Released May 25, 2007
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. -- With prolonged drought setting in, some news reports throughout Alabama and the Southeast already are raising the specter of increased human encounters with foraging snakes.
As drought conditions worsen, snakes will forage for water and, to an increasing degree, food — or so the reasoning goes.
Actually, that’s an accurate assessment, according to one wildlife expert. In fact, Jim Armstrong, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System wildlife specialist and Auburn University professor of forestry and wildlife sciences, says he’s already getting calls from homeowners and others who wonder if their close encounters with these reptiles stem from the drought.
He thinks their hunch is probably true.
“Snakes have the ability to go a long time without food and water, so the fact that we’re getting more reports of snake encounters is probably a good indication that we have been in a long-term drought,” he says.
One of the most recent snake-related calls Armstrong received involved the sighting in a swimming pool of a mud snake — a species Armstrong describes as “very harmless and docile.”
In rare sightings of these nonvenomous black and red reptiles, the snakes are typically covered in mud — so much so that it’s often hard to discern their color. The fact that a mud snake, which is rarely seen, turned up in a swimming pool is reasonably good evidence the snake was in search of water.
“It’s hard to say exactly what brings a snake into a pool, but the fact that it was a mud snake is a pretty good indication that it was searching for water,” Armstrong says.
Typically, mud snakes are content to do what their name implies: foraging for freshwater eels while covered with — you guessed it — mud.
As drought conditions worsen, Armstrong says it’s likely that other types of snakes, especially aquatic snakes, will begin moving beyond their natural domains in search of water — sometimes to the dismay, if not utter fright, of many homeowners.
“I would expect to see more of this type response from the aquatic snakes,” Armstrong says. “Gray rat snakes and king snakes are going to find a puddle of water somewhere and get a drink.
“On the other hand, a snake that uses water as a primary source likely would be more affected by these dry conditions.”
While snake encounters are more likely this summer because of drought, Armstrong stresses that the vast majority of snake species in Alabama are nonvenomous. Of the 45 snake species in the state, only six are venomous.
Even so, Armstrong says there is every reason to exercise caution when encountering a snake, regardless of its species. Indeed, while there are far more nonvenomous than venomous water snakes, most of these do act aggressively when confronted by humans.
“They’re not going to chase you, but if you take hold of them, they will bite.” In most cases, Armstrong recommends walking away from snakes, especially in cases when they are obviously nonvenomous and appear to be moving. In many cases, he says, they merely are in transit to the nearest water or food sources.
Knowing what to do in such cases really is a matter of common sense, he says.
“If it’s in the pool, it’s going to need to be removed in most cases,” Armstrong says, adding that most, providing they’re nonvenomous, can be retrieved with a common pool dip net. In some cases, professionals will need to be enlisted to remove venomous snakes.
One of the first rules of thumb should be ascertaining whether a snake is venomous or nonvenomous.
With the exception of coral snakes, other venomous snakes — rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads — are pit vipers. The telltale signs of these species include wide triangular heads and vertical pupils. Pit vipers also tend to have very heavy bodies. Most also are lousy tree climbers.
“As a general rule, if you see a snake in a tree, it’s going to be a rat snake, but exercise caution anyway,” Armstrong says, adding that “this is no 100 percent guarantee.”
“Snakes that appear to be making a habitat in or near the home, such as under the front steps, definitely should be removed,” Armstrong says.
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http://www.aces.edu/department/extcomm/npa/daily/archives/003045.php
Contact: Jim Langcuster, (334) 703-0145, langcjc@auburn.edu
