I asked my wife this morning how old she was when she learned the "red touching yellow kill a fellow" saying. She said maybe 6 years old. Same for me.

I spent summers from age 8 er so on the Cahaba River, unsupervised by adults, learned early to ID snakes. I caught a couple of cottonmouths when young , inc a 42+ inch one...damn near got bit. Got bit by a cottonmouth when I was 16, dry bite with little swelling. Saw a buddy bit by a copperhead when I was 16, he lost a LOT of meat on his right thumb, nasty, nasty, nasty. I quit catching them right then. got hit by a 5 foot Timber Rattler in 1985 in west Greene Co, another dry bite with some swelling. I had a growing cyst removed from the bite spot 9 years later.

I figure three times is a charm...I'm not getting bit again if I can help it. My policy now is to kill any dangerous snake as quickly and safely as possible....gun, truck, tank, flamethrower, whatever is handy. If in doubt I ask Ben for advise on what to do.