In Defense of Snakes

by LeeAnna Tatum

Even just the mention, let alone the sight, of them generates a strong reaction - I’m talking about snakes!

Love them or hate them, there is little room for ambivalence where this reptile is concerned. And while some people are fond of saying, “the only good snake is a dead snake,” I’d like to help make the case in defense of this often maligned creature.

Georgia is home to a rich biodiversity of native snakes which includes 46 native species, of which only six are venomous. Snakes are common in woodlands, parks and backyards throughout the State.

When we engage with the outdoor environment, chances are good that there are snakes nearby. If you find that thought disturbing, take comfort in knowing that chances are also good that you’ll never even know they’re there.

We as humans also have a tendency to fear (or hate) that which we do not know or understand. So, let’s take a few minutes out of our busy day to get to know a little more about our reptilian neighbors!

I recently sat down with Steve Hein, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Wildlife Education at Georgia Southern University. Though Steve’s expertise is birds of prey, as the director of the Center for 29 years, he has gained a lot of experience with their extensive reptile collection as well. He has also led hundreds of demonstrations and talks over the years, both with visitors to the Center and audiences across the US.

“The Wildlife Center exists because we want to put into context man’s relationship with the natural world around him,” Steve explained. “If I had to pick one species or one animal of which we have grossly misinterpreted their role in the ecosystem it would be snakes.”

Why We Fear Snakes and Why We Really Shouldn’t

Steve hypothesized that we have a cultural bias against snakes that likely stems from a number of sources including the Bible (depicting Satan as a serpent) and also an inherited fear of venomous snakes that at one time was quite legitimate.

While a snake bite from a venomous snake native to North America is rarely fatal today (approximately 5 per year), due to advances in modern medicine and the rapidity with which it can be administered, it wasn’t all that long ago when a snake bite could very well be deadly. And a fear of snakes in general, if you couldn’t differentiate between venomous and nonvenomous, was indeed a healthy fear.

Speaking of his grandfather’s generation, Steve mentioned that most people could readily identify one snake in particular and it was viewed as almost sacrilege to kill one.

“The Eastern Kingsnake was given its name as the king of snakes because it’s immune to venomous snakes and it’s a constrictor. The name speaks to how we see it, people know not to kill the black snake with the white stripes as if it’s out there hunting the venomous snakes for the survival of mankind!”

As compared to five deaths per year from venomous snake bits, an average of 40 people die each year in the US as a result of dog bites. As Steve put it, “That which we call our ‘best friend’ is what we’re most likely to be bitten by.”

Here are a few fun facts about things more likely to kill you this year than a snake bite. You are nine times more likely to die from a lightning strike than a snake bite (this is less of a fun fact when lightning is striking nearby as I’m typing this). You are nine times more likely to die from a bee, hornet or wasp sting than a snake bite.

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Photo by Pablo Nidam on Scopio

Who’s More Dangerous?

Steve also points out that snake bites are not as random as we might think. There are actually some pretty specific demographics that are associated with this particular type of medical emergency.

Knowing that, pause here for just a moment before reading further and consider what you think this group of likely candidates might be. If you had to guess, would you think of a particular race? Which gender? What about age group? Would our snake bite demographic group trend younger or older? What about bite location? Ankle, maybe? What about the hand? And finally, would you think individuals in this illustrious group would likely be sober? Or intoxicated?

“The context says it’s not random,” Steve explained, “statistics show the most common victim of snake bites to be: young, white, male and bitten on the hand. When they rush them to the hospital and they’re doing the tox screen, alcohol levels are significant.”

“If you’re looking for a dangerous animal,” Steve concludes, “it’s a young white male who has been drinking.”

We’re not looking to pick on young white males here, just to make the point that the average person being bit by a snake is not someone who happens to be minding their own business and just walking down a wooded path or working in their garden. Most of the time, snake bites don’t just happen.

Snakes bite when they have run out of other options for defending themselves.

Snakes are both prey and predator. Their colors and patterns work well to camouflage them and this works well for them in both of their roles. It keeps them hidden from what they’re hunting but it also keeps them hidden from the things that are hunting them (most often this would be something like the Red-tailed hawk). Rattlesnakes have the added benefit of a rattle to help them warn off those who might inadvertently cause them harm (like, you know, young white males with a little liquid courage).

Their very last line of defense is to bite. Even then, they can control the amount of venom they release and will often not waste their venom on something that will not end up being a food source for them (this is called a dry bite).

If you want to coexist on this planet with snakes and not get bit, it’s pretty simple - leave them alone.

Photo by David Schliepp on Scopio

How To Properly React to a Snake

“In 29 years of being on the road talking to countless audiences from federal judges to the highest socio economics to the very impoverished… you cannot distinguish between the responses … I ask the audience, ‘what do people do when they encounter snakes?’ and the response is always, ‘scream, run and try to kill it!’.”

