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Poisonous snakes in town

By Kevin Davis

KOSSE – They hide in the grass, in garbage, and they’re very poisonous. They’re Copperhead snakes, and with recent floods pushing them out into the open, they are dangerously multiplying in Kosse.

Residents of Kosse say they’ve seen a lot of snakes recently….and they’re getting brave — slithering down the main part of town.

But the county has no animal control official, meaning the residents of Kosse will have to take care of the mess. According to James Kays, a resident of Kosse, “the city has asked everybody to clean up their property… even help people clean property adjacent to their own to try to keep the snakes out.”The city has started issuing citations to people who aren’t clearing their land of potential snake havens.

But for James Kays, he has one message for the snakes — bring it on.

“A snake’s a snake to me. If he’s green, yellow, brown, whatever color, I’ll kill him if i can.”

The first round of citations for not removing snake havens are going out next week.

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Rattlesnake Season Is Upon Us

Reported by: Jerry Olenyn  Email: jolenyn@khsltv.com  Last Update: 5/01 10:40 am

Summer is close at hand, that means kids and pets playing in the park.  But with that summer fun comes the threat of encountering a rattlesnake in North State parks.   Only one or two Californians die of rattlesnake bites each year.  But you need to know how to react if it  happens to you. Neal Kline of Enloe Fight Care said “the chances of being immobile is pretty good, snakes’ toxins digest your skin.”  Upper Bidwell Park in Chico is a haven for rattlesnakes in Butte County.  Most of the reports of rattlesnake bites are from pet owners who don’t keep their dogs on a leash.  Here are some do’s and don’ts if you’re bitten. DO: Keep the bitten area still, remove jewelry near the bitten area because it cuts off blood flow, keep the bitten area lower than the heart, head to the hospital. DON’T: Don’t try to cool down the bite, do not open the wound and suck out the venom, don’t use a tourniquet because you could lose a limb.

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Don’t be so quick to kill that snake — chances are, it won’t hurt you

BY HOPE A. SMITH | EDITORIAL COLUMNIST
Published: May 1, 2009

What is the first thought in your mind when you happen upon a snake in your yard?

Do you look for the nearest garden implement so you can kill it?

You shouldn’t.

For years, snakes have been one of the most misunderstood animals. Believe it or not, most snakes indigenous to Virginia are harmless. Unless you absolutely adore the mice that defecate around your home (and can produce 50 offspring per year), leave the snake alone — he’ll take care of your mouse problem.

There are many misconceptions about snakes in general. First and foremost, it’s likely that snakes in the wild are more scared of you than you are of them. Secondly, snakes only strike, or bite, out of fear of if they think you’re food.

Incidentally, snakes are perceptive enough to know if you’re a mouse (or some other form of smaller wildlife) and small enough for them to eat. Finally, snakes do not “chase” people — most likely, when you see this perceived “chasing,” they’re probably trying to get the heck out of Dodge.

Sometimes it can be difficult to identify whether a snake is venomous. And, yes, they are “venomous” not “poisonous.” Generally speaking, venom is injected, whereas poison is ingested.

According to “A Guide to the Snakes of Virginia,” published by The Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, each year bee stings, lightning strikes and horses kill more people in Virginia than venomous snakes do.

Only five deaths in Virginia have been attributed to venomous snakebites since 1948, and three of those involved people intentionally handling snakes. Of the three venomous varieties in Virginia, copperheads have the least potency. Bites from cottonmouths and timber rattlesnakes are potentially deadly if left untreated.

One of the most common snakes we see sunbathing on roads and cruising through our yards is the ratsnake, aka blacksnake. Contrary to urban legend, blacksnakes cannot mate with copperheads; it is biologically impossible. Blacksnakes lay eggs, whereas copperheads give live birth.

As adults, ratsnakes can grow up to 80 inches long. We used to have a “pet” snake that lived in our barn when I was growing up. We let him live in there, because he kept the mice and rat population at bay. We even named him Harvey — although we wouldn’t go near him.

Many snakes are misidentified, mostly because of the different areas from which they are indigenous. For example, the venomous cottonmouth is confused with the non-venomous northern watersnake a lot of times. And although the copperhead is found throughout Virginia, other snakes are usually misidentified as being copperheads, such as cornsnakes, milksnakes, juvenile ratsnakes or mole kingsnakes.

