How do you identify a copperhead in NC?

The copperhead has a light brown, coppery or tan (sometimes grayish or pinkish tan) ground color, with strongly contrasting chestnut brown crossbands shaped like an hourglass or dumbbell—narrow in the center of the back and wide along the sides.

How do you tell if it is a copperhead snake?

Copperheads have muscular, thick bodies and keeled (ridged) scales. Their heads are “somewhat triangular/arrow-shaped and distinct from the neck,” with a “somewhat distinct ridge separating [the] top of head from side snout between eye and nostril,” said Beane.

How do you identify a northern copperhead snake?

The northern copperhead has an unmarked, copper-colored head and reddish-brown, coppery body with chestnut brown crossbands. The bands are mostly hourglass-shaped, with the wider portions of the shape on either side of the snake’s body and the narrower part of the shape crossing the snake’s back over the tailbone.

What time of day do copperheads come out?

Copperheads are most active from the late afternoon into the evening, and prefer cooler areas to hide. They hibernate in the winter, and emerge in the spring for mating season. Their diet consists of small rodents and other pests, so if you have a rodent problem, your property can likely attract these serpents.

How can you tell the difference between a copperhead and a corn snake?

Copperheads are shy and their coloring and pattern is very similar to corn snakes, but the copperhead has a dark-colored hourglass shape sideways on its back. Avoid irrigating your lawn so it does not attract egg-laying Japanese beetle adults. Cut back perennials such as yarrow and salvia to encourage rebloom.

Do baby black snakes look like copperheads?

Snakes Commonly Confused For Copperheads This species is normally gray and black with large spots over the spine. Not like the hourglass pattern above. Juvenile Black Racers look almost identical to the eastern rat snake (above). They have a darker gray base and more brownish spots.

Do copperheads climb trees?

Copperhead snake in tree is rare “They are basically terrestrial snakes, but it’s been known for decades (that they will climb trees).” Vandeventer said one of the more common times for copperheads to climb is during summers when cicadas emerge from the ground and cling to trees and bushes while they shed their shells.

What does a copperhead den look like?

Copperhead snakes frequently hibernate in dens made up of rocks. They also often den inside logs and in holes carved out by mammals. Other typical den spots for these snakes are stone walls, heaps of sawdust, stumps and caves. If you see any of these things, you might be looking at a copperhead winter den.