I know they aren't usually deadly but I still don't want to be bit by one and I sure don't want one of my dogs bit by one either. I already lost one dog to a pygmy rattler in FL, don't want to lose another one up here. Had to kill one last night in the backyard right behind the house. Dog went to sniff it and it struck at her but she jumped back in time. So you guys that know, what works best? Some kind of repellant or? We also have quite a few mice around here and I need to get rid of them as well but, it's woods so I realize they aren't going to be eliminated, just want to keep the population down and away from the home. Any and all help, suggestions and information is greatly appreciated, thank you.

Here's a blog on keeping copperheads out of your yard.
https://www.innovativepest.com/blog/post/how-to-keep-copperhead-snakes-out-of-your-yard

A google search of "keeping copperhead snakes away" brings up a lot of different stuff.

https://www.countryliving.com/home-maintenance/cleaning/a30212354/how-to-get-rid-of-snakes/

https://bugwiz.com/get-rid-of-copperhead-snakes/

The mice are the problem. No mice, no snakes. Keep the grass cut and put something out to kill the mice. Or you could get a couple of outdoor cats but get them fixed first. I have old cars everywhere but no snakes. The cats handle that real well.

Amazingly, all the snake repellent products basically say they don't work on X/Y/Z. Flat headed shovel works real good. Wood piles around here seem to be a hot spot for them. My neighbors dog got bit on the lip. He gave the dog Benedryl and her lip swelled up for a day or 2 but she was fine. Dogs seem to handle these things better than we might.

Get rid of the food source ( aka mice ) = gets rid of the snakes

Look around your property. Trash piles , firewood / lumber stacks, loose grass clippings etc etc all attract mice as easy home dwellings

Out here its get rid of the pack rats = gets rid of rattle snakes

Thanks guys. We know the mice are the problem but this is all thick woods around here. We keep the area around the house picked up and have been working on the rest of the property. There are two scrap piles left here from the previous owners but they are way, way on the back of the property. Going to start cleaning that up this winter after the vegetation dies off but it's far enough away from the house not to present a problem. We have a bunch of mice traps on order, don't want to put poison out because of the dogs and have been considering a couple cats. The neighbors tell us the copperheads have always been bad around here, one family with small children moved out after killing seventeen of them one year so, I'm pretty sure we can't get rid of all of the mice or snakes but anything would help.

Get a pet Secretary bird

Guinea hens are the ones you want, if you have some land. They will alert you and are supposed to surround the snakes when they find one. But yes, some good outdoor cats will take care of your mice problem. There are usually are quite a few that need a good home. Contact your local animal shelter.

Add a Jack Russell terrier to you dog collection. Better than a cat for mice and I suspect more than a match for any snakes that cross its path.

Kevin

As someone stated on a previous post; cats are really good. At our fire station we have 3 cats that live on the property. Never any rodent, snake or pest problems. The cats are fixed too. They are the best defense.

Catch a big ol black snake and set it loose on your place. It will eat the mice and kick the sheite out of the copper headed rattler moccasins! Seriously....Copperheads don't want no part of a big black snake.

I would kill ever one of them that comes onto your property and leave them lay around the yard to show the rest of them that some of their kind have NOT survive that yard.
Animals and snakes are not stupid They will get the message

So now we have found the den. Copperheads come back to the same den every year so we need to do something about it but not sure yet what to do. We don't want to pour gasoline or anything like that in there as our well is on the same side of the house. Don't want to set it on fire and burn the mountain down, there is coal and natural gas around here. I've put snake repellant down but really I'd rather kill them off. We killed another the other day in this area and the neighbors tell us one family that lived here killed 17 of them one summer in this same area. They had small children so they moved out after that. Any ideas?

Gas 'em with carbon monoxide? You've probably got a portable source.

Dry ice in the hole will cut the oxygen supply. A friend has a dry ice company,he's used it on groundhogs effectively.

I’ve found that 22 shells work well on groundhogs too. I average about seven a year in my back yard. I don’t even have to throw them in the woods as the Coyotes and other creatures stop by nightly for a free meal.

Bird shot in the 12 gauge is effective on snakes too if they come out. We ran a garden hose and hot water in it today. Water started to seep up from the patio 3 feet below the hole but no snakes came out.

How about the deadly smoke bombs they used on ground hogs on farms ?

I will check on that.