News

Natural Resources manager dispels snake myths, offers tips to stay safe

  • Published
  • By Brian Shreve
  • Robins Public Affairs
Humans aren't the only creatures getting out more around Robins in the warmer months. Several species of snakes are enjoying the sun as well, coming out of their winter dormancy in search of food and potential mates.

And yes, though there are many misconceptions regarding them; however, there are some simple tips for staying safe while respecting the reptiles.

According to Bob Sargent, base natural resources manager, snakes prefer temperatures between 60 and 90 degrees, making snake sightings more common now than even in the warmer months.

"Like us, they don't really like those painfully hot summer days," he said. "So as the temperatures climb, the number of reports of snakes seen tends to go down because their activity patterns have changed."

Sargent said snakes that don't live around water or have a cool environment in which to retreat often become nocturnal.

Despite many people's natural fear of snakes - ophiophobia - of roughly 42 species of snakes native to the state, only six are actually venomous. Only three of those are routinely found in Middle Georgia - the copperhead, timber rattlesnake and cottonmouth, or water moccasin.

Over the years, only about 15 different species have been spotted at Robins.

Most snakes reported on base are non-venomous and most are water snakes found in the vegetation around Scout Lake. The most common are the banded and brown water snakes, rat snakes and several smaller species such as the garter, ring-neck and crown snake.

Sargent said he is used to people's impulsive reactions to snakes, most of them mistaken as venomous.

"I always hear that the only good snake is a dead snake," he said. "I try to explain to them that these animals have ecological value just like everything in nature. They control things we don't want in our homes like rodents, insects and poisonous centipedes. Some, such as the king snake, even eat many venomous snakes. They also serve as food for a lot of other species.

According to Sargent, the best thing to do is simply step away from a snake once encountered, especially when it's in its own environment as opposed to a backyard. He added that roughly 70 percent of snake bites are completely avoidable, a result of their being antagonized.

"Even the venomous ones are not generally aggressive until they have no choice but to defend themselves," he said. "Being cold-blooded, snakes don't have a lot of energy to waste producing metabolically expensive venom on something they know is not a potential food item."

In the U.S., between 6,000 and 8,000 people are bitten by snakes annually - most occurring in western states - with fewer than 10 fatalities on average.

Sargent said there are also misconceptions when it comes to identifying venomous snakes, and that even the age-old rhyme of "when red touches yellow, kill a fellow..." is non-factual.

"People get a nursery rhyme taught and end up killing a snake technically protected by state or even federal law as many species are," he said.

And with many "good" snakes mimicking their venomous counterparts as a defense mechanism, they're sometimes harder to differentiate than many realize.

"I get calls from people all the time convinced they've seen a cottonmouth, and it invariably turns out to be a banded water snake," said Sargent. "They flatten their bodies like the cottonmouth and have similar hourglass patterns on their bodies."

Vipers, he said, are usually known by three definitive characteristics: vertical eyes, a heat-seeking pit between the nostril and eye and a diamond-shaped head, albeit another trait often mimicked by water snakes.

As for the more common cottonmouth, Sargent said they can be distinguished by their raccoon-like masks and thicker bodies as they grow in girth rather than length, the longest ones being about four feet.

"We've got some spectacular snakes on the base," he said. "Learning to just recognize the three venomous ones from a distance is best. But remember that some absolutely do not want to bite you, but even non-venomous ones will bite if antagonized. I don't encourage people to walk up and pick up a snake even if they know the differences. And remember that they can't slither nearly as fast as we can jog away."

Those who encounter a snake at Robins they are unsure about or one that is a nuisance may call the Base Pest Management Shop at 468-2082 or Sargent at 497-3974 to catch and relocate the animal.