Snakes On The Move: Reducing Negative Snake Interactions
Spring is officially here. Wildflowers are out, grass is greening up in some areas and snakes are starting to slither out in search of a place to sun.
Although snakes play an important role in our ecosystems, they’re not everyone’s favorite reptile. For those looking to avoid human-snake interactions, it’s best to first understand where snakes may be found this time of year.
SNAKES EMERGE
“With snakes, they are pretty well hibernating during the winter, but they’re going to respond to the temperatures on a particular day,” Dr. Maureen Frank, associate professor of conservation biology at Sul Ross State University, said. “The temperatures that we like to be out and moving around in is similar to what snakes are going to move around in.”
Snakes are cold-blooded. So, when temperatures are cooler, snakes are more likely to find a nice rock in a sunny area to warm up.
“It may be in the mid ‘60s, but there’s a nice rock that’s out in the sun, and it’s a perfect place for them to sun,” Frank said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “If you were to measure the microclimate of that rock, the temperature’s going to be much warmer if you have direct sunlight on it. They may come out and sun themselves even if they’re not moving around as much.”
When it gets too hot, snakes will seek out cooler areas like brush piles and shady areas.
“As it gets to the heat of the summer, it can be too hot to where they’re not going to be super active,” Frank said. “Say it’s in the triple digits, they may not be out. They’re certainly not going to be out sunning themselves because those rocks will be extremely warm, but they may be under rocks.”
That’s why it’s so important to be careful not to place your hands and feet anywhere you cannot see.
“Those snakes may try to cool off by getting underneath something,” Frank said. “For this time of year though (April), as we hit those nice warm temperatures that may you want to be outside, be aware of places that may be a little bit warmer and entice snakes to be out and sun themselves.”
There are 70-80 species of snakes in Texas. Where you’re most likely to run into them depends on their preferred food, the availability of water and shelter and space.
“If you’re worried about water moccasins, for instance, you’re not going to find them somewhere that’s really dry because water is a big component of what they look for,” Frank said. “If you are in Houston, Dallas and you live next to a creek, then there’s a good chance that a species like a water moccasin, or a lot of our non-venomous water snakes, may show up when you’re closer to water.”
As far as places people typically are, like their backyards, snakes are most likely to be found in an area where there’s shelter for them.
“A huge component of habitat for snakes is shelter because something like a brush pile or a debris pile, it could just be a random pile of stuff in your back yard that you haven’t cleaned up yet, that’s a good place for a snake to hide because they have predators as well,” Frank said. “Things like hawks and other bigger animals are going to go after a snake, so they can hide there, but even more importantly, their prey can hide there.”
Small rodents can be found in brush piles, and snakes like to eat small rodents.
“So, that can be a place where you’ll find a lot of snakes in and around those spaces,” Frank said.
ENCOUNTERING A SNAKE
Of the dozens of snake species that call Texas home, only a dozen or so are venomous.
“Most likely, if you encounter a snake, it’s probably not a venomous one,” Frank said. “If it is, either way, the best thing to do is not to panic and react calmly. Most of the time when you’re hiking or even just out in your yard, the snake is probably just going to keep on its way.”
To avoid a negative interaction with snakes, give them plenty of space, especially if you don’t know if it’s venomous or not.
“If it reacts to your presence—if it coils up—and especially if you’re aware that it is a venomous snake, just walk slowly backyards,” Frank said. “It thinks you are a threat if it’s kind of getting in a defensive posture. If you back away, you’re reducing that threat, and it should carry on.”
Snakes do not want to interact with humans. Those that are venomous must also expend a lot of energy to produce venom.
“They’d really rather not use it on you. That’s why rattlesnakes, for example, have rattles to warn you,” Frank said. “They hope that works so you leave them alone.”
There are some non-venomous snakes that will mimic venomous snakes’ warning signs to warn humans to back off.
“A bull snake, which is also called a gopher snake, will do the same defensive posture (as a rattlesnake),” Frank said. “They’ll actually shake their tail, and they have a hiss that sounds almost exactly like a rattlesnake. They’ll do that same thing that just means, ‘Please leave me alone.’"
REDUCING HUMAN-SNAKE INTERACTIONS
People can also reduce the likelihood of having snakes around their homes by removing brush piles and maintaining vegetation.
“If you have a lawn, keep that grass mowed short because they’d rather hide in the tall grass. They feel kind-of exposed if it’s shorter, and their prey is going to be exposed,” Frank said. “Also, keep shrubs trimmed up to where you can see under them. If that goes right down to the ground, that encourages animals to be able to hide under there—both snakes and rodents.”
