Hubby and I just killed the second water moccasin (cotton mouth) in less than a month. This one started out under the carport, then slithered under the car. Hubby backed the car up after bringing the compost fork and a shovel over. We use the compost fork the "spear" it, then the shovel to cut its head off, once we can be sure the head isn't going to be free enough to strike.
The previous water moccasin had been inside the electric perimeter, in front of a chicken tractor. Neither the carport nor the enclosure are good spots for a venomous snake - they are what they are, cannot be anything else, and therefore we kill them. We had the same issue with pygmy rattlesnakes the first spring.
These are the first two water moccasins we've seen since moving out here, and hubby and I briefly speculated on why we are suddenly seeing them. The past two springs seemed to have more rain, and the cottonmouth population likely had a boom, but with fewer good rainfalls so far this spring the snakes are probably expanding their hunting territory. I really don't want them sampling my chicks.
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