Do you think you’ve seen a cottonmouth? Think again. They mostly live in swamps and freshwater marshes of the lower Coastal Plain region.

There is a wonderful zoo right down the road in Luray. Our good friends, Mark Kilby and Jenn Westhoff, run the zoo, and they perform hands-on, interactive educational presentations. They present the animals, then dispel myths and give you the facts about many fascinating creatures, including snakes.

When I met my husband 16 years ago, he told me he had a few snakes as pets. Folks, I was raised with a “healthy fear” of snakes. I couldn’t be in the same room as one, even if it were caged. I have to give my hubby serious props, because he educated me about snakes and dispelled some of the myths I’d heard.

Sixteen years later, we have a nice snake collection, and two are even mine (Piper and Mag). Our daughter has grown up with them, with a healthy respect instead of fear.

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Apparently there may have been a previously undiscovered toxin in this bite. Crazy.

New toxin discovered in Southern Pacific rattlesnake’s venom

By Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer

Posted: 04/29/2009 10:40:51 PM PDT

Mike Zerwekh was surprised how quickly he started to feel the rattlesnake’s bite.

The dryness in the mouth, the tingly sensation throughout his body. And then he began to have muscle spasms, a reaction that surprised him.

Fortunately, he was only about 100 yards away from his vehicle when the snake struck him as he walked alone in tall grass in the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County’s Cleveland National Forest on the unseasonably sweltering day in mid-April.

Always careful in his footsteps, Zerwekh, a field biologist, hadn’t seen the snake coming. There was also no rattle before the twin fangs tore into his left calf.

Only after the attack did he catch a glimpse of the retreating black snake, about 3 feet long.

Inside the car and driving toward help, Zerwekh, 26, struggled to steer the vehicle as the muscle contractions became increasingly violent. It was the battle of his life to stay on the road.

He didn’t know it at the time, but those spasms are unique to the type of rattlesnake that bit him – the Southern Pacific.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before he came upon law enforcement and ambulance personnel who were on the road ahead, responding to a traffic accident.

Dr. Sean Bush, a professor of emergency room medicine and emergency room physician at Loma Linda University Medical Center and venomous snake expert, said that when Zerwekh was brought into the ER, his “bizarre muscle movement” was a reaction he’d seen before, but only from some Southern Pacific rattlesnake bites.

And antivenom treatments will do nothing to stop it.

“He was twitching like worms were under his skin,” said Bush.

Zerwekh recalls medical students throughout the hospital streaming into his room to observe the painful, involuntary motions that racked his body.

The twitching subsided significantly the following day, and was gone the day after that, Zerwekh said.

Mature snakes in this rattlesnake species, indigenous to a vast section of Southern California, are often coal black. Sometimes a diamondback pattern is faintly visible; sometimes not. The snake’s dark coloration allows them to survive better at higher elevations than other rattlesnakes, Bush said.

Southern Pacific rattlesnakes are likely the most common variety of rattlesnake in area mountains and have been found at elevations as high as 11,000 feet. They are also seen along rolling coastal hills, Bush said.

These snakes are potentially the most dangerous of the rattlesnakes found in Southern California, Bush said. Even more dangerous than the Mojave green, which has a neurotoxin that can halt breathing or the much larger Western Diamondback, found in the desert near the Arizona border.

The twitching reaction Zerwekh experienced can likely be traced to a new toxin discovered in the Southern Pacific’s venom earlier this year named hellerase.

Further analysis may prove hellerase to be a previously unknown neurotoxin, he said.

The reason Bush calls the Southern Pacific the most dangerous area snake is because it is potentially a triple threat with three types of venom.

It has the traditional rattlesnake venom that attacks red blood cells and tissues. It can have the newly discovered hellerase toxin. And some groups of Southern Pacific rattlers have also been found to have the lethal neurotoxin found in the Mojave green rattlesnakes.

Southern Pacific rattlesnakes in the San Jacinto Mountains have the Mojave Green’s neurotoxin, in addition to the blood attacking chemical, which Mojave Green rattlers don’t have, Bush said.

Southern Pacific rattlesnakes in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains don’t seem to have this neurotoxin, Bush said.

Bush stressed that the behavior of the Southern Pacific rattlesnake does not make it more dangerous than others.

“It is not particularly a biter. It does not go after people,” he said.

Having recovered from the likely hellerase-induced spasms and able to slowly walk in the hospital, Zerwekh, a Moreno Valley resident, was not out of danger early last week.