Parents should also teach children not to stick their arms and legs under shrubs or in brush or rock piles to avoid being bitten.
TREATING A SNAKE BITE
In the event you or someone else is bitten by a snake, don’t rely on tips or tricks that you may have seen in a movie or online.
“With the caveat that I am not a medical doctor, if you are bitten by a snake, the very first thing you should do, is if it’s venomous, call 9-1-1 or get to an emergency room. If you know that it’s not venomous, you can just call your regular primary care doctor, but always consult with a doctor,” Frank said.
A lot of snake bite remedies can actually do more harm than good.
“Sucking out the venom is very ineffective. You’re probably not going to get it anyhow. Even the snake bite kits that you can get is just really not an effective way to remove enough of the venom,” Frank said. “The instant that somebody’s bit by a snake, that venom is headed into the bloodstream and spreading throughout the body. Sucking at the site of it is really not going to do a whole lot.”
Tourniquets can, especially if improperly applied, can be harmful.
“That’s where you want to talk to your doctor and get specific recommendations, but the best thing to do is to stay calm as hard as that is,” Frank said. “You want to remove any restrictive clothing.”
For example, if someone is bitten on the hand, be sure to remove all jewelry and watches because the area will likely swell and jewelry may be restrictive.
Venomous snakes aren’t the only snakes that can bite. Bull snakes, or gopher snakes, may also bite.
“If you do get bit by something like that and it breaks the skin, wash with soap and water,” Frank said. “For a non-venomous snake, you probably just need to keep an eye on it. Call your doctor and talk to them.”
If you or someone else is bitten by a snake, don’t try to grab it to take to the doctor for identification.
“If you have a picture, or if you know what it is, that’s helpful, but what I’ve read and heard from doctors is never waste time trying to get that because it’s going to be more valuable to get medical attention,” Frank said. “Definitely never try to catch the snake because there’s too much of a chance of somebody else getting injured. That’s not worth the risk.”
If you’re bit by a coral snake, be sure to tell the doctor that information. That bite would be treated differently than a rattlesnake bite.
IDENTIFYING SNAKES
The shape of a snake’s head can be helpful in identifying if it’s venomous or not.
“The most common type of venomous snake that we have in the U.S. are pit vipers. They have a triangle-shaped head because they have venom glands and these heat-sensing pits on the side of their faces that give them that triangular shape,” Frank said.
There are two important caveats to the V-shaped head rule.
“One is that a lot of our non-venomous snakes are very good at mimicking that,” Frank said.
Water snakes in the genus Nerodia that are non-venomous will flare out their heads to look like water moccasins if they’re threatened.
Hognose snakes can also look like a rattlesnake and will do something similar to mimic a venomous snake.
“The other caveat to that is that in Texas we do have one species that is venomous that is not a pit viper, and that’s the coral snake,” Frank said. “Now, thankfully, that’s one that people are pretty readily able to identify because they have bright red, black and yellow bands.”
A helpful way to identify a coral snake is the old rhyme, “Red and yellow kill a fellow, red and black, friend of Jack.”
If the red bands are touching the yellow bands, and the snake is in North America, it’s a venomous coral snake. If the red and black bands are touching, it’s likely a king snake.
The rhyme is only accurate in the United States. In Central and South America, there are snakes that break the rule and are venomous.
Coral snakes do not have a V-shaped head like other venomous snakes.
“They’re very non-aggressive,” Frank said. “They really don’t want anything to do with us. Unlike pit vipers, their teeth are arranged differently.”
On a rattlesnake and water moccasin, the fangs can rotate when they open their mouths to deliver venom. On a coral snake, the fangs are rear-facing and toward the rear of their mouth.
“So, for one of those to be able to bit you, it really has to work at it,” Frank said.
Most coral snake bites occur when someone tries to pick them up.
There are several Texas-specific snake guides available online to help in snake identification.
Snakes guides can help identify snakes, their preferred habits and food sources.
BENEFICIAL SNAKES
“Snakes are very valuable because their favorite thing to eat, for most species, is small rodents,” Frank said. “I sure don’t want my house or property to be overrun with mice and rats. I’d much rather have snakes helping me do a great job of managing that.”
Garter snakes, sometimes called garden snakes, are one of the most common snakes found in Texas.
They love to eat insects and other invertebrates, especially slugs.
“For a gardener, anything that eats slugs, I’m a big fan of that,” Frank said. “They can help regulate some of your garden pests. Even if you don’t love those, they (snakes) are definitely better off alive than dead.”
