Summertime Is Snake Time
Officials say bites are rare, but be careful anyway
BY NATE DELESLINE III
The Dispatch- North Carolina
Summertime brings people out in search of fun and for work, but it also brings them into snake territory.
"People say, 'They're coming into my pool area,"' said Robert Lopp of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. But with water sometimes lacking in the summertime, the cool concrete and abundant water around pools are quite attractive for the reptiles. The most active time for snakes begins in the spring, when young snakes hatch and remain active through September.
Lopp's office in Lexington usually sees two or three snakes brought in every week for identification. So far this year, he said, they have not identified any poisonous snakes. Most of the time, Lopp said, harmless snakes are mistaken for dangerous ones, like the copperhead. The copperhead is the most common and widespread venomous snake in the state, said Dr. Robert Esposito, an emergency physician at Lexington Memorial Hospital. However, Esposito said snake bites are not a frequent occurrence, with the last one at LMH recorded in May.
While considered dangerous and painful, a copperhead bite is not usually fatal. Other venomous snakes in North Carolina include the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake and the water moccasin, or
cottonmouth. Shaw said there are also about five different types of water snakes that live in Davidson County, but it's very unlikely that any of them are true water moccasins, which are venomous. By far, the most common snake in Davidson County is the black rat snake, said North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Jon Shaw. He noted that many people appreciate having them around, as they provide natural rodent control. While there are plenty of snakes in Davidson County, Lopp stressed that almost all of them are harmless. North Carolina is home to about 30 different kinds of snakes.
The Davidson County Rescue Squad had an encounter with a sinister serpent recently. Chief Larry Morgan said squad personnel discovered two copperheads on two different occasions in the last two weeks. The snakes were found in the morning on the driveway at the Southmont station. Morgan suspects the snakes were looking for overnight relief from the heat on the cool concrete.
North Carolina Department of Transportation work crews in the county encounter snakes all the time, said maintenance engineer Mark Crook. "But most of the time we make enough racket that they move on," he said. Crook couldn't recall any incident where a crew member had been bitten by a snake. However, he said crews are reminded about them daily at "tailgate safety" meetings before starting every project.
Lopp said the best thing to do to keep snakes away from your home is remove snake-friendly spots like wood piles, brush piles or any other places that provide cover. Make sure window screens, crawlspaces and shed doors close securely and dispose of trash properly. Cleaning up discourages rodents, which in turn forces snakes to look elsewhere for food and shelter. Lopp said things like mothballs and other household preparations do little to keep snakes away. Also, he continued, don't reach or climb into small spaces without looking to see what's inside first.
Morgan said if you or someone you know is bitten, call for help as soon as possible and try not to panic as it increases blood flow and can spread the toxin faster and farther. Also, don't waste time with home treatments like tourniquets or cutting the bite area. He said those things can do more harm than good. Esposito said initial care at a hospital will include wound care to prevent infection and monitoring of vital signs to ensure that venom is not damaging the body.
While enhancing the image of snakes might seem to be an insurmountable task, Shaw said that they encourage people to educate themselves about the wildlife that's common to their area. Shaw said they also occasionally take harmless snakes like the
corn snake around to various community events and let people see firsthand that not every snake is aggressive or vicious.
But everyone acknowledged it's an uphill battle when it comes to getting respect and consideration for snakes. Sometimes fears can become irrational and actually do more harm than good, said Sarah Cross, herpetologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. "Don't kill every snake you see," she said.
Cross said if you're concerned about having poisonous snakes around your home, it's important to know that some nonvenomous kinds like the king snake actually kill and eat other venomous snakes like the copperhead. Killing off harmless snakes will simply allow the more dangerous ones to flourish, she said. "We're trying real hard to educate people," Cross said.
But she admitted snakes will probably never be seen the same as other wildlife common to the area. "If you see a bird in the garage, you don't take a shovel to it," she noted. "It's interesting," but disappointing, Lopp remarked. He said he often sees couples debate what to do when they discover snakes around the house. "We have a lot of people that say 'I realize that they're harmless, they're good, but kill 'em anyway."'
Summertime Is Snake Time
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