‘Super snakes’ are good to have around
With warmer weather bringing out snakes, the ECO center director says it’s useful to be able to identify them.
Floyd County is home to two “super snakes” and if they show up in your yard, you should leave them alone, according to Rome-Floyd ECO Center Director Ben Winkelman.
“The king snake and the milk snake are both nice to have around,” Winkelman said. “When we talk to kids about them, we call them super snakes because they are immune to venom and they can eat venomous snakes.”
Both snakes release a musk that warns venomous snakes to stay away from the area — because king and milk snakes will eat them even if the venomous snake is bigger.
While Georgia is home to six types of venomous snakes — copperhead, timber rattlesnake, diamond back rattlesnake, water moccasin or cottonmouth, pigmy rattlesnake and coral snake — Floyd County only sees two types, he said.
“We have the timber rattler and the copperhead,” said Winkelman.
“We hear reports of a cottonmouth or water moccasin occasionally,” he added. “Usually, when someone sees a snake in the water, they automatically think cottonmouth or water moccasin. But that kind of snake is in the southern part of the state, below Macon. The water snake you see here is the northern water snake.”
For those who are squeamish about snakes, Winkelman has advice on how to keep them away from the house and yard.
“They need to eat, so if you don’t want snakes, make sure you weed eat and cut your grass,” he said. “Don’t have anything in your yard that could draw mice or rats, because that is what snakes eat.”
Winkelman said he knows that most people will get the “heebie jeebies” when around a snake, but it is best to know how to identify them. The University of Georgia has a website that lists the snakes in Georgia with pictures and identifying characteristics, which can help.
“If you can just identify the king snake and leave
him alone, I’d be happy,” he said. “Now, if you startle them, they may shake their tail and try to frighten you and some snakes can flatten their heads out to try to appear dangerous.”
One clue that helps differentiate venomous snakes from non-venomous ones is the shape of the snake.
“Venomous snakes are usually heavier bodied,” he said. “They are thicker, short and fat.”
Winkelman advises to always be careful, but if someone does happen to cross paths with a snake and gets bitten, it is not always a cause for panic.
“Many people get scared, say, if they are walking in the woods and get bitten by a snake before they really get a good look at it,” he said. “Look at the bite. If you have two puncture wounds, it was a venomous snake. Nonvenomous snakes have rows of teeth, not fangs.”
If someone is bitten by a venomous snake, go to the hospital as quickly as possible, he said.
“Don’t try to suck out the poison, just get to the hospital,” he said. “Also, do not tie on a tourniquet. That keeps the poison from moving in your bloodstream and that can be dangerous, because if it moves around it is diluted. Also, rattler venom turns the blood to jelly and if you tie on a tourniquet, it can cause a blood clot.”
If bitten by a non-venomous snake — which Winkelman said he has experienced, himself — the best method is to clean the bite thoroughly.
“Wash with soap and water and some hydrogen peroxide and keep an eye on it,” he said. “Snakes do eat rodents, so you want to make sure the wound is clean.”
Winkelman had one more warning for someone bitten by a snake.
“Please don’t try to catch it and bring it to the hospital with you,” he said. “The ER does not need you to bring a snake in there.”