Doctors wanted him to remain in LLUMC so they could watch and regulate his platelet count so that he did not suffer massive bleeding, Zerwekh said.

He was discharged Friday.

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Snake season tips

Wear boots that cover the ankle;

Step back from the sound after hearing a rattle;

Stay on trails;

Be alert for a snake hiding at edge of a trail;

Don’t go where you can’t see where your feet are landing;

Don’t reach over a rock where you can’t see.

Source: Bruce Lamarche – Sierra Madre search and rescue team

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Rare, but not unexpected.

Rattlesnake roundup in Chicago area

The last known rattlesnakes still living in the Chicago area are being rounded up in an emergency species survival rescue effort.

A massasauga rattlesnake, caught last week, is checked by staff of Lincoln Park Zoo on Tuesday. (Tribune / Kuni Takahashi)
   

Jointly conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Lincoln Park Zoo, the roundup is sending snakes to the zoo and an eventual captive breeding program likely to take a decade or more. The idea is to breed the reptiles, eastern massasauga rattlesnakes, back to a large and healthy enough population so they can be restored to area wilderness locations, including forest and nature preserves.

The native species is so shy and retiring that it has managed to remain here from the city’s frontier beginnings through today.

“They aren’t a very rattling rattlesnake,” said Joanne Earnhardt, a population biologist at Lincoln Park Zoo who chairs the North American species survival plan for the snake. She said there are few recorded instances of them biting humans. 

“They only grow up to 2 feet long and are very shy, something you don’t expect in a rattlesnake,” Earnhardt said. “They have a behavior of being very quiet and still, even if you are within inches of them, hoping you will go away.”

In Cook, DuPage, Will and Lake Counties over the next month and in springtime over the next several years, biologists will systematically search for the rattlesnake at sites where it was known to live in the past.

The massasauga (pronounced massa-SAW-guh) was relatively common in the four counties until a few decades ago, but annual searches for them that began in 2005 found them in only one isolated wetland area. Fearing pet collectors or vandals might descend on that location and remove or destroy the snakes, officials decline to identify where it is.

“We have been studying them for years and have watched their dramatic decline,” said Joe Kath, the state Natural Resources Department’s endangered species project manager. “We came to the difficult realization that we had two choices: We either watch them completely disappear from northeastern Illinois, or we take this action and bring them back to a healthy, viable population.”

On Friday, biologists conducting the rescue search found an adult female massasauga at the single isolated area, and on Monday, they found an adult male there.

“It is a beautiful snake,” Earnhardt said. “It is beige, black and gray with large dark splotches on its skin that are different on each snake.”

In long summer grass in the wetlands, ponds, swamps, fens and grasslands where they normally live, their camouflage is so perfect they are extremely difficult to spot, she said. Springtime, while wild grasses are still short, is the easiest time to spot them when they are leaving the  crawfish burrows where they have spent the winter.

“If you are bitten by one, it is serious, but their venom is not extremely potent and life-threatening, as it can be from more dangerous venomous snakes,” Earnhardt said, “In fact, massasaugas can control when they do and don’t use venom as they bite, and they might not use it biting a human because they would recognize humans are not prey, just something they want to scare away.”

In nature, they are crucial to their habitats, working as ambush hunters popping out of long grass to kill and eat mice, voles, shrews and rats, keeping down their populations.

Robert Kennicott, the most important early naturalist in Chicago, collected and preserved many massasauga specimens in the 1850s that can be found in natural history collections, said Michael Redmer, a staff biologist at the  Fish and Wildlife Service’s regional office.

“Up to the early 1990s, the [massasauga] snake was fairly easy to observe if you knew the places to look for them,”  Redmer said.

The snake is on the Illinois endangered species list and is a strong candidate to go on the federal endangered or threatened species list, he said. 

There are three distinct genetic groups of the species, one that resides in Ontario, New York and Pennsylvania; another in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio; and a third in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

The causes of their dwindling numbers are human-related — destruction of their habitat as it is converted to farmland or urban uses, deterioration of their ecosystems and hunting.

“Up until the late 1960s, you would see newspaper ads announcing organized ‘Rattlesnake Roundups’ in which people  would bring them in from forest preserves for bounties,” Redmer said. “That was the prevailing attitude then — they are venomous and no good, so get them out. It is a sad thing. The snake can’t help that it is venomous.”

