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MINERAL DAILY NEWS-TRIBUNE (Keyser, W Virginia) 18 June 06 Copperhead makes surprise appearance at Main St. residence (Melanie Alt and Kati Walker)
Rex Mathena and his wife had no reason to suspect that leaving their porch light on at their Main Street residence would possibly save their lives.
“We don't usually leave the light on in the summer,” Mathena said. “It attracts insects, so we just leave it off at night.”
Lucky for Mathena, his wife turned the light on Sunday night while Mathena was in the basement. As he came back up from the basement through the outside entrance, Mathena was surprised to find a 26-inch copperhead resting on his backyard walkway.
“I was thinking to myself in my head, 'I know that's a copperhead',” Mathena said. Realizing the danger, Mathena got a garden hoe and killed the snake.
“I'm not sure what made me want to turn on the porch light,” Mathena's wife said, “but for some reason I just did.”
After making sure the snake was dead, Mathena got a screw driver and held it's mouth open, verifying that there were, indeed, venomous fangs lurking there.
Copperheads, though common in West Virginia, don't typically make their way into yards or particularly close to residences in general. They tend to stay closer to open roadways, which they use for heat, or water sources.
The snake could possibly have come up from New Creek, where snakes have been known to make nests during the summer months.
Copperhead makes surprise appearance at Main St. residence

Ahh, that would be the infamous New Creek Copperhead summer nesting grounds. Dangerous place indeed!