The best way to guard against snake bite is to know something about snakes, where they hide and what makes them run away. Do not be scared of them.
If you work in a snake infested environment the first thing is to wear heavy duty boots worn by loggers, heavy duty rubber gloves and clear glass so that you can see them. You can find them on the internet. The next thing is to operate trimmer and blower to make noise to scare them away. A snake is no match for a string trimmer. If the area is very dangerous clear the area first and see the ground before you stick your fingers. Use Kerosene or snake repellent(the expensive one). Kerosene kills snake instantly. If you are biten by a snake and you drink kerosene chances are that you will live because kerosene wipes out the vernom.
I used to be scared of snakes but if you know what scares them away or where they normally hide or how to get rid of them you can safely work in the area.
I see a lot of lawn maintenance guys here wearing short pants to mow. I sometimes wonder if they know the risk they are taking. I have seen snakes in almost all the yards in Georgia be it in a wooded area or the metropolitan area. I think Georgia has the most diverse types of snakes I have ever seen in the United States.
I hope people learn from your post because it can be dangerous.

 

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/search.asp?stext=snake

 

I think Cabellas used to sell snake proof boots in their catalogs. I personally haven't seen any chaps or shin guards but I sure someone does make them. Did you try a google search?

 

There are many places on the internet that sell snake leggings http://www.cspoutdoors.com/rasnle.html, this site is fairly cheap. They would be useful and could save your life but it is unlikely that you will encounter many snakes while cutting lawns. Snakes do not have ears but they can detect the slightest vibrations through the ground. By the time you get near them with your mower or weed whacker they will probably be long gone.

The best way to not get bit is to keep your eyes open and watch where you step. It would be wise to purchase a venom extractor kit which can purchased at any wal mart for like $8. This could make all the difference between life and death. Drinking kerosene WILL NOT do anything for you besides make things worse!!!!! The only anti-venom for a snakebite is just that...anti-venom which is administered at the hospital. I have studied snakes all my life and have a great deal of knowledge on the subject.

 

Thank ya'll for the info. That's exactly what I was looking for. Also, the vemon extractor kit is a great idea, thanks again.

 

Don't drink kerosene, and DON'T use a venom extractor. These are old school thinking. You risk doing more damage by using these methods then not.

The only thing you should do is stay calm (don't run and don't panic. It will increase your bloodlflow, hence increasing the rate the venom goes through your body) and get medical attention. It's also a good idea to get as good a description of the snake as possible (if someone can safely kill it and bring it to the hospital for you, that's all the better). Knowing what species of snake it is will help the doctors know how to treat you.

 

When people write about things they either write what they have seen or hear or read about. That is theory or practice. I come from a place where they are deadly snakes that can kill you in seconds after you are bitten. I do not mean rattle snakes that can make noise and you run away.
I have seen people bitten by snakes and die on the spot and I have seen people bitten and remedied by kerosene until they are rushed to the hospital. I have seen what happens to snakes when kerosene is poured on them.
If you are bitten by a poisonous snake before you apply an extractor you will be dead.
If you ever see a snake pour kerosene on it and see what happens. What happens to the snake is what happens to the venom.
Snakes are very sneaky things. I have seen snakes on lawns, beds, edge of curbs, near air conditioners, under bird baths, everywhere you can imagine in Georgia.
The protection against them is to know their habitat and where they can hide and what they like to eat. Because once you see water, piles of wood, rocks, strange holes in the ground, lizard, turtle and ants you will see a snake there.

 

I come from a place where they are deadly snakes that can kill you in seconds after you are bitten. I do not mean rattle snakes that can make noise and you run away.
I have seen people bitten by snakes and die on the spot

Oh brother, ok, I'll bite (no pun intended). Tell me about these mystical snakes that kill you instantly. What species?

 

The most venomous snake in the world lives in Australia and is the Fierce Snake, also known as the inland Taipan, and doesn't kill in seconds. The mortality rate of envenomation by this snake is 5-15% w/anti-venin. W/O anti-venin it nears 100% Instant death by a snake bite would next to impossible.

Anti-venin is specifically tailored to each specie of venomous snake and is your best bet for survival. At that, Antivenoms do not cure they are only an aid in the treatment of bites.