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Four common myths about rattlesnakes

Myth: They always rattle before striking. Reality: Rattling behavior is unpredictable. Cal Poly assistant biology professor Emily Taylor has handled dozens of rattlesnakes, and their behavior when confronted by a human varies from lots of rattling to passiveness. The best way to avoid getting bitten is to watch where you step when in rattlesnake territory and never reach anywhere before checking to see if a snake is there.

Myth: You can tell a rattler’s age by the number of rattles it has. Reality: Rattlesnakes form a new rattle every time they shed. A snake can shed several times a year and older rattles can break off. The number of rattles a snake has only indicates if it is young or old.

Myth: A baby rattler’s bite is more dangerous than an adult’s. Reality: This is based on the fact that, drop for drop, a baby rattlesnake’s venom can be more toxic. However, an adult rattler has much more venom than a baby. So a bite from an adult rattler is almost always worse than one from a baby.

Myth: Rattlesnakes are aggressive. Reality: A rattler uses its venom to incapacitate and digest its food. The last thing it wants to do is waste its venom on a person, something that’s way too big for it to eat. Just about the only ways to get bitten by a rattler is to step on one or pick one up. “Most rattlesnake bites are on the hands and arms of young men with alcohol involved,” Taylor said.

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I don’t really understand why they do this Rattler roundup. Can someone educate me? It just seems cruel and unnecessary to me.

Okeene rattlesnake hunter shares memories of his first hunt

By Violet Hassler, Staff Writer
OKEENE — The first time Aaron Williams went hunting rattlesnakes he was beating the bushes and scared to death.

“My wife’s friend asked me if I wanted to go snake hunting, and I said, ‘Sure.’ I enjoy the outdoors, so I went with him,” Williams said. “It was an older gentlemen in his 50s … and I walked as close as I could get behind him. I was terrified.”

Today, 10 or so years later, Williams walks into the Den of Death and faces thousands of snakes and thousands of questions from those attending Okeene Rattlesnake Round-up, which begins Friday and extends through Sunday this year.

While out hunting snakes in preparation for the event, Williams shared memories of his first hunt.

“… I remember walking through the grass. He told me if anything bothered me just to tap the grass (with a long-handled snake catcher), and they would make noise, they would rattle. And I remember walking through there and my arm was so sore at the end of the day from tapping the grass.”

One does not constantly need to beat the grass, Williams has since learned, as now he confidently strolls through the Salt Creek Canyon area southwest of Okeene, occasionally tapping the ground lightly to stir up any snakes hiding in the grass.

He did catch more that first day, however, than a sore muscle.

“… I finally caught one that was probably 38, 40 inches, and I thought it was the biggest rattlesnake in the world. I just enjoyed it, and I’ve done it ever since.”

In the past few weeks, Williams has caught more than 100 snakes that will join other hunters’ contributions in the Den of Death.

The den features thousands of snakes behind plywood and bulletproof glass, which allows the kids to get a safe, close-up look.

In fact, the Den of Death, despite its name, presents no danger … well, to those watching, anyway.

“As long as you are on the outside of the pit,” Williams said, with a grin.

Those climbing in the pit to share information with attendees are volunteers — as are all affiliated with the Okeene roundup — and some of them have gotten snake-bit.

That’s how Williams became affiliated with the hunt.

One of the volunteers was bitten and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment, and because Williams was known to hunt snakes he was asked to take over in the Den of Death pit. Four hours later his relief came back, and he was hooked.

To date, Williams continues a streak of being bite-free.

“Everybody tells me it’s … every time you do that you’re taking a chance, and every time you do it your chances increase of getting bit, so … I don’t want to get bit, and I hope that I never get bit.”

Diamondback rattlers are not the most aggressive of snakes, however, Williams said, as he crouched down less than 2 feet from one that happened across the roadway in front of him. The snake coiled and rose into “perfect strike position” in an effort to warn Williams off, but it never lunged.

While driving, Williams was able to tell the snake was a rattler because it held its rattles high in the air as it crawled. 

“We’re going to catch him,” Willi-ams said, as he stopped his truck and climbed out, chuckling like a kid at Christmas.

It’s the adrenaline that draws a couple of thousand each year to the Okeene area to hunt rattlesnakes during the event. Nearby Boeckman Ranch, home to some of the most beautiful scenery many never see in northwest Oklahoma and to the deadly snakes, opens its land for the hunt.

