Snakes, often spotted in the hot summer weather, are important members of the natural world, making a significant contribution to the control of pests such as mice, rats, and insects that can cause property damage or spread diseases.
Kingsnakes—so named because they feed on other snakes, including venomous ones—are particularly beneficial to people.
Venomous snakes produce venom for killing prey, defense, and to aid in digestion. Usually, they inject venom into a prey or enemy target with hollow or grooved fangs. Because of their hazard, venomous snakes are not welcome members of human habitat. Their best place is in the wild.
Despite their notorious reputation, snakes are peaceful creatures that do not seek out encounters with much larger humans. They remain motionless or flee to avoid detection. If threatened, a snake often issues a warning by hissing, flattening its head, opening its mouth, or vibrating its tail. A snake generally bites after an “enemy” ignores these warnings or if it is startled into reacting quickly (for example, if you step on it).
The risk of a venomous snake bite is very low. Snakes will mostly bite as unfortunate consequence of attempts to harass or kill them, even snakes that may not have been a threat (for example, snakes encountered in nature rather than in home settings). Follow these steps to reduce the risk of snake bite:
Clean up debris and remove hiding spots for snakes and their prey from around buildings and yards. See Mississippi State Extension Publication 2277, Reducing Snake Problems Around Homes, for more information.
Wear heavy shoes and pants in wooded areas and along waterways or water bodies.
Look before stepping where snakes are likely to be hiding -- along or under logs, rocks, culverts, or other natural or manmade structures.
Give any snake you encounter plenty of room to leave the area on its own.
Most venomous snakes in the United States belong to the pit viper group. A pit vipers are characterized by (1) pits or small depressions on the side of their faces (used in prey detection) (2) vertical “cat-like” pupils (3) triangular heads, slim necks and a heavy, flattened body; and (4) a single row of scales on the underside of the tail. Some of these characteristics can be difficult to detect from a safe distance, but the triangular head and slender neck are more recognizable.
In Mississippi, the pit viper group includes the copperhead, pigmy rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, timber or canebrake rattlesnake, and cottonmouth or water moccasin. The sixth type of venomous snake in the state, the eastern coral snake, is not a pit viper. They are characterized by rounded rather than triangular heads, indistinct necks, round pupils, smooth scales, and hose-shaped bodies.
Comments