Home Safety and snake encounters

You can watch the quick video OR read the captions below...............

Never handle snakes; even nonvenomous ones can bite. (Well, that should be a given)

The most common snake Texans may encounter is the Rat Snake, Non venomous but can certainly draw blood!

Snakes are actually Shy & Sensitive to vibrations.  If you see a snake outside, it will usually be gone in about 30

minutes so if you can, just wait it out until it’s gone. Do not attempt to catch or follow it around.

Call someone experienced!!! Find someone interested in reptiles to come save it, & you!!!  Local Animal Control should have equipment to capture.

Snakes are beneficial to our environment. We may live near creeks or wooded areas. Let’s try and share our open spaces and allow them time to slither away.

You CAN make your home less appealing to these slivering neighbors. Remove stacked debris, blocks/bricks and leaves - this helps keep them warm. Remove outdoor food - this helps lure THEIR dinner. Look around for entry points to your home & fill them.   And,,,,, Cedar mulch - they dislike the smell and it is deadly to them.

If someone is bitten by a snake, the American Red Cross says to call 9-1-1 immediately.

While waiting for emergency personnel the Red Cross recommends:

*Keep the person still and calm

*Keep injured area lower than the heart

*Wash the bite with soap and water and cover it in a clean, dry dressing

*Attempt to take a picture of the snake for emergency crew- and do not try to restrain it

The Red Cross cautions:

DO NOT apply ice or a tourniquet DO NOT attempt to cut or suction the wound.

MORE INFORMATION ON SNAKES AND HOW TO DISTINGUISH THEM

Texas is home to 115 species and subspecies of snakes —more than any other state— 15 of them are potentially harmful to people:

coral snakes, cottonmouths, three kinds of copperhead, and 10 varieties of rattlesnake.

For more information about snakes visit this website:

https://www.activewild.com/texas-snakes

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

CAMERA RAMIREZ, REALTOR, LPT REALTY

The information in this presentation is for informational purposes. Never try to touch or capture any snake.

SOURCE: Jerrod Tynes, Assistant Editor of Texas REALTORS®