Snakes

[37chief]

I see my share of rattle snakes during my mowing time over 30 years. If I see one close to my mower I will stop, and give it a chance to leave the area. If I stop to check to check my mower, I will just jump off my tractor, in tall weeds not even thinking of snakes. I only know of one person who was bit by a rattle snake. As the story goes he had been drinking, and was going to show how to pick up a snake. It didn't go too well. Have any of you, know of a friend who had been bit by a snake, or have you? Stan

 

[GChief]

Have any of you, know of a friend who had been bit by a snake, or have you? Stan

I know a few, but like your story, evertime they were eff'ing with the snakes.

 

[Steve in VA]

I see my share of rattle snakes during my mowing time over 30 years. If I see one close to my mower I will stop, and give it a chance to leave the area. If I stop to check to check my mower, I will just jump off my tractor, in tall weeds not even thinking of snakes. I only know of one person who was bit by a rattle snake. As the story goes he had been drinking, and was going to show how to pick up a snake. It didn't go too well. Have any of you, know of a friend who had been bit by a snake, or have you? Stan

No on both counts. Rattlers rarely show unless it gets really dry and hot so they move down to the creek. I've seen a few. Copperheads are much more common which is one of the main reasons I enjoy having Black Snakes around.

 

[tomturkey]

I have a friend whose new home is in rattlesnake land. He has removed them from his garage and yard several times. He does RELOCATE them. They have a couple retriever dogs, while they are constantly aware, no one has ever been bitten. they post videos of him catching and removing, I'd share but have never attempted posting such things or creating a link. gobble

 

[Richard G.]

I see my share of rattle snakes during my mowing time over 30 years. If I see one close to my mower I will stop, and give it a chance to leave the area. If I stop to check to check my mower, I will just jump off my tractor, in tall weeds not even thinking of snakes. I only know of one person who was bit by a rattle snake. As the story goes he had been drinking, and was going to show how to pick up a snake. It didn't go too well. Have any of you, know of a friend who had been bit by a snake, or have you? Stan

We lost a very good dog to a rattlesnake here in NW SC.
Vet tried to save her but could not.

 

[BobTx]

Yes, I had a cousin at the age about 12 was bitten on the leg by a rattlesnake. He almost died from the bite. In fact, that night they called the family to the hospital 3 times saying he wasn't going to make it. That leg has given him trouble for his entire life, but he is 91 years old and still suffers. Two times I should have been bitten by a rattlesnake through no fault of my own. I had a dog that was bitten and almost died. My Dad had a goat that was bitten and died. Don't talk to me about relocating rattlesnakes. BobTx

 

[Ray,IN]

Copperhead bites are seldom fatal, infectious and painful_YES. A friend was bitten on the foot by a copperhead and didn't go to the ER. His foot turned black and swelled to the size of a football. he ran a dairy farm (no personal insurance) and one summer wore some old slippers to the milk parlor and stepped on the snake. The old leather slippers were cracked is why the snake fangs reached his foot.
I have a few Blue Racers around my place, i always give them right-of-way. Man are they aggressive when they think they are threatened!

 

[urbancase]

No I don’t around here we have copper heads and some timber rattles more south of me. But I have a fear of getting bitten so I am careful. That said when I ran life squad o kept snake chaps in my truck as we would get called out in some rougher areas and unknown some times unknown reasons.

 

[m16ty]

My cousin plugged his hay baler and had crawled under it to pull out the plug. While he was doing it a copperhead bit him right on the top of his head. He never even went to the hospital, there was hay on the ground and threatening rain. A few weeks later he had a bad tooth abscess. His dentist said getting bitten and the abscess could have been related.

If you just pay attention and don’t be an idiot it’s usually pretty easy to keep from getting bit. Give the snake some space and it usually just wants to get away.

 

[m16ty]

Copperhead bites are seldom fatal, infectious and painful_YES. A friend was bitten on the foot by a copperhead and didn't go to the ER. His foot turned black and swelled to the size of a football. he ran a dairy farm (no personal insurance) and one summer wore some old slippers to the milk parlor and stepped on the snake. The old leather slippers were cracked is why the snake fangs reached his foot.
I have a few Blue Racers around my place, i always give them right-of-way. Man are they aggressive when they think they are threatened!

