Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas)

   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #21  
GARDEN SNAKES CAN BE DANGEROUS...
Snakes also known as Garter Snakes (Thamnophissirtalis) can be dangerous Yes, grass snakes, not rattlesnakes. Here's why. A couple in Sweetwater, Texas, had a lot of potted plants. During a recent cold spell, the wife was bringing a lot of them indoors to protect them from a possible freeze.
It turned out that a little green garden grass snake was hidden in one of the plants. When it had warmed up, it slithered out and the wife saw it go under the sofa.
She let out a very loud scream.
The husband (who was taking a shower) ran out into the living room naked to see what the problem was. She told him there was a snake under the sofa.
He got down on the floor on his hands and knees to look for it. About that time the family dog came and cold-nosed him on the behind. He thought the snake had bitten him, so he screamed and fell over on the floor.
His wife thought he had had a heart attack, so she covered him up, told him to lie still and called an ambulance.
The attendants rushed in, would not listen to his protests, loaded him on the stretcher, and started carrying him out.
About that time, the snake came out from under the sofa and the Emergency Medical Technician saw it and dropped his end of the stretcher. That's when the man broke his leg and why he is still in the hospital.
The wife still had the problem of the snake in the house, so she called on a neighbor who volunteered to capture the snake. He armed himself with a rolled-up newspaper and began poking under the couch.. Soon he decided it was gone and told the woman, who sat down on the sofa in relief.
But while relaxing, her hand dangled in between the cushions, where she felt the snake wriggling around. She screamed and fainted, the snake rushed back under the sofa.
The neighbor man, seeing her lying there passed out, tried to use CPR to revive her.
The neighbor's wife, who had just returned from shopping at the grocery store, saw her husband's mouth on the woman's mouth and slammed her husband in the back of the head with a bag of canned goods, knocking him out and cutting his scalp to a point where it needed stitches.
The noise woke the woman from her dead faint and she saw her neighbor lying on the floor with his wife bending over him, so she assumed that the snake had bitten him. She went to the kitchen and got a small bottle of whiskey, and began pouring it down the man's throat.
By now, the police had arrived.
Breathe here...
They saw the unconscious man, smelled the whiskey, and assumed that a drunken fight had occurred. They were about to arrest them all, when the women tried to explain how it all happened over a little garden snake!
The police called an ambulance, which took away the neighbor and his sobbing wife.
Now, the little snake again crawled out from under the sofa and one of the policemen drew his gun and fired at it. He missed the snake and hit the leg of the end table. The table fell over, the lamp on it shattered and, as the bulb broke, it started a fire in the drapes.
The other policeman tried to beat out the flames, and fell through the window into the yard on top of the family dog who, startled, jumped out and raced into the street, where an oncoming car swerved to avoid it and smashed into the parked police car.
Meanwhile, neighbors saw the burning drapes and called in the fire department. The firemen had started raising the fire ladder when they were halfway down the street. The rising ladder tore out the overhead wires, put out the power, and disconnected the telephones in a ten-square city block area (but they did get the house fire out).
Time passed! Both men were discharged from the hospital, the house was repaired, the dog came home, the police acquired a new car and all was right with their world.
A while later they were watching TV and the weatherman announced a cold snap for that night. The wife asked her husband if he thought they should bring in their plants for the night.
And that's when he shot her!
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #22  
Keep firmly in mind that almost all snakes are terrified of people and will do most anything to avoid them. But they will certainly defend themselves if cornered or threatened, so DON'T DO THAT! In my experience, if you have an unexpected encounter, FREEZE. Then observe the snake. Hopefully after a minute or so for the surprise factor to back down for both of you, the snake will turn and harmlessly escape.

+1

Honestly, my first thought was just to say when you see a snake and you're afraid of them, just don't go near it:D
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #23  
Tangoddess, aren't you the lucky one... I used to hunt in the Splendora area most weekends. In your area there's an abundant supply of rattlers, water moccasins, cotton mouths, coral snakes and copperheads. I've had rattle snakes and moccasins there as big around as a baseball bat. And believe me, they will stand up and fight you. Generally they don't do much of running away, and their bite will kill you - definitely.

There's no way that you can simply keep them away from your place. About the best you can do is to keep the popular land you use cleared as much as possible so you can spot those critters before they see you. And just stay away from them. Routinely putting on a pair of snake guards is prudent. Getting a supply train of guinea hens would be a good alarm system, as well as keeping the tick population down. But you'll need a steady supply do to the coyotes steadily picking them off.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #24  
That is a funny story - desertvette. I would definitely want to learn all I could about poisonous snakes in my location and how to ID them.

