the field i go into

SIRGALANT

SIRGALANT

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the field i go out into to practise my limited survival skills has plenty of space , privacy (relative to it being public) and has lots of history . it has trees , a river , and bamboo plus plenty of space . i built my first shelter there with my mate (the frame anyway) . it also has river access . the thing is though , the ground is very dry and cracked , and i can see several snake holes in a few places. what i was wondering , is if i see a snake , can`t avoid it and it goes to attack me , what can i do? can i use the bamboo in some way to ward it off? i know that if i see a snake i must stand still and hopefully it will disappear , but what if it doesn`t? in my time og going there i`ve only ever seen one snake and it was brown .i`m in australia , so that could mean anything (copperhead , king brown etc) i usually have on me to walk in this field ; a sog knives seal 2000 , or a black ka bar with kraton handles , i`ll also be trying out my tom brown tracker and red scorpion six blades predator when i get them , in this same field . part of it is a public park with a drink fountain , and then it goes into a fairly secluded field
 
I think the first thing I would do is get a good field guide to the snakes of Australia, learn which ones are poisonous, which ones are beneficial, learn their habitat and habits, etc. Rather than trying to go at them with a knife, I would carry a good long walking stick with a forked end to hold them off. And then do you want to kill them...is that legal where you live?...or just get away?
 
snakes are fragile creatures, a couple of hard whacks with a stick will break their bones, you can pin their head with a stick, step on the head, cut off the head, now you have dinner. dont forget to put head in fire to burn.

alex
 
IIRC of the 10 or 12 most poisonous snakes Oz has 9 of them !! By all means get a snake book and learn to recognize the bad ones .Usually a 6' hiking stick will do well against a snake is you see it in time ! Here in NY we have just the copperhead and rattlesnake ,easily recognized because of the head shape and vertical pupil in the eye. However all snakes are protected here ! [ So when necessary SSS is used !!].
 
I can only suggest you talk to some other Australians who have outdoor experience in your region.
With the many varieties of venomous snakes, you would be well advised to read up on them.
 
If the snake attacks you, you'll probably be bitten. I would go to the hospital. Quickly.

If you simply see a snake and it won't go away, your best bet would be to walk away.

If you want it for food, use a rock/stick/gun, whatever.
 
Hey GUys...

Sir..

you may also want to get a pair of snake proof gaitors...
Kind of a pain to wear,, but may save your life,, espcially when you've got that much poisonious rope around..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Snakes will usually go out of their way to avoid you but if you do get bit try and kill the snake and take it with you to hospital so it can be identified !
 
Coldwood said:
I think the first thing I would do is get a good field guide to the snakes of Australia, learn which ones are poisonous, which ones are beneficial, learn their habitat and habits, etc. Rather than trying to go at them with a knife, I would carry a good long walking stick with a forked end to hold them off. And then do you want to kill them...is that legal where you live?...or just get away?
Click to expand...

well i was thinking of making something out of the bamboo shoots to just hold it down , say 2 or 3m long and then i could just run away , i wouldn``t eat it so no point in killing it , i am in its natural habitat after all . if i have to do one in (kill it) , then i guess i have to do it in.

some good suggestions here guys , thanks. i try to avoid the long grass there , as snakes love long grass and you can`t see them until you trod on one (the snakes) .
 
man I hate snakes, well, dont HATE hate them, But back in nova scotia we had thouse huge garden snakes, like 2-3 feet long, and I F'ing hated stepping on thouse things while mowing, esh...
 
pit man said:
Snakes will usually go out of their way to avoid you but if you do get bit try and kill the snake and take it with you to hospital so it can be identified !
Click to expand...

similar to the principle of soldiers writing their blood type on a piece of tape and sticking it to themselves in case they get shot
 
I grew up in the middle east and spent a lot of my childhood catching deadly snakes. We generally made "snake sticks" which were just forked sticks which we used to pin the snake to the ground. Sometimes we would add a loop of cord that we could snug up and noose the snake, but that required getting the loop around its head.

