OK, i come from a country with NO snakes, and maybe i watched too many snake docos when i was younger but now I'm real anxious about them. Is there some like golden rules on how to walk through forests, or clearing up the back yard and such?? E.g. I recall being told to wear long pants when hiking etc. I'm just freaking out I'll do something dumb, but natural where i come from and end up face to face with one in a bad way due to my ignorance
Most poisonous snakes in the SE US will make an effort to avoid you if you make enough noise as you walk. The main exception to this is the water moccasin. They are a tad territorial. I usually don't do many activities in the woods during the summer and during the winter, I have nothing to worry about, as the snakes are hibernating.
Long pants and tall boots are a good plan in "snake country", but most times they (snakes) try to avoid humans if they can. Give 'em room and leave 'em alone if you startle one. If you come to Montana, there are two varieties of rattlesnake. The Timber and the Prairie Western rattlesnake. Not to be confused with the Eastern and Western Diamond-backs, the variety in Montana are rather "non-aggressive" in comparison. Here is a guide to avoidance and snake-bite first aid: Rattlesnakes - Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks As to "screaming like a little girl and running", remember that snakes do not have ears and cannot hear. Each of the states have their own indigenous snakes and varities of snake. Most are non-venemous but there are a few which are to be avoided. There are a few which don't give a sound warning, the aforementioned Cottonmouth, and Copperheads, Water Moccasins, I think that is a name which referrs to the Cottonmouth, but I'm not sure.
Are you making fun of my phobia? At least I can say I've never been bitten I do remember one thing about poisonous snakes. It's the little ones you need to watch out for. Something about they haven't learned to control how much venom to use so they will hit you with a larger dose.
The cottonmouth is a type of water moccasin. The inside of the mouth is white like cotton. They are mostly found in and around bodies of water and are rather cantankerous. They will make great efforts to board small fishing boats. It's not pleasant and they seem to get angry when you hit them with a paddle. Contrary to the old wive's tale, they can bite under water. Copperheads are prevalent here, too. Two of my dogs were bitten last year in my back yard by copperheads. Never did find and kill the varmint, although we did behead 2 in my neighbor's yard. They lack rattles also and are not as territorial as the moccasin. They tend to take hints fairly well, like the rattlesnake, and make their home elsewhere from where dogs and humans reside. There is also the rare coral snake here in Southeast. They lack fangs thus have to chew on you a bit to inject the venon. I've never encountered one of these. Like as has been mentioned above, make noise and most of the venomous land snakes will leave you alone, unless you step on them.
I should think they are more likely to detect the thundering "hooves" of the fleeing person rather than read "lips" (giggle). They are very sensitive to vibrations in the ground.
I most certainly am not; "making fun of your phobia"! My ex-wife was so weird about snakes that she would throw a book across the room with a scream attached if she turned a page and found a PICTURE of a snake! Out on the farm/ranch in Central Montana, we had NO venemous snakes. Only harmless blue racers and garter snakes. One time she saw a green garter snake out of the corner of her eye down in our basement, and armed a BLIND GUY with a broom and sent him down to hunt it out! All Mike did was go down there and bash around a while and lowered the stress level a bit. Laughed his ass off as he was telling me of the exploit he did. And yes, baby rattlers are dangerous. Not only don't they know how to control the amount they inject, they inject all they have available at the time. Fortunately their smallish size makes the problem also a bit smaller. I don't even know how many rattler bites I've had, three or four. But in northern Montana they are not only "everywhere", we used to go hunting them in the early spring before they came completely out of hibernation. Dr. Buker would pay us a dollar a snake to bring in so he could milk them and send the venom off to some lab. When they were cold they were easy to put in the sack, by the time we got them to him they were a tad more lively, and more care had to be taken.
I'm not crazy about wild animals in general, snakes are near the top of my '"do not encounter" list. But, since my idea of camping is going from motel to motel, and hiking involves walking from my car to the motel room (preferrably on a well lit, blacktop parking lot), I guess the only wildlife I'll encounter is mosquitos. Fortunately, if my wife is around, they stay away from me too.
I generally avoid wild animals because, well, they are wild, which usually means unpredictable. If a wild animal becomes unafraid of you for no reason*, odds are it is ill, quite possibly with rabies. *e.g. - you've been feeding it, which is a major no-no.
That is too true, rabies is one weird ailment. One time when I was doing some fall work with an 8640 JD, pulling a 36' chisel plow and seed drills planting winter wheat, this skunk came running out of the stubble field next to the field I was working, and instead of running away (as skunks always do), it turned and attacked the tractor! I mean I'm sitting up there about twelve feet off the ground, and this little skunk attacks the tire! The tires are 6' tall, and these were dualed up all 'round. Eight tires. Smashed it flat. Stink didn't wear off it for weeks. We also got a few rabid bats, but they were far and few between.
Snakes: Step 1: Approach alleged snake-like object slowly Step 2: Innocently lean your head in for a closer look Step 3: Realise its a snake Step 4: Yes, its a living snake Step 5: Realise thats a bad thing Step 6: Jump away while exclaiming "HOLY CRAP A SNAKE" Step 7: Rapidly move hands over ones body feeling for the millions of snakes on you Step 8: Run indoors and lock the door behind you perhaps blocking it with something as well Step 9: Tell yourself it cant get you Step 10: Do something to calm yourself while looking at the door anxiously expecting the snake to find a way in Step 11: Repeat 9&10 for the rest of the night Well, that about sums up what I do, except the tiny snakes in Canada are scared of everything. Oh well.
After reading this lot I thank my god for giving me the UK to live in. Our only poisonous snake is the adder and rarely seen. (Scariest thing I ever saw was an alligator in the motel car park in Florida). I can take snakes in a zoo environment but dont like the idea they might curl up in my nice warm bed/ car or any where within 500 miles of me. Big spiders with hairy legs have the same effect on me. I need one of my tranquillisers now.
I know you wern't making fun of me. All in fun. Throw in a weekend of nightmares and that is me! Don't even get me started on rabies. Worst series of shots I ever had to endure. Wild animals being unpredictable should be common sense, but I strongly urge people not to play with stray pets either. They are the ones to watch out for. People think of them as so innocent, until you get bit.
Snakes wont bite you just becuase they can, only if you make them angry or are in their terretory. Just keep a sharp eye and ear and you will ussualy find them....Somtimes.
Yes, but seeing that rattlesnake lounging in a pile of leaves and recognizing that you are in it's territory is often the trick.