Williams soon learned after he started hunting and becoming involved in the roundup a prize-winning snake must be more than 70 inches in length, or twice the size of “the biggest rattlesnake in the world” he thought he captured on his first run.

But live snakes are not the only thing rattling in Okeene this weekend.

Vendors will begin setting up on Main Street Friday night and will remain through late Sunday afternoon. Those attending will find everything from T-shirts to snake meat. A carnival will be ongoing throughout the weekend, and the Old Smokey snake headquarters will be open to share the history of the roundup and the northwest Oklahoma area.

Knights of Columbus starts the action early, serving pancake breakfasts both Saturday and Sunday — the biggest days of the event. There will be a parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, and townwide garage sales will be ongoing throughout the weekend.

There will be a horseshoe tournament, train rides from Enid and to Southard, Lil’ Rattler Poker Run, the annual Amy Eskue memorial run, an ATV rodeo Saturday night and a dance following.

Things start to wind down about 5 p.m. Sunday just after the longest snake competition awards ceremony.

“After the snake measurement, everything starts to shut down,” Williams said, then he grinned, “and we go back to our regular jobs.”

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Rattlers emerging from their winter hibernation

By LIZETH CAZARES

Created: 04/29/2009 02:32:37 AM PDT

 

Rattle snakes are becoming common sights this time of year in the Capay Valley. (Coutesy)

It’s rattlesnake season, and veterinarians at the Woodland Veterinary Hospital are already dealing with the consequences. 

Dr. Keith Robe said in the past couple of weeks, the hospital has taken care of two dogs from Capay Valley who came in with rattlesnake bites. They have also had reports that a yearling young horse in Winters was bitten in the nose.

 

“Unfortunately, when snakes come to inhabited areas any curious animals are at risk of getting bitten,” said Dr. Ellie Johnson, another veterinarian at the hospital.

 

It’s common to have these types of calls around this time of year, said Robe, and the hospital is obtaining antivenin for the months to come.

 

“We’re stocking up on that in preparation,” Robe said.

 

Last year, the California Poison Control System received 239 calls from people bitten by rattlesnakes throughout California, said executive director Stewart Heard. The CPCS also tends to see a spike of calls in the beginning of the season.

 

“It is an issue, so it’s a good time to remind people,” he said. “They’re in a lot of places, particularly the foothills.”

 

Yolo County Animal Services also gets its fair share of calls concerning rattlesnakes, said Chief Animal Service Officer Vicky Fletcher.

 

So far the department hasn’t received any, but since rattlesnake season starts in April and continues until the cold months officers won’t be surprised if they do.

 

“This is the time of year when rattle snakes start coming out of hibernation,” Fletcher said.

 

She said the warm weather causes female and baby rattlesnakes to come out of the ground. While they tend to stay near rocky areas and bodies of water, sometimes they find their way into trucks and get carried around the area.

 

“We’ve seen them in the city and found them in the darndest places,” she said.

 

Elizabeth Campbell, executive director for the Capay Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce, said she hasn’t seen any rattlesnakes on her property yet, but already sees the signs of rattlesnake season.

 

On Tuesday, she said she saw two dead snakes on the side of the County Road 16.

 

“Some people think it’s an infestation,” she said. “But it’s just normal for this time of the year.”

 

There are several things residents can do to protect themselves throughout rattlesnake season.

 

Fletcher advises that if someone sees a rattlesnake to back off.

 

“Leave it alone and bring in your pets,” she said. “Usually, it will go along on its merry way.”

 

People can then call Animal Services or any of the local removal companies found in the yellow pages.

 

Fletcher also reminds the public that if they see one baby rattlesnake they need to be careful since they’re usually found in groups. Baby rattlesnakes tend to be especially dangerous since they so can’t control the amount of venom they release.

 

Dr. Robe advises people who have pets to take extra precautions as well.

 

“First of all, make sure that pets in areas where snake are prevalent are kept on leashes and not let them run off on their own,” he said.

 

There is also a vaccine dogs can receive which will help protect them from dying of rattlesnake bites, but even then he recommends that they are brought in for emergency care.

 

Fletcher just reminds people to be careful during this time of the year, especially if they live in areas where rattlesnakes might be found.

 

“If you live in that kind of terrain you just have to be careful and watch out for them,” she said.

