global warming. it’s pissing off the snakes.
Then we MUST HAVE SNAKE CONTROL LAWS!..................
this is what happens when a leftist, tofu eating jackass goes into the boonies without any clue about wildlife.
We need government to ban venom.
More snakes, more snakebites.
More people, more snakebites.
More snakes and people, way more snakebites.
It’s that easy.
venomous snakes obviously don’t have a pro-abortion movement . . . yet.
North Carolina leads the nation in snake bites.
Fortunately most of them are copperheads. They are bad but almost no one dies from them. Probably the most dangerous of them all is the Eastern Diamondback.
In eastern Oregon, whiskey is considered a treatment for snakebite. In many bases, you will find a case of whiskey right next to the box of snakes.
I wonder if it works the same way in Baptist territory.
With the internet every hidden swimming hole and hiking destination that were once only known to locals are now common knowledge among the masses.
More people being outside equals more encounters with the nasties of nature.
Have to sign in to read the article...I knew there was a reason I never clicked on WSJ articles...
I wonder if it has anything to do with the rains this year running them out of their normal territory and into peoples’ yards? Out here I see copperheads every year, and a cottonmouth now and then (nasty bastards and probably the most aggressive) plus plenty non venomous varieties. Spotted a 6 foot chicken snake a couple of weeks ago. Also common around here.
But with all the rains, their normal habitat could be flooded. I’ve seen that happen after tornadoes too, I always make sure I carry a pistol with me after a tornado hits, everything gets stirred up and pushed out of its normal living area.
Last year a hurricane flooded much of north carolina, flooding in Houston not long ago, (then again Houston floods easy, I’ve seen every underpass in town flood in a 2 inch rain), other places too. That always pushes these critters out of their normal areas. So I wonder how many of these are related to the excess water forcing them to find higher ground. Anywhere within a couple of hours of the Mississippi has had serious problems this year, I’m still seeing reports or crop failures or missed planting altogether from flooding earlier this year...i places it washed the topsoil away.
Hadn’t really thought of this till I read this thread, but any time you have flooding, they are forced to find higher ground, and then often they are in more common contact with humans.
For the most part, I stay out of tall weeds and wooded areas in warm weather, and am hyper careful around ponds and creeks. Most poisonous snakes are well camouflaged and are very hard to see, especially in poor light. That practice has served me well at my Dad’s instruction from childhood. Now, I’ll probably get bitten tomorrow.
In Texas’ case it would also be a result of more people moving out where the snakes already are, the Hill Country in particular.
I keep a .22 revolver with snake shot just for the rattlesnakes. I’ve only seen one in the 15 years up here. I got him with a shovel. When I was a kid in Arizona they were everywhere. Killed them all the time. Big deal.
Of course. Burning too many fossil fuels - reptiles can sense that. They are close to the ground, where fossils are formed.
Mine was a baby copperhead who was ensconced in a plastic border shaped like a brick but hollow inside. They were under the back porch laying loose on the ground as they were not being used at that time. I had moved the brick once to pull the weeds. It was when I moved them back that I accidentally had the tip of my pinkie finger just barely over the opening. It felt like the worse bee sting ever. Baby snakes do not control their venom, thus I received all the little reptile had in its venom sack. Wouldn't you know the only edging brick I mishandled had a baby snake in it and it would be a poisonous one at that. 8>)
My chickens love snakes. They fight over them. I did lose one earlier this year to a copperhead.