Importance of snakes to hikers safety

In Australia it is considered a fact of life that when in the bush at certain times of the year, you are in snake country. It's their territory, not yours so if you get bitten you weren't being careful enough. But with proper attention and precautions you are safe, even though the most poisonous snakes in the world practically infest Australia. Some snake bites will kill you dead within hours if you don't have a pressure bandage handy.
 
Md 25v said:
PayetteRucker- Thats part of my point. They don't pose a hazard. You may pose a hazard to yourself if you mess with them but the snake, if left alone, does not pose a hazard to you. I am referring to snakes in the wild. I understand the difference between snake populations on ranches and home dwellings.

Now rodents and their diseases..... thats a threat to be concerned about.
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I did kill a lot of rattlers in my wild youth and after finding one, I can't ever remember where one was aggressive towards me before I started going after it. I did get too close to a couple of cottonmouth snakes that showed very aggressive signs, but I accidently stumbled right into them. Snakes are a very important part of our ecology and Md makes a great argument. On the flip side...I really dislike spiders but won't go out of my way to kill any (unless it's a black widow near the house) as they really cut down on the bug-pest population. The only time I’ll kill a critter if I’m not purposely hunting or trapping, is if it’s near the house and I can’t safely relocate it. When I am outdoors and in their domain and I’m not looking for food, I’ll give them respect and distance.

Good post:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
Md 25v said:
A tick bite can be harmless if there are less disease carrying mice. I understand that you only look out for ticks and not mice but the reality is that with a reduction in the mouse population the ticks are far less dangerous because fewer of the ones that bite you will be able to get you sick.

If you don't recall a lot of people saying that they kill any venomous snake they come across then your not reading many of the snake threads.

You say "bit is bit" but if a person is screwing with an animal without reason then they are kinda asking for it. Snakes don't bite without a reason. I would venture to say that I have more experience with tracking and handling venomous snakes than most of the people that would be reading this. The idea that a good venomous snake is a dead venomous snake is getting under my skin and that's why I made this thread. I have seen many forumites demonize snakes out of their own fears and prejudices but no one ever considers what the reduction in the snakes population has on the people that like to be out in the bush. I bet there are many times more people on this forum that have had Lyme Disease, Spotted Fever, etc... than have been bit by a venomous snake they didn't see. Some of them are the same people that post about killing every snake they see. I figured that A little education as to why killing all those snakes might get more of us sick might give the forum some food for thought.
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Md, we obviously live in different worlds. It is nice that there is room for us all, and our varied world views.
 
Yes, this is good eco-management and i don't dispute it.

However, it takes a conscious effort on my part to NOT kill them - i admit to this straight-away. However, I'm that way with most other predators in general, but unfortunately snakes in particular. I will say that i'm more and more lenient w/spiders (except Black Widows which i will kill at every sight) b/c i know they eat lotsa flying pests.

Additionally, i have a deep desire to kill off all stray felines in most environments - particularly my neighborhood, but thats another discussion altogether.
 
Great post MD! I am glad you had the nerve to post this. Even though you can't change everyones mind, if you turn a couple of people's thoughts on snakes, you did a great job!

I am always trying to explain to people that snakes aren't actively looking to bite them. Some get it, some don't. I still don't get why anyone has to kill a snake that they run into outdoors. If its in your path, walk around it; it's really not that hard...
 
I've always given any snake I meet on the trail plenty of maneuvering room and can appreciate their station in life. I live close to a pond and see a fair amount of bats each evening. My neighbors must think it strange that I have a few bat houses and encourage the bats to take up residence closer to home. Bats have a healthy appetite for skeeters and I greatly appreciate the good that they do for mankind, same as snakes:)
 
I don't see a need to kill snakes unless they are close to my house and my family. Out in the wild, on the trout streams I frequent, they are at home and I'm the visitor. But at my house, I can't have a poisionous snake messing around where my family or pets may walk across them. I hate to, but my family and pets come first at home.
 
rth548 said:
Out in the wild, on the trout streams I frequent, they are at home and I'm the visitor.

But at my house, I can't have a poisionous snake messing around where my family or pets may walk across them. I hate to, but my family and pets come first at home.
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There have been a few posts like this and I want to comment so that my point is not taken out of context.
I do not, and will not have any issues with anyone who removes venomous snakes from their home properties. I regularly kill black widows in my basement because its literally infested with them. I choose to accept that other people have the right to manage their own living space. Its only the spaces that we share with others, parks, woods, fishing ponds, etc... that we all need to have a mutual respect for so that we can better share these outdoor spaces.
 
Great thread Md! I don't kill them in the woods; I have to around the house. Can't keep them out of the bird pens. In fact, I snuffed one today that made it into the quail pen and had lunch. I know snake bites are considered rare, but I imagine the stats change drastically based on locale. We live in a rural area in north Florida, and see snakes everyday. My father has been bit by a cottonmouth while walking a trail to a fishing hole. My wife was bit by a pygmy rattler while walking up my folks' driveway at night. Both of them stepped on the snake. My next door neighbor was also bit by a cottonmouth. He was picking up some branches he had trimmed. It tagged him good in the hand. He is originally from Sweden, and that was the first time he ever even saw a snake in Florida. He still won't kill them, though. When we took my wife to the E.R., there was a little girl there that had also been bitten by a pygmy rattler. I had taken the snake with me, as did the little girl's grandfather. The snakes were carbon copies of one another. It was kinda strange. I'll tell you one thing, they get you a doctor pretty quick when you walk in the E.R. holding a rattlesnake!!
 