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(Alexandria, VA) - Springtime brings new poison exposure dangers, warns the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).  Poisonous plants, snakes, pesticides and fuel products are just a few hazards of which consumers should be aware…

Warm weather inevitably brings out insect hordes.  Wear a Medic-Alert bracelet if you suffer from a life-threatening allergic reaction to insect bites or stings.

In the spring, snakes emerge from their winter hibernation hungry for food and water.  The best way to prevent snake bite is to avoid them – most people are bitten when trying to capture or otherwise disturb the creatures. 

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Use common sense in rattlesnake country

By Terry Knight — Record-Bee outdoors columnist

Updated: 04/28/2009 11:23:29 PM PDT

Along with its many deer, bears, birds and other wildlife, Lake County has an abundance of rattlesnakes and the spring months are when they begin to appear. Rattlesnakes can be found beneath old lumber piles, in barns and sheds, and even in backyards.

According to the Depart-ment of Fish and Game (DFG), rattlesnakes are the only native poisonous snake in Northern California. The most common rattlesnake in Lake County is the Pacific rattlesnake.

Whereas few things can raise the hair on your neck such as the sound of a rattler buzzing, the chances of getting bitten by a rattler are about the same as winning the lottery.

If you spend anytime hiking in the woods, sooner or later you’re going to come face to face with one of these critters. This is especially true for fishermen and hikers. Of all the years I have spent hiking and hunting in the woods of Lake County, I have encountered dozens of rattlesnakes but never have I been threatened by one. A few have buzzed at me but most have just crawled away.

They are secretive animals and would rather hide than fight. Actually, just about every outdoor person at one time or another has passed within a few feet of a rattler and not known it. Most of the time they just silently slither away unseen when approached by humans.

The rattlesnake is preyed upon by many predators in the wild despite its venomous bite. A coyote or a bobcat will never pass up the chance to make a meal of a rattlesnake. Hawks and crows can easily kill a rattler.While rattlesnakes do carry enough venom to kill an adult, deaths are rare. In fact, of the approximately 800 recorded rattlesnake bites in California every year, only one or two victims die. About 25 percent of the bites are “dry,” meaning no venom is injected. However, because of the bacteria in the snake’s mouth any bite requires medical attention.

The type of venom in a rattlesnake breaks down the tissue around the bite. When a rattlesnake bites its prey this action of breaking down the tissue hastens the digestive process and allows the snake to swallow its prey. If a human is bitten there is often a loss of tissue around the bite.

A rattlesnake’s fangs also contain bacteria and the venom suppresses the victim’s immune system, making it harder to fight this infection. While this rarely causes death it can result in the loss of a limb.

While the odds of getting bitten by a rattlesnake are low, there are certain precautions one must take when in rattlesnake country. More than 50 percent of all rattlesnake bites occur on the hands or arms. Normally a person will place his hand on a rock while climbing or picking up something. A nearby rattler will strike out in surprise.

Children are five times more likely to be bitten than adults. Most of the children are bitten because they often go barefoot or will actually pick up a rattlesnake out of curiosity.

Rattlesnakes are often found near old buildings or lumber piles. They also like rock piles. Like all wildlife, they are drawn to an area because of food, usually mice. By avoiding these areas you can reduce your chances of coming in contact with a rattlesnake.

What do you do if bitten by a rattlesnake? According to the DFG, the first thing to do if bitten is to stay calm. Generally the most serious effect of a rattlesnake bite to an adult is local tissue damage that needs to be treated. Children, because they are smaller, are in more danger if they are bitten. Get to a doctor as soon as possible, but stay calm. Frenetic, high-speed driving places the victim at greater risk of an accident and increased heart rate. If the doctor is more than 30 minutes away, keep the bite below the heart and try to get to the doctor as quickly as possible.

Wash the bite area gently with soap and water. Remove watches, rings and other jewelry that may constrict swelling. Immobilize the affected area. Transport safely to the nearest medical facility. All of the local hospitals are equipped to handle rattlesnake bites.

According to DFG regulations, the daily limit for taking rattlesnakes is two. No license is required and they can be taken by any method.

Most biologists say not to indiscriminately kill a rattlesnake. They eat gophers, moles and other pests and are a big part of our ecosystem. If they don’t bother you, don’t bother them. After all, they were here millions of years before us and will probably be here long after we’re gone.