Texas couple's property overrun with copperhead snakes

WEATHERFORD, Texas, July 24 (UPI) -- A Texas couple said their property is being overrun by copperhead snakes, with nearly 100 of the venomous serpents being killed thus far this year.

Vicki Barnett of Weatherford said the copperheads have been present on the property where she lives with her husband since they moved in about two years ago, but the problem has been especially persistent this year.

Barnett said she and her husband killed 30 copperheads on their property last week alone. She said another snake was found Tuesday.

"I nearly stepped on it and then I just ran and waited for my husband to come outside and kill them," Barnett told KXAS-TV.

She said she is worried about her pets and young grandchildren, especially her 4-year-old grandson.

"He knows. He goes, 'Oh Momo's got a bunch of snakes.' And I said, 'Yes, Momo has a lot of snakes,'" she told KDFW-TV.

Randall Kennedy of pest removal company Fort Worth Wildlife visited the property Wednesday and determined it was a perfect habitat for copperheads.

"Any thicket is a real good place for them," he said.

"Once they start taking over, they'll take over," Kennedy said. "There can be quite a few of them."