All things Snake - Boots to Bites

[rekees4300]

"Jamie Coots died Saturday evening after refusing to be treated, Middleborough police said."

Reality show snake-handling preacher dies -- of snakebite - CNN.com

 

[Larro Darro]

"Jamie Coots died Saturday evening after refusing to be treated, Middleborough police said."

Reality show snake-handling preacher dies -- of snakebite - CNN.com

My Daddy's Uncle Charley ran a general store/tourist trap. He kept a couple of rattlers in a glassed in cage. One of the local preachers was having a tent revival, and trying to make a name for himself. He ask to borrow one of the snakes. Uncle Charley warned the man they were mean from people tapping on the glass all the time, but the man offered him five dollars to rent the snake. This was in the early 40's when that was a lot of money. So the snake went with the preacher. You can guess what happened. The man was bit and died. The people at the revival killed the snake, then the Sheriff came out and killed the other one.

Larro

 

[LJH]

"Jamie Coots died Saturday evening after refusing to be treated, Middleborough police said."

Reality show snake-handling preacher dies -- of snakebite - CNN.com

Darwin Award.

Sorry if that offends anyone, JMHO.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Odd. Was reading about the copperhead and apparently it's prone to doing something call "dry bites" (bites with little or no venom injected) when briefly disturbed. Article also mentioned that all pit vipers in North America can give a dry bite. (Just don't bet on it.) Obviously if you mess with one for a while, he's going to get really worked up and try to give you a mega dose if he can sink his teeth into you.

 

[sfloggie]

We have 112 acres near the Dismal Swamp on the NW River. We have some of what appears to be everything. I wear 18" Red Head snake boots that are waterproof. I have worn them for four years with nothing placed on them, except a brush. They have been in deep water, mud and snow with no leaks. They are quite warm, but not too warm.
I carry a 357 long barrel pistol for the bear and a Tarus Judge for snakes. I see them, but have not been bothered as yet. A guy working with me was in the swamp cutting a tree, turned and then turned back and a water moccasin was on the stump. As he moved they started coming out of the water all around him so I heard him shutting. We ran down and met him as he was running out!
I never reach for what I drop and never lean near anything above my knees. I look at trees as I go through branches as I saw one snake hanging from a branch. I shake out anything that I did not bring from the house to ensure a snake or spider is not in it.
That is about it.

 

[Looking4new]

On the lake that I boat on (Lake Simcoe), a buddy of mine was swimming near an island (Snake Island), he told me about a water moccasin that swam by him and gave him no attention at all. Just kept on swimming. Buddy NEVER went near that island again.

 

[Egbert]

It's interesting to hear the stories, and also interesting that no one has reported a personal venomous snake bite. That's good - for lots of reasons. I hear the anti-venom cost many thousands per dose and treatment can be many doses. I wonder how insurance feels about that?!?

 

[dmccarty]

My Daddy's Uncle Charley ran a general store/tourist trap. He kept a couple of rattlers in a glassed in cage. One of the local preachers was having a tent revival, and trying to make a name for himself. He ask to borrow one of the snakes. Uncle Charley warned the man they were mean from people tapping on the glass all the time, but the man offered him five dollars to rent the snake. This was in the early 40's when that was a lot of money. So the snake went with the preacher. You can guess what happened. The man was bit and died. The people at the revival killed the snake, then the Sheriff came out and killed the other one.

Larro

My dad's family grew up in FLA when the state was mostly wild country. My dad and his siblings lived outside hunting, fishing and swimming doing stuff that is now not possible for kids to do. One of the things he and his brothers did was collect snakes. :shocked::laughing: They kept them in 55 gallon drums they had somehow found. They had all kinds of snakes, poisonous and non. Someone knew what the boys were doing and called the law and a deputy paid a visit. The deputy took all of the poisonous snakes which were a Copperhead and Rattlesnake. I don't think they had a Cotton Mouth.

On our place, I have killed one big Copper Head. The snake was crossing the road heading towards the house so it had to go. I was going to whack it with a 2x4 but then realized that I could just run it over with the truck. <DUH> :laughing: My dad killed another big one with a cane knife and the wifey has dispatched two baby Copper heads around the house. My daughter saw one when putting the chickens up one evening. Not sure how the heck she saw that snake but thankfully she did. We have quite a few Black Snakes and I leave them alone. There is one that is 6-7 feet long. I have found its old skin a couple of times and seen it once. Pretty snake but it is BIG.

I do not wear snake boots or chaps but I do watch the ground. One year, I was walking a tractor trail and I heard a rattle a couple of feet from me! :shocked: I immediately stopped moving and the rattling was from a BLACK snake. That danged thing was banging its tail against the leave litter and sound like a rattle snake!

The vast majority of Copper Head bites are not fatal just painful. The last death caused by a Copper Head bite in my county was a VFF running to a snake bite call. He wrecked his car and died.

Later,
Dan

 

[LJH]

Yup, our gopher snakes will whap their tails on stuff & coil up pretending to be rattlers too. The sound isn't spot on but definitely gets your attention. Once you can clearly see it's a gopher snake it's pretty amusing, but a real adrenaline check for a few seconds.

 

[FTG-05]

With spring fast approaching, warmer weather will bring out the critters - snakes included. I thought this might be a good time to have a little Q&A to see if we could share experience(s) and perhaps learn something to help keep us all safe.

I know my property in northeastern Oklahoma, as for poisonous varieties, has Copperhead and Water Moccasin, although I've seen relatively few. I suspect there are Rattle Snakes but I've not had that pleasure. I wear 14" snake boots whenever I know I'll be in tall grass or in the wooded areas. I recently picked up an inexpensive 18.5" 20ga to keep handy in the field.