I have four types of snakes here - one is poisonous - Western Rattlesnake. Thirty six years out here and only seen ONE, once, on property about 20 miles south of me.

Learn what you SHOULD and SHOULD NOT do when living in poisonous snake country.

Its up to YOU to protect yourself - nobody else can do this.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #25  
You are in an environment where there are also snakes, so being aware as you go about your chores and tasks is your best defense and you will become very used to looking inside before you enter a shed, or step near or around lumber or debris, or rocks that could hide a snake or going around the corner of a building. It has become second nature for us as we also have rattlesnakes and have dispatched a few dozen over the years. They can appear anywhere but I think that having animals and activity around will make them less comfortable being around where you are most around. And the advice about making noise is also useful. Don't leave lumber and debris or whatever on the ground where snakes can find a place to hide. You will learn to live with them - hopefully with fewer of them.

Someone once said to me that the sight of a snake scared them to death. I responded that it is the sound of a rattle snake that I cannot see that scares me. The meanest ones I have seen are those that feel cornered - or where you come up on them suddenly. Remember, they will usually warn you by rattling, you need to warn them by making noise and approaching places they might be slowly.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #26  
We have a lot of poisonous snakes out here in the desert. Most common are Western Diamondback and Mojaves. The Mojaves are the worst because their coloration blends well with the background and their venom is much stronger than a Diamondback.

Two things that I have learned is that a snake can only strike about its body length. If it is a 4 foot snake, as long as you are at least 2 foot away it cant reach you.

The second is when walking with others in the desert, never be third in line. The first person wakes it up, the second ticks it off and the third gets bit :laughing::laughing::laughing:

We take all our dogs to rattlesnake avoidance training as it protects both them and us.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #27  
I have a highly accurate Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Pistol. When in doubt take it out
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas)
  • Thread Starter
#28  
Hello all,

This advice has been really useful, thank you. When I wrote I'd rather not learn, I meant that I have been scared to learn because I feel scared of snakes, so I don't really enjoy seeing their images etc. However, it is critical I learn.

What does one do if they are bit by a snake? Maybe call 911 or rush to the closest medical facility...but I read something about putting the wound site above or below the heart or depends on the snake?

Any other tips are also greatly welcome.

Thank you
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #29  
Most of the advice given here is good, I'm sure. Just keep in mind, there are always exceptions to the rule when it comes to snakes and sadly, even humans for that matter.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #30  
A friend of mine recently went to Texas and said that the rattle snakes there have learned to stop rattling because of all the wild hogs . Apparently the hogs go towards the rattle and eat the snakes.

Smith and Wesson Governor, slickest snake gun going. Very versatile for threats of all kinds.

What to do if bitten. Was at my Uncles funeral many years ago when my Niece told this story.

Two guys went out hunting early one morning but by noon had not seen a thing. One of the men went behind a tree to relieve himself when a rattle snake bit him on his manhood. He screamed at his friend to quick run back to the truck,drive to town and bring back the doctor. His friend took off as fast as he could. He found the only doctor at the hospital and told him to come quick,his friend had been snake bit !
The doctor said he couldn稚 leave as there had just been a bus wreck and that patients would soon be coming in. The doctor told the man to make a small cut at the bite and suck out the poison and then bring him in.
The man goes back to the woods to his friend who is bewildered not to see the doctor. He explained the doctor couldn稚 leave because of the bus accident. His friend said well what did the doctor say?

His friend replied The doctor said your going to die !

Sitting in the funeral procession that day I thought it was the funniest joke I had ever heard!
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #31  
Your friend may be pulling your leg
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #32  
I have a highly accurate Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Pistol. When in doubt take it out

I used to use a 410, much more accurate.
Now they are protected and we are not allowed to harm them.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #33  
I find a .38 or .357 Mag. with birdshot to be more convenient to carry along, and more nimble. And birdshot doesn't require the accuracy that a single slug would require or potential ricochet. Particularly for people who panic at the sight of any snake, let alone a potentially deadly one. ;)
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas)
  • Thread Starter
#34  
Hi,

Thank you for the advice. Here is one snake we recently saw, someone working outside on the property killed it. It was gobbling up small rabbits and one of the Dogs on the property was very curious about the snake luckily it did not get bit.

Does anyone know what type it is?

IMG_7194[1].JPG
IMG_7195[1].JPG
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas)
  • Thread Starter
#36  
It looks like a gopher snake to me. In my experience, very shy and pretty much harmless.

