Beware the snakes are out and about

[Desert_Captain]

For those of you in or coming to the southwest a cautionary reminder about our rattlesnake population. Spring has sprung as we are on our second straight week of mid to high 80 degree temps. The snakes have been denned up all winter and with the warmer weather they are very active and aggressive.

In short they are all out looking for a meal and a mate, not necessarily in that order and being hungry and horny does nothing to improve their already nasty dispositions. I spent five years working on the local golf courses as a Marshall and every spring it was the same. You are likely to encounter them at any time of day or night, never walk anywhere at night without a good flashlight. This time of year if you see a rattlesnake I can almost guarantee you there is another nearby and it is the one you don't see that can really ruin your day. This is the only time of year I ever had one actually come after me... probably because I was trying to move a potential mate and they are a lot quicker than you might think. :E

Be especially cautious with your pets as well. The anti venom is unbelievably expensive for people or pets and not every medical insurance plan covers it. The basic rule is simply to never, and I mean NEVER, put your hands or feet where you cannot see. Keep in mind that the natural camouflage of the rattlesnake is unbelievably effective and no they don't always rattle a warning. Be safe out there! :C

[dennisgt60]

OK.....so, I'm never going to tell my wife 'bout the snake thingy you all got going on.....nope, she would never come out of the trailer!

[Supercharged]

They found a baby one today at my grandson day care play ground.

[RGar974417]

Kill them.Please.I hate snakes.

[K3WE]

and soon it will be tornado season, and there's always drunk drivers on the road, and flash floods, lightning bolts and earthquakes, and fires, and that meteorite over in Russia...OMG, we're all gonna die!

EDIT- Oh yeah, I forgot that there's also people towing big campers with 1/2 ton trucks!

[MeandMyLabs]

In short they are all out looking for a meal and a mate, not necessarily in that order and being hungry and horny does nothing to improve their already nasty dispositions.

Kind of sound like a couple of guys on my dormatory floor in college! :B

[fla-gypsy]

Rattlesnakes, Water Moccasins, Coral snakes, sharks, alligators, all just part of the Florida experience.

[MrWizard]

i never heard that 'tale' before
number one, bees STING, they do not bite
maybe the 'story teller' was thinking of biting flies
Rattle snake venom is a complex protein that destroys tissue
and any amount that a fly could carry would not be enough to kill anybody, unless hyper allergic to it
RS bites are extremely painfull, but the majority of adults survive , it is children, elderly, and small pets that most often died

believe me i stay away from them, but i do not fear them

old guy wrote:
thanks for the heads up as we are leaving for AZ tomorrow afternoon. I know they are in the Phoenix area as I have seen them in our friends back yard. I was at the flea market and talking to some guy who told me that if I killed a snake in AZ that I have to cut the head off and bury the head so the bees don't get into the venom and then the bee bites you and it is the same as being bit by the snake. sounds like good advise even here in Oregon.

[wintersun]

The best time to find a rattlesnake is at dusk when they come out to hunt. When it is 100 degrees in the shade they stay inside their dens. Very seldom are the rattlesnake bites fatal and the snakes are less of a concern than the scorpions.

In Florida you get to deal with six different poisonous snakes along with poisonous caterpillars, toads, jellyfish, stingrays, urchins, stonefish, and the non-poisonous alligators and crocs.

Most people in the US are killed by attacks by farm animals and dogs and wasps, hornets, and bees. Snake bite are way down on the list. One is far more likely to die from food poisoning in this country.

[joe_b_]

I like snakes. Never heard of a snake eating a farmer's corn stored in a silo or spreading diseases like the rodents they keep in check. However the vipers and coral snakes need to be given their space by most folks. In high school, in southern Oklahoma, catching rattle snakes live provided a big part of my spending money during part of the year. A group of us guys, 5 or 6 of us, had a contract with a snake buyer that would pay us $.50 a pound for live rattle snakes. We built a pen to hold them until he would come around every couple of weeks to weigh and take them with him. Not sure what he did with them and didn't care for a big snake would bring $4 or $5 which was big money back in the late 50s. Don't remember my parents ever objecting either, but they had a few spares, besides me.

I never found rattle snakes to be as aggressive as are copper heads in that part of the world. Those snakes have a serious attitude problem. We have lots of snakes in this part of Florida, most of them are non-poisonous such as the Everglades racers. This past summer we had one come into the house, how we don't know but our tom cat nailed him real quick, before the beagle had a chance. Where we now live, there used to be pigmy rattle snakes but in the 10 years we have been here I have never seen one. No way I have figured out how to break my dog and cat from going after snakes. My wife hates snakes so I get to catch all the ones in the yard and relocate them elsewhere. We have lots of rat snakes which have the reverse color scheme of a coral snake. I have taught my young grandsons the old rhyme of "red next to yellow will kill a fellow, red next to black is a friend of Jacks" Coral snakes have red next to yellow, rat snakes/corn snakes have red next to black.

[wa8yxm]

Back when I was on the farm we had two dogs and they did not go through snake avoidance training... They did, however seem to love the taste of snake. Thought it was downright good.

[popeyemth]

old guy wrote:
thanks for the heads up as we are leaving for AZ tomorrow afternoon. I know they are in the Phoenix area as I have seen them in our friends back yard. I was at the flea market and talking to some guy who told me that if I killed a snake in AZ that I have to cut the head off and bury the head so the bees don't get into the venom and then the bee bites you and it is the same as being bit by the snake. sounds like good advise even here in Oregon.

As a long time Beekeeper this made me laugh till my side hurt....

[BillB800si]

A couple of years ago I was sitting outside at a campground in LaBelle, Florida watching a neighbors cat checking out something under my truck. Every once in a while the cat would jump back. Then I noticed it was a snake. Gently moved the truck and bingo there was a rattlesnake. First one I've ever seen outside in the wild. Hopefully the last one too !!!

[DutchmenSport]

Oh, sorry! When I read your topic title I thought you were talking about some of my relatives!

[Eycom]

You're preachin' to the choir here in Florida. It's something natives learn early in life and deal with constantly in tropical and sub-tropical weather. Many years ago, we had a family friend, quite an outdoorsman, who was bitten by a coral snake while picking peas, of all things. He survived. Several years later, he again was bitten. This time, by an eastern diamondback. It wasn't pretty. Allergic to the horse serum, he didn't make it.

You have to be diligent, as you never know where they will turn up. I've found two pigmy rattlers in 2 out of 5 bails of pine straw that I purchased and hauled from the nursery to the house... in my Jeep Cherokee :E I've even had a non-poisonous snake crawl in the front door while bringing in groceries.

Even with all the education and experiences over the years, the warnings about watching where you put your hands and feet, I've managed to step on two snakes over the years. Both in residential areas where the porch light generally illuminates a short walk across the lawn to the car after dark. It's not a flashlight. Fortunately, they weren't poisonous. But, I can't describe the sickness I felt as I was suspended in mid-air, four feet above the ground, wishing I had used a flashlight or at least worn some Depends that evening. I'll leave my encounters with sharks and gators for another time. But, if you get down here, they warrant a healthy respect too.

[empty_nest]

Desert Captain wrote:
Spring has sprung as we are on our second straight week of mid to high 80 degree temps.

I'm glad it is spring, somewhere in the country. Wouldn't know it by looking out my window! And, 80 deg. temps? I've totally forgotten what that feels like.

I guess, on the bright side, around here we don't have to worry about where we stick or hands and feet.... lest you worry about frost "bite". :E