It’s snake season, and they’re not all bad

Snakes are making local television news headlines, with copperheads on center stage.

One Charlotte TV station reported a woman was hospitalized at Novant Health Matthews, N.C., Medical Center for several days for treatment of a copperhead bite she got in her backyard.

Another station reported that a Mount Holly, N.C., woman was driving along I-485 when a small copperhead slithered up her car window – inside her car.

Despite recent reports, Mecklenburg County N.C. Park and Recreation’s Environmental Education Manager, Stephen Hutchinson, said venomous reptiles aren’t overrunning the area.

“I oversee the three nature centers and the environmental education for the department. The number of reported snake sightings by parkgoers and staff have been the same this summer as they have for the past seven years,” he said.

Statistics from the Carolinas Poison Center shows 107 reported snake bites in Mecklenburg County last year, and 73 so far in 2015.

Davidson College biology Professor Michael Dorcas said snakes are naturally more active this time of year, and there are more baby snakes wiggling about.

“Late summer and early fall is the primary mating season for some snakes. It’s also the time of year when a lot of baby snakes have recently been born or hatched,” Dorcas said.

“But by the time spring rolls around, many of the baby snakes will have become lunch for someone else,” he said.

Encounters with venomous snakes aren’t as common as many people think.

Dorcas said of the 37 species of snakes in North Carolina and South Carolina, only six of them are venomous. Of those six, only two – the copperhead and the timber rattler – live in Mecklenburg County. And the timber rattler is only present in a very small area around Huntersville, N.C., making its contact with humans even more unlikely.

He said there are several harmless snakes that resemble copperheads and, many times, people assume a snake is venomous by default.

Dorcas said all snakes, when given a choice, would quickly and quietly slither away instead of confronting a human, though sometimes they have no choice.

“Snakes are not lying in wait to bite – they are just doing what they naturally do. Most people ... who get bit don’t see the snake and either step on it or put their hand on it while working in the garden or yard,” Dorcas said.

Others, he says, get bit while trying to catch snakes or kill them, something he urges folks not to do.

“Snakes are a part of our natural heritage just like birds and other wildlife,” Dorcas said. “Trying to get people to appreciate them and not automatically try to kill them is an important thing.”

Doctor Chris Reynolds, Emergency Department Medical Director at Novant Health Matthews Medical Center, said his hospital treated 22 patients for snake bites in 2014 and 20 patients so far this year with most snake bite visits occurring May-September.

“It’s a good idea to seek medical attention for any snake bite. It is sometimes hard to tell if you have been bitten by a venomous snake. Some copperhead bites are dry bites with no envenomation (venom injected),” Reynolds said.

He said doctors will monitor the bite to see if pain and swelling in the bitten area starts spreading to other areas. Sometimes a blood test is performed to identify increased bleeding risk, as snake venom can interfere with blood clotting.

If needed, the patient will receive CroFab, an anti-venom medication. On some occasions, several doses are required and a patient might need to be hospitalized for several days.

Reynolds said many snake bites, however, are harmless.

If a snake bites you, he encourages you to leave the snake alone and get to a doctor. Don’t put yourself at risk by trying to capture and bring a live snake to the emergency department (as some folks have done) and don’t try to kill it and bring in the carcass. The doctors will be able to determine the type of treatment needed without seeing the snake.

Though Hutchinson says commercial snake repellents are not effective, there are some simple steps you can take to make your yard less hospitable for the reptiles.

He said snakes look for a food source, a water source and shelter when deciding where to take up residence. Snakes love rodents, so he cautions folks to keep their trash cans covered, not leave unattended pet food outside and remove fallen logs, boards, and heavy mulch.

“If you provide food or cover for rodents, the snakes will come looking for them,” Hutchinson said.

And, he said, though seeing a snake might make some folks uncomfortable, all snakes – even venomous ones – are here for a reason.

“Snakes are an important part of our ecosystem and an important part of our food web. They eat insects, birds, rodents and other small animals and then larger predators eat them,” Hutchinson said.

“I’m not advocating that people start hugging snakes. You shouldn’t hug any wildlife, but I am urging a ‘live and let live’ attitude towards them. They will not stay where they sense a lot of human activity. They will find it threatening and move on.”

Melinda Johnston is a freelance writer: m.johnston@carolina.rr.com.