family-friendly.

One Redditor came across a reptile in their yard while leaf-blowing and shared a picture of it on the r/whatsthissnake subreddit, seeking advice.

"I was blowing leaves in my back yard and came across this snake. Can anyone identify it? I live in East TN," the original poster wrote. They added, "[I] moved into a new house this summer that has deep woods. [I've] never dealt with woods prior and just came across this snake after blowing leaves."

The comments consistently advised that the homeowner had spotted an Eastern copperhead. Making conclusive identifications based on online photos can be challenging, but the photo does show markings such as a banding pattern that is consistent with this species.

According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, Eastern copperheads are terrestrial, venomous snakes that live in a variety of habitats, including swamps, marshes, fields, suburban woodlots, ravines, rock piles, and around homes in agricultural areas. They grow to a maximum of 53 inches long and often prey on small rodents.

These snakes are mostly motivated to find food, mate, and avoid rain, and are most commonly found to be active from April through October, per the VHS.

Homeowners can avoid attracting them by removing brush and leaf piles from lumber and walkways. For extra safety precautions, they should use flashlights in the dark and always wear proper shoes and gloves.

One possible way to deter snakes is to make choices with plantings that reduce snake cover — at least close to homes. 

Other landscaping choices can focus on other factors, such as using native plants such as buffalo grass and clover. Upgrading to a native lawn can factor into costs by leading to less time spent on maintenance, lower water use, and attracting pollinators to your land.

Redditors were quick to identify the snake in the post and offered the OP advice.

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn 🏡 Controlling weeds 🌿 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️ I don't have a yard 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"If it shows up again, a gentle spritz from your garden hose will send it the opposite direction. Remember to spray from angles that encourage it back toward the woods," one Redditor advised, providing guidance that other experts have also supplied, so long as this can be done from a safe distance. 

"There are also a lot of people who will come relocate this for you," said the same commenter, pointing out that this service can be free.

"It's still a baby," another commenter mused. "See the green on the tail tip?!? It's my favorite and only thing I like about them."

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