When I moved to California I had a job that sometimes required me to "relocate" a rattle snake. I kept a forked snake stick as well as a loop stick that I made by out a piece of conduit with noose threaded through it. Once the snake's head was immobilized, I would put the noose over its head and draw it tight.

-- FLIX
 
Normark said:
Hey GUys...

Sir..

you may also want to get a pair of snake proof gaitors...
Kind of a pain to wear,, but may save your life,, espcially when you've got that much poisonious rope around..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Like Eric stated, they are kind of a pain to wear, but they are great when lots of snakes are present and not always seen.
 
Be careful killing snakes in Australia on public land... Unless you are mucking about with it or not paying attention, i doubt you'd have anything to worry about.
 
No expert here on Australian snakes, but there are quite a few and they can be fast and aggressive. I'd have a heavy 6-foot staff available. Snakes are fairly easy to dispatch. But you can't stop them from crawling in after dark at a campsite.

Get yourself a book on snakes and learn to identify them. Good general knowledge anyway for any outdoorsman.
 
This reminds me of an old man I once knew. He told me he was only afraid of two kinds of snakes, live ones and dead ones. I would suggest you do this:

(1) Whenever you are out in the bush (even near home) cut and carry a stout stick as long as you are tall. If you encounter a snake, beat the snot out of it!

(2) Try to learn more about identifying snakes and what their habits are.

(3) Learn some good snake recipes so you can make good use of your kills.
 
Not too many poisonous snakes in Canada, maybe a few rattlers in southern British Columbia, but there are LOTS of slithery politicians. Unfortunately, most are protected except during elections, and they wouldn't be good eatin' in any event.
 
The best thing you can do is stay away from them. But if you are going bush then learn first aid, have a good compression bandage on you and learn how to apply it. Snakes are everywhere in Aus. A lad died yesterday in Sydney from a snakebite http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21057970-1702,00.html. There are a lot of things you can do like make a lot of noise, tends to scare most snakes away except, I think, the taipan. If you are hunting and stalking then keep a good eye open. I think this lad was probably making a lot of noise but was probably running after a ball or whatever and the snake did not have to opportunity to retreat. Tragic and my sympathies go to the family.
 
If you are in the Perth metro area Sirgalant then you may come across dugites, browns and the occasional tiger. I've been stomping our bush for 30 years - here's my tips;

1) Make noise. If you are walking through an overgrown area that looks 'snakey' then stomp hard and thrash your walking stick about. The snakes will have cleared off long before you get there.

2) Carry a stick - for the aforementioned thrashing and to push at a tiger snake if it attacks you. Tigers are the only snakes I've seen that will come towards you agressively if threatened. The others you have to almost step on them before they'll strike - which is how most people get bitten; by putting their hands or feet somewhere dark without checking first (with the stick)

3) Live and let live. I get dugites cruising through my back yard every summer. Be cool, stay still and they will be cool back as they move on through.

4) Don't try and kill them - unless it's a survival situation etc. If you don't know what you are doing it's a good way to get bitten.

5) Wear gaiters if you are still concerned. Most strikes are below the knee and I know plenty of bushwalkers who wear them for that specific reason.

I did a great snake handling course with a guy named Brian Bush a few years back. I haven't kept his details but googled his name and came up with a couple of interesting links for you.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~bush/myth.html

http://www.aussiepythons.com/


Another thing - in my experience the biggest concentration of snakes is around bird nesting sites......
 
As a deaprtment of natural resources person once told a group of geocachers I belonged to, snakes are more afraid of you than you are of them.

1) Make lots of noise so they know you're coming. (Granted easier said than done in middle Georgia, but this is mainly for grassy or wooded areas. Not sure how to treat it for an open area like you described.)

2) You are in their habitat so do not try to relocate them. Stay away from them. (One story he related to us was being out in a marsh/swampy area and coming across a water moccassin. They managed to throw it aside, but it kept coming back. Water Moc's are very, very stubborn. Finally they gave up and moved on. I can't remember if they were on foot or boat as he related several stories that way.)

3) Use a walking stick/pole(s) when you go on walkabout.

Hope that helps.
 
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