Our ingrained responses are essentially all wrong.

“We scream and the snake doesn’t have ears … run from them and they’re one of the slowest animals on land moving about 2 - 3 miles per hour for most snakes … you can skip away faster than they can follow… and they have no reason to come after you anyway,” Steve explains. As to our instincts of thinking the only good snake is a dead snake, many studies have shown that snakes perform vital roles within our ecosystems and should be appreciated not annihilated.

And as previously covered, attempting to kill a snake is often the biggest contributing factor leading to a snake bite.

“It doesn’t take a whole lot of education to do what is right by everybody and to keep you, specifically the human, out of harm’s way,” Steve said. “The worst thing you can do is go grab the broom, the knife, the hatchet.. It really starts going south at that point.”

(Also, keep in mind that while you do have the right to protect yourself and others by killing a venomous snake, you do not have the right to kill other species. It is actually illegal in the State of Georgia to intentionally kill any of the 40 non venomous species.)

The correct response when you encounter a snake?

“Just stop, take two steps back, and walk away; and we’re all going to be just fine,” Steve assured.

Why We Should Appreciate Snakes Rather Than Fear Them

“There have been a lot of studies done that show how well adapted snakes are to act as a control mechanism for rodents,” Steve said.

He went on to discuss the role of rodents in spreading things like the bubonic plague which was far more deadly than any of the most potent venomous snakes could ever hope to be. Though it was the fleas carrying the disease, it was the rats that enabled its pervasiveness.

“Rats were thrown over castle walls to unleash the deadly plague and kill as many people as possible, they didn’t toss venomous snakes over the walls,” Steve joked.

The danger of venomous snakes is not as grave as what we think it is, conversely snakes can go anywhere a rodent can go, so they provide a great benefit.

“Something like 25%, maybe even higher globally, of the foods and grains that are put in place to feed humans are consumed by rodents before they ever even come to market,” Steve explained.

And this study from the University of Nebraska puts a number on that financial cost - just for that one State alone!

“The University of Nebraska estimates that mice cause $20 million in damage annually in Nebraska alone. Snakes can slowly prowl to hunt, able to enter burrows and tight spaces where other predators like cats or hawks can’t go, and traps can’t be set.”

Snake Appreciation on the Farm 101 with Kristan Fretwell

I also had the opportunity to talk with Kristan Fretwell of Hunter Cattle Farm in Brooklet. Kristan is a teacher turned farmer who still likes to teach! Instead of being confined to a classroom, Kristan teaches people who visit her farm about farm life and where their food comes from. She also takes every opportunity to help educate people about the importance of snakes!

“I always encourage people to familiarize themselves with snakes,” Kristan said. “If you can identify the venomous ones, I think it will ease your fears. So many people are scared of these little things that could not hurt you even if they tried. And they do so much good for our environment.”

“Having a farm, having rats and rodents getting into feed and destroying feed is way worse than having snakes,” Kristan continued. “Second of all, most snakes we see … I would say 80% maybe more … are good (nonvenomous) snakes.”

When nonvenomous snakes find their way to places on the farm where they cause some havoc, like the chicken coops, Kristan simply removes them and puts them where they can earn their keep by eating rodents or in areas where a venomous snake has been spotted.

“We definitely lose some eggs to snakes,” she said, “but I’d much rather not have rat pee and poop and rats getting into all the feed bags. It’s kind of like our payment to them for keeping the place rodent free.”

“When and if we ever see any venomous snakes, that is probably where we end up concentrating any of the other snakes that we find on the property, especially king snakes,” she added.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a “how-to” guide. No one is suggesting that the recommended course of action is to pick up and move random snakes. Kristan and her family have educated themselves on snakes and learned to readily identify the six varieties of venomous snakes that call Georgia home. This has been vital information for them to learn since they do come in regular contact with snakes and it is necessary for them to remove the snakes from the chicken coops to protect their livestock.

“I’ve found for the kids and me, It’s a lot easier to identify the (venomous) ones in order to know if it’s safe or not.”

“My boys were in the yard and they came across a Kingsnake eating a Copperhead,” Kristan recalled. “It was one of the craziest coolest things I’ve ever witnessed. And I thought to myself - people who are just killing all snakes would kill good ones that are helping get rid of the bad ones.”

“We definitely are snake advocates because of that,” she continued. “I also recently read that there’s an insane amount of ticks that snakes eat every year that are on the rodents. They’re helpful all the way around and most of them don’t want anything to do with you.”

“You still need to be smart,” she continued. “I can’t tell you how many snakes … every single rat snake we caught from out of our chicken pens, we caught with our hands and relocated them somewhere we wanted them. They’re very docile.”

“Every now and then you’ll get one that’s a little sassier,” she concluded after a pause.

In the 18 years that they have been on the farm, there has only been one negative encounter with a venomous snake when one of their dogs was bit. The dog survived with no adverse effects.