Sorry to say but kerosene will do nothing for a snakebite

 

Gogetter is right don't drink kerosene try some wild turkey 101 i say you will feel no pain.

 

Gogetter is right don't drink kerosene try some wild turkey 101 i say you will feel no pain.

I'm sure you're just kidding, but this is a good spot to add that you shouldn't drink alcohol after getting bit. Some think that it helps fight off the effects of the vemon, but it actually thins your blood making matters worse.

 

move to New England...all the snakes are frozen right now :

 

I cannot believe that someone is actually recommending you drink Kerosene to aid with a snake bite. That is absolutely crazy. Anyone that believes that advice is crazier. Okay you've been injected with one (potentially lethal) toxin, so lets introduce another lethal toxin. Two wrongs don't make a right. Wow is all I can say, WOW.

 

you could move to alaska! well, I would just perfer to stay away form snakes . anyone ever gotten bit?

 

Adamma Landscape Group--where are you from? INDIA?

because there is no domestic snake from which the bite kills you on the spot. period.

in INDIA, perhaps.

DO NOT drink kerosene. do not use an extractor kit. get to an emergency room pronto and call ahead so they will be prepared for you.

you are going to be sick but you will almost certainly survive a bite from any domestic poisonous snake if you do what I say.

that is unless you have a heart attack from the fright of being bit.

GEO :waving:

 

Geo perhaps they are pet snakes that got away and now are rampaging across the county . I once saw a discovery show that had a Thai family that had an 18-foot king cobra they even let the 2-year-old man handle it the snake didn’t seem to mind. It was the family business they sold blocks of wood to protect from snakebites and as proof they kept this deadly pet. Thing was like 6 inches wide. But I have no doubt that something that big could drop you in a very short time if it decided to bite you.

 

I once saw a discovery show that had a Thai family that had an 18-foot king cobra....

COBRAS terrify me even on TV! YIKES!

GEO

 

I have hit many water mockiasins and watched them go flying out in little pieces! Every time i see one i get real freakin scared.

 

another thing to be worried about is Bee Stings. I had en employee who got stung by a bee who was alergic. She knew about the alegery it but failed to mention it when I hired her....We were close to my house when i happened so I just had my wife take to to fire station and they took her to to hospital in the meat wagon.

We always had Epipren in the truck from then on just in case.

She later told me the last time she was stung they actually air lifted her to the hospital it got that bad.....


just some food for thought...

 

I once saw a discovery show that had a Thai family that had an 18-foot king cobra they even let the 2-year-old man handle it the snake didn?t seem to mind. It was the family business they sold blocks of wood to protect from snakebites and as proof they kept this deadly pet. Thing was like 6 inches wide. But I have no doubt that something that big could drop you in a very short time if it decided to bite you.

A lot of times those snakes are mutilated by having their mouths sewn shut, or fangs removed. As you can imagine, they don't live long. But they just get another one.

 

That snake was not they proved that with the venom collector they use. No it was a fully functional snake that was happy to live with them in their hut with something like 6 kids under age 12 who all held it and pet it all day long. But king cobras eat other snakes it could be the kids just were not on the menu.

 

We have rattle snakes i have seen these get 5 feet long very lethal never been bite the first thing that happens with any bite is you panic.

 

We have rattle snakes i have seen these get 5 feet long very lethal never been bite the first thing that happens with any bite is you panic.

God, I HATE snakes!!!! :gunsfirin :gunsfirin :gunsfirin
thats the one thing i like here in michigan, very few snakes to deal with.
bees yes. Too dang many of the burrowers, I HATE them too!!!
yes i have a lot of hate.
GOGETTER, I keep a injector in the house, one in the truck and my wife has one in the glove box of her suv.
oh ya, Ortho hornet jet spray on the machine at all times.

 

GOGETTER, I keep a injector in the house, one in the truck and my wife has one in the glove box of her suv.

Well, I'm sorry to tell you that you wasted your money, and will certainly be wasting valuable time trying to use it instead of just getting to the hospital.
As I said, if anything, they can actually cause more damage.

 

I think he meant epi-pen for the bee stings. Worth having! Benadryl can't hurt either.