The owner of a tree service in Cherokee County, Georgia, found a very unwelcome surprise when he began removing a pile of logs.

Amber Barnhart and her husband, Chase Curtis, own C & C Tree Service in Canton.

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Barnhart said an employee was loading trucks behind their home in Macedonia when two copperheads appeared. One of the snakes was nearly three feet long.

With their 7-year-old daughter and other family members nearby, they made the decision to kill the snakes. They were able to get one and tried to run over the second, but it escaped and went back under the woodpiles.

Barnhart says Curtis and one of their employees skinned the snake they caught and measured it, recording a length of 32 inches and discovering that the pregnant female was carrying nine eggs.

>> Related: 6 venomous snakes to watch out for in Georgia]

She said they didn't give it a second thought to the decision to kill the snake because of the number of families and children who live in the area.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com