I have a buddy that likes to get peed on by snakes. No really. To the extent that he'll suggest a hike in a certain spot where we know to find snakes at a certain time. Through this wierd fetish I've managed to get good up close looks at some amazing animals.
 
Marcelo Cantu said:
I have a buddy that likes to get peed on by snakes. No really. To the extent that he'll suggest a hike in a certain spot where we know to find snakes at a certain time. Through this wierd fetish I've managed to get good up close looks at some amazing animals.
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I like snake plenty but I think your friend might need some help.....:D
 
Big Mike said:
Peed on by snakes? :eek: :barf: :eek:





Yeah Marcelo, Tony is wierd, but taken the golden shower from snakes?




Big Mike
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Hey don't knock it till you tried it! ;)

And I can't help it if I'm so frightening that snakes feel the need to pee when in my grasp.... :o

Oh, and it beats getting bitten:cool:
 
otis williams said:
i'd rather get bit than musked. at least by most snakes. musk stinks.
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I hear ya Otis, But the snake in question was a N. Watersnake. I don't know if you ever been bit by 1 of them, but it is not fun. They keep biting, and their saliva has an anticoagulant making you bleed and bleed.... I'll take the Musk and do every time. I haven't been bitten in over 5 years. Which is pretty good considering I catch 20+ every year.
 
Md--- You kill black widow spiders? You "were" my hero. :D Black Widows are inoffensive cobweb weavers. Take them out side.
 
I agree with you for the most part about snakes. They are better to have around than mice!

Md 25v said:
I've had Lyme disease twice. It is a hazard of working outdoors. I know a lot of people think Lyme disease comes from ticks but it does NOT. Lyme disease, Spotted Fever, Barbesia, Ehrlichiosis, and a few others that are commonly carried by ticks all start in rodents like mice. In fact mice "make" almost all the diseases that we have to be careful of in the woods, and the only way to be infected by a tick is to be bitten by a tick that has already bit an infected rodent.
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You've had Lyme disease twice? How did you get it? From a mouse? No, you probably got it from a tick, which got it from a mouse.

So while Lyme disease might not originate in ticks, it does come from them. Understand what I'm saying? Your BOLD statement makes it seem like you can't get Lyme Disease from ticks, although you clarify in less noticeable print in the following sentence. I think your original bold sentence would be more accurate if it were written like this:

Although Lyme Disease is carried by ticks, it doesn't originate in them.
 
13ninjas said:
I agree with you for the most part about snakes. They are better to have around than mice!



You've had Lyme disease twice? How did you get it? From a mouse? No, you probably got it from a tick, which got it from a mouse.

So while Lyme disease might not originate in ticks, it does come from them. Understand what I'm saying? Your BOLD statement makes it seem like you can't get Lyme Disease from ticks, although you clarify in less noticeable print in the following sentence. I think your original bold sentence would be more accurate if it were written like this:

Although Lyme Disease is carried by ticks, it doesn't originate in them.
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No, it does not "come from" ticks. They simply carry it once they get it from a mouse. I think everyone here understood what I was saying since no one in this three page thread has needed that point explained. My "bold" wording was quite on purpose since I needed a way to grab attention with the statement. The point is that on a larger scale many diseases we encounter in the woods are better battled at their source (the rodent that produces them). Twenty years ago there were very few white footed field mice (current cdc funded study on a county property in Millersville Md) carrying Lyme. There were just as many ticks back then but getting bit by them was just a little annoyance. This example is of a specific location but many such examples following the trends of percentages of infected mice and a decline of snake populations have emerged all over the country. I don't feel like typing a books worth of info but if you PM me I can give the contact info for the people in the USGS, DNR, USFW running those surveys, or at least compiling the data. They have a wealth of information that is way beyond the scope of this thread regarding the snake/disease correlations.
 
Lycosa said:
Md--- You kill black widow spiders? You "were" my hero. :D Black Widows are inoffensive cobweb weavers. Take them out side.
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Sorry about that but at my house I can find dozens of them around my yard every day. I leave the ones outside alone but I have had several get into shoes and hats in my upstairs and no longer tolerate them as indoor neighbors. They are great pest removers, and when they stay out of my way then they are left alone, even in the basement. But when they are taking up residence in my winter clothing and other off season items then I draw the line, especially when they have one or two egg balls at the edge of the web.
 
I see multiple snakes almost daily. I've killed a couple of terciopelos out of reflex but generally we bag them up and take them over the mountain.i haven't seen a terciopelo here in quite some time. The Micas, Boas and Mussuranas help keep them out too. All the others, including corals and eyelash vipers are my " pets":eek:
 
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