Let’s Get Real - Bites Do Happen

Ok, so let’s get real! Sometimes encounters with snakes happen, even though they are rare. And sometimes, though rare, those encounters end in a bite from a venomous snake.

I had such an experience the week that I started working on this article.

I was outside in my own yard with my dog, Blue. Though the dogs have a fenced section of my yard that I keep cut short, I had Blue out with me in the orchard section of my yard, where let’s just say, nature was given the final say.

So, of course, Blue chose to go in the high grass to take care of his business. At that point, I saw him react as if he’d been bitten by something and he was starting to put his nose to the ground to investigate what had bit him.

Not wanting him to get bit again, I immediately called him over to me and he came. My first instinct was to go over there myself and look and see if I could identify what had bitten him. But thankfully, I decided to prioritize getting him the care he needed as quickly as possible.

The initial bite location began swelling immediately, there was a little blood, but not much. He acted as if he was in some distress and drooled excessively on the drive to the vet (though admittedly it was hard to tell because he always drools excessively when he goes for rides).

It turned out that he had been bit by a Copperhead. I got him to his vet quickly and he received excellent care including an antivenom, pain meds and IV fluids which helped his body flush out the toxins more quickly. He stayed overnight for observation and came home the next morning with absolutely no long term effects.

So, yes, unpleasant things can happen with venomous snakes.

I did not enjoy the experience at all and neither did Blue (poor guy didn’t stand still to poop for nearly a week).

I also came home after leaving Blue at the vet that day and worked for the next two days to cut back the grass and clear some land to make more of my yard less appealing for that Copperhead and others that might be lurking nearby.

I did not however try to seek and destroy. I also did not and will not completely clean up and sanitize my yard. I actually do want snakes. I don’t even mind if some of them are venomous. What I do want to do is discourage them from wanting to hang out in the same spaces that my dogs and I hang out.

It’s also important to note that Blue is a very big dog. Copperheads are the least venomous snakes and the most treatable when it comes to encounters with dogs. Things could have been very different had Blue been a smaller breed, been bitten on his chest and not his foot, and/or been bitten by a rattlesnake that released a full load of venom.

There are lots of ways that we were fortunate in this encounter. So, if you, someone you are with, or a pet gets bit by a snake: DO seek medical or veterinary care quickly. Time does matter. DON’T attempt to catch or kill the snake for identification purposes. As Blue’s vet, DVM Jeremy Faris told me, they do not want or need to see the snake that bites your pet - don’t put yourself at risk and make a bad situation that much worse.

How to Identify a Venomous Snake (Hint: Don’t Bother!)

There are ways to identify a venomous snake from a non-venomous snake. With only six venomous snakes in Georgia and 40 non-venomous snakes, as Kristan mentioned, it’s simpler to learn to ID those six.

“The triangular shaped head is quite readily apparent,” Steve said of the venomous species.

“Also, the eye has an elliptical pupil rather than a round eye - imagine a cat eye versus a dog eye. But I would suggest never to use that distinguishing factor. Because if you’re looking that closely at a snake’s eye, you’re getting way too close and we call that natural selection,” Steve said with a laugh.

“But the triangular shape and also the size of the head relative to the body,” he continued. “The constrictors and the snakes like Coachwhips and Black Racers … any long, skinny snake, for the most part, is not going to be venomous. If it looks like your arm where it has a big head, kind of a little neck and then quickly becomes a stout-bodied snake - probably a good chance it’s venomous.”

“We have one exception to that which is the Coral snake, which is identified by its color pattern: ‘red touches yellow, kill a fellow; red touches black, poison lack’ … but we don’t want to remember rhymes - just leave it alone!” he concluded.

Conclusion - The Only Good Snake is a Living Snake

When it comes to snakes, there is no reason to fear or hate them across the board.

Snakes, even venomous ones, are not sitting around plotting your demise! In fact, they simply want to be left alone. Their color and pattern makes them blend in to their surroundings, not so they can spring out at unsuspecting humans, but so that you won’t know that they’re there at all.

If you do see a snake, stop, take two steps back and walk away! It really is as simple as that.

“Being reflective of my 29 years at the Wildlife Center, one of the things that is most gratifying … are the people who send me photos on the phone to identify snakes and tell me that because of the Wildlife Center, they are not killing them,” Steve said. “That’s a big takeaway!”

“And while I don’t ever reprimand anyone,” he continued, “when I’m asked to identify a snake with its head cut off, I realize that there’s still work to be done.”

Let’s continue the work in defense of snakes!

If you want to learn more and get up close up and personal at no risk to your health, visit the Center for Wildlife Education at Georgia Southern University!

For an informative brochure on Georgia’s snakes and some definitive information on identifying the venomous species, visit Georgia’s DNR site here.

For more things that are more likely to kill you than a snake, visit this site.

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