Thank you

I read that Gopher snakes can be mistaken for Rattlesnakes? How does one quickly differentiate?

Any quick tips to recognize a venomous vs non venomous snake....I know some of you shared that the shape of the head is one way to tell

If a Dog gets bitten by a snake, venomous or not, how should one treat the dog, especially if the vet or animal ER is 30 mins or more away?
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #37  
I read that Gopher snakes can be mistaken for Rattlesnakes? How does one quickly differentiate?

Any quick tips to recognize a venomous vs non venomous snake....I know some of you shared that the shape of the head is one way to tell

The shape of the head it the way I try to differentiate the two. It seems the easiest and quickest. Diamond shaped head vs oval shape for the gopher snake. Rattles would be another way, but rattle snakes can sometimes lose their rattles.

Re a dog - I can't be much help. One of our dogs was bitten once and we did not discover it right away. He was listless. We gave him water and prepared to take him to vet the next morning (we were more than 30 miles away and it was evening already) but by then he seemed much better. He completely recovered. I have read that dogs do better than humans with those bites because their skin is much looser.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post - the rattle snakes will (hopefully) rattle to warn you and you need to make noise to warn them as you move around where they might be. 32 years here and never bitten.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #38  
Hello all,

This advice has been really useful, thank you. When I wrote I'd rather not learn, I meant that I have been scared to learn because I feel scared of snakes, so I don't really enjoy seeing their images etc. However, it is critical I learn.

What does one do if they are bit by a snake? Maybe call 911 or rush to the closest medical facility...but I read something about putting the wound site above or below the heart or depends on the snake?

Any other tips are also greatly welcome.

Thank you

If bitten by a snake and you are with others. Ask them to drive you to a hospital. Do not drive yourself!. If bitten below elbow or knees position self with bite below heart. Goal is to reduce venom flow to heart by reducing heart beat (think panic mode).
Email these folks and send them a picture>
Houston Snake Control Removal Company


The most prevalent snake in your area.
Copperhead Snake.com

I plan on buying two of these:
Stop Snakes.com Snake Repellent

We just our Yorkie out to pee, I was barefoot and we walked back in. less then five minutes later was going to sit out under the awing. opened door and and a 2 foot copper head was on the welcome mat about to knock. Got a flat head shovel and went benni-hannah on his azz.



They are all now coming our of winter hibernation. Small copper heads are MORE venomous then old adults. Rattle snakes have a distinct tail that contains rattles and they will shake it as a warning. Although thanks to proliferation of hogs; which love them, rattle snakes learned not to rattle a warning when they are around so do not depend them to warn you the intruder.
If you are in a semi-rural area it is in your best interest to work hard at moving past phobias and make a concerted effort to spot common hazards.
Now wanna talk spiders????
Brown recluse and black widows.....Feed stores sell Bifen I/T Use it to spray a 3-4 foot swath around you perimeter. Also takes care of scorpions.
Feed stores carry two types one for outdoor use and one safe for indoor use.

Well hopefully this cheered you up and gave you a few tools to enjoy the great out doors.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #39  
Rattlesnakes are pretty good about warning you. It's in their interest to do so- it's less effort and danger to them to scare you off with a rattle than to bite you. To them you're huge and scary. I've been wandering and working in the woods in California Arizona and Wyoming for 40 years and I've never been bit by a snake. I've handled pet snakes and rescued gopher snakes that got stuck in deer netting. Even the wild gopher snakes are pretty mellow if you pick them up right.

One day I went out to the garage in shorts and bare feet to get something off my workbench. As I was standing there I heard the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake's rattle, under the workbench. I backed up carefully but quickly. Then I got some pants and boots, pulled the cars and motorcycles out of the garage, and used a long stick with a bracket on the end to pull the snake out from under the bench and slide him across the garage floor and out the door. I did not want to kill or injure him since rattlesnakes are beneficial. My one outdoor animal at the time was wise to things like snakes and we didn't have small children. I did however want to make the snake's experience unpleasant enough so he would not come back into the garage. Never saw him again so it must have worked.

A lot of people who get bit by rattlesnakes were messing with them, usually for no good reason. The safest thing to do is to get any kids and curious pets away and let them leave be to move off when they get over being scared of you. If they're inside your building like my story above then you might want to take a little more action.
 
   / Tell me how to be safe if I encounter a snake (semi rural Texas) #40  
A rattle snake wll have a triangle shaped head with pits under their eyes, thus the term "pit vipors", and the pupils of their eyes are slanted shaped. Non-poisonous snakes here in the U.S. have round pupils. So be sure to "look them in the eye". :shocked:
 

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