Even getting bitten by a non-venomous snake can leave you with a bad infection.

 

[Ray,IN]

Even getting bitten by a non-venomous snake can leave you with a bad infection.

I caught a small (7-8") racer in my garage and released it down by the creek. I caught it with no possibilty of getting bitten. I got a quart canning jar and held it by the bottom. Then slid it on the floor up to the snake, when it struck at my hand it went into the jar. I slapped the lid on the jar and took it to the creek-bank.
Getting bit by a snake is virtually always the fault of the person getting bit, whether it be inattention or ignorance.

 

[Russ from MN]

I have hiked over 2000 miles in the mountains of Arizona, and have never seen a live rattlesnake, but some have probably seen me! They say for every one you see 3 see you. I don't hike in hot weather, that's most likely the reason.

 

[Brendon-KS]

There's a guy in our office who built an off-grid house/homestead in the Flint Hills of Kansas south of Emporia. A few years ago he was missing from work for about a week and when he returned he said that he had been in the hospital recovering from a bite from a copperhead. He had been walking around his place wearing flip-flops when he felt a sharp pain in his foot then saw a snake slithering away. Said he blacked out shortly after but fortunately his teenage son was there to take him to the ER.

 

[john in la]

I have had a couple of dogs bitten by snakes.
Most likely a cottonmouth.
Never took any to the vet.
Their face swells up but they always pull through.

 

[Wdj]

Flail mower? Rattlesnake? Simple solution!

 

[MeanGene1]

I had a job moving an enormous pile of rocks along a vineyard in the mid-80's, been sitting there for 20 years, from the ripping for a vineyard up on the eastern hill of Napa Valley. About 15 ft high, 40 ft wide, and 200 ft long, into a canyon across the dirt road. The new and extremely rich owner of the overlooking property was paying for their disposal, making the owner of the rocks very happy. I had a couple D8's up there, a high-horse 46A and a 14A cable rig with a rake. Some of the rocks were big enough that I had to roll them with the 46A, couldn't push them, and (pick one) Drunk Don or Deadeye Don- he did have one bad eye and the other wasn't too good, and was a maintenance level juicer, but he was pretty good with the old stuff, started out building airstrips in the South Pacific in WWII. But he was absolutely, deathly afraid of rattlesnakes- and that pile had hundreds when I cracked it open. I had quite a few tumble from the pile and get blendered in the tracks, and they were crawling all over the ground during the day. Old Don was sifting out the smaller rocks with the rake, but wouldn't go near that pile. He wouldn't get off the Cat at the end of the day, I had to pull my pickup close and he climbed off into the window. The next morning, out the window onto the platform he went, fired it up with the pony engine, and got to work, looking all around. About 10 minutes later, a decent sized buzzer came up through the steering handle slot in the floorboard and crawled right across his foot. He bailed off, ran over and climbed up in the back of my pickup, screaming his head off. I had to call in on the radio for someone to come and get him, he was done- he stayed in the back of the truck until they showed up, and through the window again he went

 

[docmirror]

At my off-grid cabin in NM I see one on occasion. I leave them alone. Only had one little guy get in the cabin once and I relocated him about 2 miles away.

I fed a rosy boa once in a while at a home I had in SoCal. We'd see him and I'd drop some jerky or once a slice of peach, and even a little cheese. I guess boa snakes aren't picky eaters. He ate everything I'd toss around.

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

Maps show us within the range for timber rattlesnakes, although, I've never seen one locally. The only rattlesnake I've ever seen alive was near Syracuse, KS while pheasant hunting. We do have an abundant copperhead population. Over the years, we've had several dogs bitten, and as previously stated, secondary infection at the bite site is the main concern. They all have killed their attackers.

 

[Steven Allen]

Never seen a rattler locally, but they can be in the area. Have seen many copperheads. Had to remove one once when I had a bunch of cub scouts here camping. Otherwise, have taken a few out unwittingly with the mower. May have seen a cottonmouth near our creek once, but I didn't get a positive ID. That is one snake I will not tolerate: been chased by some when I was a kid, and now I will do the chasing.

 

[TomA in CA]

Once a year one will show up. I used to kill them, now relocate them. I am always on the watch for King snakes on the road. I rescue them and bring them home. They kill Rattlers. A neighbor lady died from snakebite a few years ago. It was in a hay stack.