Snake Season Is Here, but Don’t Get Rattled

Rattlesnake season hit full slither in Ventura County this week, prompting officials to issue stern warnings about hiking, spring cleaning and, yes, attempting to play with the venomous creatures.

The snakes’ hibernation period officially ended Sunday, ushering in the season when rattlers frequently are spotted on brushy hillsides and occasionally in suburban yards and garages. Hospital officials already have treated two bite victims this year.

A Thousand Oaks man was bitten last week after grabbing a rattler on a neighbor’s driveway and trying to fling it. In January, a 9-year-old Westlake Village boy was bitten while retrieving a ball in brush.

Both were treated with antivenin at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

“People need to be very careful when the weather warms up,” said Sandi Wells, chief information officer for the Ventura County Fire Department. “You should never attempt to pick up or handle them.”

Wells’ agency handles about 200 snake sightings annually, and at her home in the Sunset Hills area of Thousand Oaks, her two dogs and two cats have been bitten during the last three years.

The pets survived but the incidents motivated Wells to take her dogs, a keeshond and a whippet, to snake avoidance school. Such clinics are held periodically by instructors who train dogs to avoid snakes by using shock collars and rattlesnakes whose mouths are taped shut.

“If you think about the vet bills or the threat of losing your animal, it is well worth it,” Wells said.

Although the hot spots for rattlesnakes are brush-covered hills surrounding Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Ojai, rattlers also can be found in garages, wood piles and parks.

Three days a week, Ventura resident Virginia Lazar loads up her three dogs and her son, Thomas, 2, and drives to Arroyo Verde Park for a walk. She has never had a run-in with a rattler but always worries when she passes warning signs posted at trail heads.

“It freaks me out every time,” Lazar said.

Animal experts say rattlesnakes, the most common in Ventura County being southern Pacific rattlers, generally won’t strike unless provoked. And though rattlesnake bites can be deadly, doctors said that no one has ever died in Ventura County from a rattlesnake bite.

“I’ve seen quite a few cases over the years and most are not serious and not life- or limb-threatening,” said Darrell Davey, an emergency room physician at Los Robles. “It’s just simply rare for someone to be bitten if they aren’t doing something to aggravate it.”

Many of the dozen or so bite cases reported annually in the county involve young men in their teens and 20s--some of them drunk--who try to play with snakes, doctors report. Most bite wounds are on hands or arms.

To avoid meeting a snake, experts advise clearing brush around homes, using trash containers with tight-fitting lids, installing molding on garage door bottoms and repairing leaky outdoor faucets where snakes drink.

Wood piles and weeds also draw snakes. So do spots where a snake might find a snack such as a rat, said Kathy Jenks, director of the Ventura County Department of Animal Regulation.

“Snakes aren’t bad--I much prefer them to rats,” Jenks said. “You need to recognize the role they play and just be sure to keep kids and pets out of the way.”

Officials advise hikers who use trails around Ojai and the Santa Monica Mountains to wear boots and long pants and to carry a stick to beat the brush when finding a place to sit or camp.

“While you’re walking, you really need to watch your feet and the bushes,” said Mickey Bernhardt, a secretary at Los Robles hospital and an avid hiker.

Betsy Patterson, a doctor at Ojai Valley Hospital, which receives a majority of the county’s bite cases, said hiking with a partner is also advisable. If bitten, it is important not to panic, Patterson said.

“You need to minimize the amount of exertion because that gets the heart rate up,” she said. “If you’re with someone and it’s possible for them to carry you [off a hiking trail], then do that.”

Doctors no longer advise trying to suck venom out of the wound unless help is several hours away. Ice and tourniquets are also not recommended.

Patterson advises immobilizing the wounded part of the body and keeping it lower than the heart. For example, venom can spread faster in a bitten hand that is held high.

The amount of venom in a bite can vary depending on the snake’s intentions and its age, said Ojai nurse Jacqueline Smith. Hatchlings without fully developed rattles have been know to let loose with all they have.

Decapitated rattlers can strike too.

Patterson said her hospital treated a utility worker a couple of years ago who was bitten on the hand by a rattler after chopping its head off and picking up the head.

“They can have a reflex even then,” Patterson said.

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The Poison

The Southern California area has six species of rattlesnakes. Some rattlesnake venoms primarily attack the nervous system, while others affect the heart and circulatory system.

If bitten, a person should be kept calm while help is summoned. Experts no longer advise making an incision across the bite and sucking out the venom, unless help is a few hours away.

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The Victim

Dr. Willis E. Wingert, a retired County-USC Medical Center physician who specialized in rattlesnake bites, compiled statistics on injuries.

* The vast majority of people bitten are men between 17 and 27.

* 85% of bites are on the hand or arm; 10% occur on the foot or lower leg.

* Many bites occur because of carelessness or ignorance, such as when a hiker steps on a sleeping rattler or a child tries to handle one.

* In more than 30% of the cases, the victim is drunk.

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Sources: Los Angeles Animal Regulation Department, “A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians,” Encyclopedia Americana, Ventura County Animal Regulation

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Snakebite Season

Rattlesnakes begin a brief hibernation in late November and emerge as early as February. Up to 6 feet long, the coldblooded creatures are usually found in deserts and foothills. They favor cool, shady spots during the day but at night seek rocks, concrete or asphalt that is still warm.

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Western Rattlesnake

The southern Pacific rattler, a subspecies of the Western rattlesnake, is the main rattler in this area. Western rattlesnakes are 1 to 5 feet long and have dark blotches on their necks that become bands

near the tail. Habitat ranges from prairies to evergreen forests.

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Avoiding Rattlesnakes

* Don’t keep stacks of wood on your property. They make great snake nests.

* Repair leaky outdoor faucets. Snakes occasionally drink from them.

* Wear high boots and long pants in grassy areas and carry a stick to beat the brush.

* Use trash containers with tight-fitting lids.

* Install molding on door bottoms, particularly on garage doors, to seal off potential entrances.

* Clear brush from around buildings.

* Teach children to identify rattlesnakes.

Sources: Los Angeles Animal Regulation Department, “A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians,” Encyclopedia Americana, Ventura County Animal Regulation