I'd like to hear: What do you wear for protection? What wisdom can you share from maintaining your property. equipment & barns? Have you done anything to try and reduce snake problems in your yard? Have you been bitten (even more than once?) and, if so, by what and what was your treatment and recovery? Have your boots or chaps been "tested?" Do you have a favorite firearm/caliber that you carry for snakes? And, there must be much more that I don't even know to ask.

Please chime in and educate this city boy turned country

Well, I'd say the first thing you need to know is that you don't have any poisonous snakes in your area - at all.

Venomous snakes, yea, you prolly got those.

 

[Egbert]

Point taken - but I think you'll find the terms are used interchangeably.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Came across this thread and thought I'd just wake it up. As I'm getting ready to build on my acreage, this topic is of some interest to me. I now live in a woodsy residential, 1 or 2 acre lots, about 5 miles from my acreage and already deal with a copperhead from time-to-time.

I'll be paying special attention during the build to seeing all exterior surfaces are well sealed - siding, vents, doors, etc. I would also like to take some measures, if I knew what they were - lol, to reduce snakes around the house in order to protect my pets.

If anyone can contribute to this discussion, I'm very interested in what you've learned or done.

 

[txdon]

Make sure you have lots of exterior lights that shine where you will be walking.
(However the lights will attract bugs, which attract frogs, which attract snakes, but at least you can see them)
Do not landscape up against the house.
Keep grass mowed short and have wide walks.
Always watch where you walk and never put you hand anywhere where you cannot see.

I guess you saw the post with pictures from Oklahoma in the Texas Spring Summer thread in rural living.
"Cher stepped out the door Monday night at 9 pm to feed her dog ... One step out and she got bit by a rattle snake ... I didn't see it or find it but she said it was defiantly a rattle snake .. Spent the night and till noon in the hospital ... Dr call the bite a dry bite ... She is swollen up and very sore."

 

[Scooter78]

Our last house was on some acreage and had a creek on it. We had a smell dog at the time and a area that was fenced in so he could go outside and us not have to worry about coyotes carrying him off. Turned out we did have to worry about snakes coming up. I ended up using Snake Away around house and shop and didn't have another issue.

 

[deerefan]

One of the best snake controls is animals- cats and dogs. We have 2 sight hounds (whippets) and 2 outdoor cats. The hounds alarm us to snakes and will attack it if I do not quickly call them off. The cats silently stalk them, their behavior catches my attention. I keep the grass, especially around the house, mowed and try not to leave things for them to hide under or in.

 

[lockhaven]

I have never worried about them, in fact I dabbled in sacking for a few years at roundup competitions. Once activity starts around an area the snakes leave, they do not prefer humans for meals and being stepped on hurts. Remember snakes are cold blooded so by minding the temperature their location can be predicted. If a cool day they are out in the sun if the day is hot they will not be in the open for long.For Rattlers and copperheads Keep in mind their favorite food is mice and other such sized creatures. Look at where mice prefer to live. rock piles, lumber piles, under boards. Water loving snakes go for fish and frogs. Most bites are not fatal but are extremely painful. Keep in mind any boot most times will stop a copperheads bite but if you are Diamondback country only chaps and boots are effective because of the size of the snake, a snake can strike about 1/2 its body length. During competition I wore loose jeans with a set of bids over them and 16 inch boots. If bitten DC current helps. While the US doctors say it is bogus and does not work others have a different opinion Electic Shock on Venomous Bites & Stings - First Aid Venom Electric Shock

 

[fordmantpw]

Don't use any large rocks for landscaping decoration either.

Find somewhere to buy a couple hundred black snakes and release them around your house. I have heard (don't know if it is rumor or true) that black snakes will keep copperheads away. If it isn't true, at least all those black snakes will eliminate the food supply for the copperheads so they won't have anything to eat.

 

[Larro Darro]

A lady my wife got to know through election conferences lost her young son {4 or 5 years old} to a rattlesnake bite a couple three months ago. I forget which {Florida} county it was, but the boy was with his father working their melons when he was bit. I think he had other health issues, something about his immune system. A teenage boy here in Calhoun County got bit by a cottonmouth taking the trash out to the road. He was sick for a few days, but as far as I know, made a full recovery.

Back when we raised hogs on our woodland, they killed a lot of snakes. We would have a hog bit all along. Something about the fat around their face seemed to keep them from dying. They would swell up, but I can't remember one every dying. I've also noticed the more fat on a dog, the better his odds of surviving a snake bite. BIL lost his best Redbone to a rattler. {The dog was trained as a chicken dog, and since he was killed they have lost a lot more chickens to varmints}

The odds of getting snake bit, and of dying of it is so far down the list of things that can kill you, I give it very little thought. That said, I always look over logs before I step over. Most snake bites happen when you step on them or try to pick them up. Rattlers especially will leave an area with lots of people. They have learned that when they are seen, they get killed. Cottonmouths are a different breed, and have to be treated differently. Once in a while you will come across one who will do his best to get you. Anytime you are in swamps, always keep an eye out for them.

Larro

 

[KiotiKowboy]

i purchased snake boots for mowing around my pond. you can find them with a search. you will not want to wear them all day...slip on and mow - remove...comfortable as ski binding...if'n you know what i mean.

True, snake boots can be quite stiff. However, mine have loosened up with time and are now very comfortable. I could wear them all day without a problem. After trying on many brands, I settled on a pair from "Field and Stream."

 

[tcreeley]

Snakes are never a problem up here - nothing poisonous. The cats bring them into the house - ribbon, redbelly, and green snakes. Sometimes I scoop them up and get them out before they die. Other times they are on the kitchen floor.