TYLER, Texas — If you’re not paying attention, you might miss them, but their bite is unmistakable. It’s copperhead season.
"They usually start having their babies at around August through September," said Clint Perkins, Smith County extension agent for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
Perkins said copperheads are venomous snakes averaging between two to three feet long when fully grown.
"It's kind of copperish in color, and has a triangle head," Perkins explained.
"The markings if you look at it closely, look like a little Hershey's kiss."
Unlike a Hersey's kiss, a kiss from one of these guys hurts. Their venom makes them especially dangerous when they’re babies.
"A baby copperhead will just keep chewing on you," Perkins said. "And then every time they do it, they're injecting venom until they run out of the venom in their mouth.”
Legacy Trail in Tyler is a popular spot for people and for copperheads. If you’re going to be out here, be especially careful around dawn and dusk.
Melissa Eckert and Michelle Longar were out walking the trail with their babies when a copperhead stopped them in their tracks.
"We stopped and waited for it to get off the path and then I ran passed," Longar said.
Since copperheads disguise themselves so well, Perkins advised be careful in shaded areas. Keep your grass cut short around the house and avoid walking in tall grass. If you have to be out in grassy areas, wear tall boots.
“You know, it can kill you. A lot of times you'll have a reaction where you'll swell up and stuff like that.”
Eckert and Longar were able to avoid getting bit. If you aren’t so lucky, seek medical attention immediately.
Perkins said copperhead season will end in November.