Man bitten by copperhead in his basement.

[powderman]

    Man walking in basement bitten by copperhead snake Tom Richards spends 3 days in hospitalMan bitten by copperhead snake in basement of home   OLATHE, Kan. —  An Olathe man is recovering after he was bitten by a copperhead snake while walking in the basement of his home.
   "I thought, ' I've just stepped on a wasp,'" Tom Richards told KMBC's Martin Augustine.
But what Richards stepped on turned out to be a 30-inch-long copperhead snake in his finished basement.
Richards said the lights were off when the run-in happened, but he could tell something was slithering in the dark.
"I saw something big, other than I should have seen. So I went for the light and there was a copperhead just laying right where I had walked," Richards said.
 
His wife called for an ambulance. Richards spent three days in intensive care at a hospital, receiving 20 vials of antivenom. Eventually the swelling in his foot went down.
Doctors told him that he can expect his foot to ache for at least a month.
A wildlife expert said she's not surprised that the snake found its way into Richards' nicely finished basement, especially in the heat and drought of summer.
 
Kimberly Hess, of Lakeside Nature Center, said that copperheads are looking for a place to cool down and find water; basements are perfect.
"Snakes, in general, can get through the smallest, tiniest hole -- one that we can't see. They can get under door jambs and things like that," Hess said.

Read more: http://www.wlky.com/Man-walking-in-basement-bitten-by-copperhead-snake/-/9366718/16633596/-/ejey7d/-/index.html#ixzz26mIuI6Mo

[victorcharlie]

Yep, I'm sure that hurt.....

[rkeltner]

he hasn't seen the biggest hurt, yet! the price of antivenom  has skyrocketed, to the point of being 40,000 to 100,000 dollars per vial! OUCH!

[guzzijohn]

When I was in high school I worked part of a couple summers at a church camp. The camp had it's own water treatment plant. The camp manager went down the steps to the floor of the plant, I was still up the stairs a ways when all of a sudden the manger jumps back and starts walking backwards really quick. It then that I see about a two foot long copperhead charging him. He was able to grab a broom and beat it to death with the handle. I am guessing that in the somewhat confined space with no real place to hide the snake felt trapped and became aggressive.
GuzziJohn

[magooch]

Once again it makes me very happy to live where there are no poisonous snakes, or other creepy crawly things that bite.

[Old Fart]

Those little suckers can almost disappear in a leaf pile. And yes they definately will strike given the opportunity.

[SHOOTALL]

My wife found one in our bath room a few years back. It was about 12-14 inches long.

[mechanic]

We have them in abundance at my place.  I've dispatched about 7 or so in the last couple years.  I don't like killing snakes, but I can't take a chance of the wife or grandkids being bit.
 
My wife has bird feeders.  Birds drop seeds.  Seeds attract mice.  Mice attract snakes.  I just can't get Sweet Thang to grasp the concept.
 
Ben

[Dixie Dude]

We had a safety meeting on venomus snakes.  They said 50% of snakebites east of the Mississippi were copperheads.  Rattlesnakes and cottonmouths split the rest.  Copperheads are very hard to see in leaves.  My wife blows ALL the leaves out of the yard because of that.  My oldest son got bit by a cottonmouth in the foot, and he spent a couple of days in the hospital.  He was catching them to sell ($25 each) so they could make anti venom.  Cost him a lot more than what he earned. 

[guzzijohn]

Quote from Shootall:
"My wife found one in our bath room a few years back. It was about 12-14 inches long."


If that had happened at my house I would be living alone. 
GuzziJohn

[SHOOTALL]

She said I can deal with spiders , rats mice etc but you can get rid of the snake ............
 

[KIMBER45]

We had a safety meeting on venomus snakes.  They said 50% of snakebites east of the Mississippi were copperheads.  Rattlesnakes and cottonmouths split the rest.  Copperheads are very hard to see in leaves.  My wife blows ALL the leaves out of the yard because of that.  My oldest son got bit by a cottonmouth in the foot, and he spent a couple of days in the hospital.  He was catching them to sell ($25 each) so they could make anti venom.  Cost him a lot more than what he earned.

Ironic if they used the antivenom from the snakes he caught.

[powderman]

We have copperheads and rattlers here, I don't like either. Snake bites are not real common here because we are all aware of their presence. I have had several snakes in the house over the years, but not poisonous. One in the bathroom I caught just over a ft long bit my hand, drew blood, but not poisonous. Another I caught crawling up the side of my upright freezer, over 6 ft long. I was amazed how strong it was as it tried to get loose from my grip. No snakes in the house this year. POWDERMAN. 

[Dixie Dude]

My son was treated at the local hospital.  However he turned the snakes over to Auburn University.  Somehow they process the antivenom, or at least extract it. 
 
I was told that all snakes are Rattleheaded Copper Moccasins.

[dukkillr]

I killed a small copperhead in my garage last night.  Cool September evenings cause them to seek out the warmer concrete.  In my whole life 75% of the copperheads I've killed have been in September and 75% have been at dusk on a coolish but sunny day.
 
I didn't tell my wife.

[guzzijohn]

Quote from Duk:
"I didn't tell my wife."


Smart man.
GuzziJohn

[SHOOTALL]

Duk is on to something , that has been true for me except this year when I killed 6 in July . They were in a wood pile I moved  . It was nip and tuck with a hoe for a few mins. 

[Old Fart]

That reminds me of the ones I shot on my front porch.
They were tangled up in some kind of love knot.
My grandkids came in the front door and hollered "There's a snake on the front porch!"
That stirred my wife up.
I keep a 38 loaded with rat shot in the house just for that.
One shot and the romance was over.