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Rattlesnakes, scorpions, spiders
Sig220_Ruger77
Member Posts: 12,754 ✭✭✭
So, being from Wisconsin, I don't really have a heck of a lot of little things to worry about in the wild. I'm allergic to wasps, so they are sometimes an issue, but otherwise it's pretty much just ticks and a small chance of encountering rattlesnakes in the Southwestern part of the state.
On our trip, we will be heading through some states where other dangerous creatures present themselves. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, Brown Recluse spiders, & Black widow spiders seem to be the big ones. How does a person who has very little experience encountering these creatures, or having to worry about encountering them, go about this in the best possible manner? Plans have us camping in Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, & Montana.....with hotel stays in Nevada and California.
I'm guessing in if a person sticks to the main trails when hiking, keeps their shoes in the tent(and checks them before putting them on), maybe wear something noisy when hiking?, or are there any other preventative tips for these areas and creatures?
Jon
On our trip, we will be heading through some states where other dangerous creatures present themselves. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, Brown Recluse spiders, & Black widow spiders seem to be the big ones. How does a person who has very little experience encountering these creatures, or having to worry about encountering them, go about this in the best possible manner? Plans have us camping in Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, & Montana.....with hotel stays in Nevada and California.
I'm guessing in if a person sticks to the main trails when hiking, keeps their shoes in the tent(and checks them before putting them on), maybe wear something noisy when hiking?, or are there any other preventative tips for these areas and creatures?
Jon
Comments
What part of Utah you going to be in?
Chances are you won't have any problems or incounters. But just keep your eyes open.
What part of Utah you going to be in?
We are planning on camping somewhere near Moab and checking out Arches National Park. Other than that, it just depends on how much time we have(it probably won't be a lot). We will probably just shoot across 70 and 15 to Las Vegas.
We are leaving Wisconsin on a Friday and have a wedding in California the following Friday. We want to be in California by Thursday and are planning on spending 2 nights in Colorado Springs and 2 nights in Las Vegas. That leaves not much time for Utah on this trip unfortunately.
Jon
Rattlesnakes make a noise to warn if they feel you approach; wear tall boots and step purposefully, they like the shady spots under bushes & small trees.
Black Widow spiders hang out in mostly unused spaces, Brown Recluse do just what the name implies; they hide away from most activity. They won't kill a healthy adult, but like scorpions; the bite hurts like a cigar being stubbed out.
Most foliage in the desert will cling, scrape, poke, impale or stick you, and the insects all bite/sting.
So enjoy the Spartan landscape, take lotsa#8203; pix, and look where you're going, if you wanna keep on truckin'.
And please, don't try your hand at archaeology or try to see if there's gold under that board you found in the desert.
Don't freak out, millions of people actually live out this-a-way on purpose!
The Florida version is pretty much harmless though they feel like an industrial strength wasp sting X10.[:D]
1. watch where you walk.
2. Shake your shoes out in the Morning.
Just kidding. [}:)]
Have a great trip. Traveling and adventures are great!!
I'm envious.
Smoky
You can do reviews on line, etc.
Seen a medical doctor at a ER awhile back on TV news that the average cost for snake bite treatment at a hospital is around $20,000 and he said the prompt use of one of these kits reduces the chances that may not need the $20k treatments or any major treatment for a snake bite.
Read the instructions BEFORE you actually need it so as you are good to go promptly. Average cost of these kits is around $18.
Sawyer Extractor Pump Kit Wasp Bee Scorpion Snake Bite First Aid Poison Removal
Here is a ebay number so you can see a picture of the kit. (I've never had to use my kits yet even though I have had several wasp stings, I carry mine for snake bites)
262927685945
I also carry a small vial of Adolphs Meat tenderizer at the ready for fast treatment of a spider bite. You can review how to use such online to reduce the chance of spider poison spreading. Briefly you make a poltice/paste with the meat tenderizer powder using spit or water and dab it too the bite and it draws out the poison or reduces it spreading. I've never had to use it either. Only takes little bit of the powder and you can even carry it in a small container in your shirt pocket at the ready when in a spider infested area. Some exterminators carry the Adolph's in their pocket for fast treatment of spider bites to themselves.
Stay safe.
Boy scout motto: Be prepared.
On the other hand, I have a collection of snake bite kits going back to the 1950s when I started snake hunting, so if you need to buy one...
Your doctor is behind the times. The use of snake bite kits is way out of date. The treatment typically does more damage than good. Venom is NOT removed by the use of suction!
On the other hand, I have a collection of snake bite kits going back to the 1950s when I started snake hunting, so if you need to buy one...
You need to review the Sawyer snake bite/sting kit that I'm referring too:
This is the latest version and has not been available very long period of time. It's not the old cut and slash type with the blades and knives. Heck even Ronnie Milsap could use this one and no harm done afterwards even if the OP screws up somehow. You might want to try it afterwards if you had a big rattler hanging onto you and you were way out in the boonies by yourself and also I always save one bullet in my first aid kit for myself. BE prepared.[xx(]
AND
This is not my doctor.
Respectfully;
this is the new style kit
quote:Originally posted by He Dog
Your doctor is behind the times. The use of snake bite kits is way out of date. The treatment typically does more damage than good. Venom is NOT removed by the use of suction!
On the other hand, I have a collection of snake bite kits going back to the 1950s when I started snake hunting, so if you need to buy one...
You need to review the Sawyer snake bite/sting kit that I'm referring too:
I have some of the old cut and slash kits also and I would even use one of them on myself in a heart beat or a knife if that's all I had available, but I'm not a pansie and was * up around big rattlers and have seen what a bite casn do to a person and animals, been stung by most everything, but I've really been lucky that rattlers have always give me a free pass and people think I'm crazy for me giving them a free pass. I've caught big contain and timber rattlers and released them into safer areas so jerks would not kill them.
If one ever bites me though their free pass days is probably over with if I live thru the bite. Other poisonious snakes do not get a free pass from me, such as Cu heads and cotton mouths.
This is the latest version and has not been available very long period of time. It's not the old cut and slash type with the blades and knives. Heck even Ronnie Milsap could use this one and no harm done afterwards even if the OP screws up somehow. You might want to try it afterwards if you had a big rattler hanging onto you and you were way out in the boonies by yourself and also I always save one bullet in my first aid kit for myself. BE prepared.[xx(]
AND
This is not my doctor that was making the speech.
Respectfully;
and
this is the new style kit
AND
I've doctored dogs with kerosene and salt and pencillin shots and seen some that their head would swell up so big that it looked like it would burst and sometimes the skin would burst and leave a scar and they would live thru it. I've seen people with only the bone and skin on their lower leg from the knee down where a big contain rattler bit them in the calf muscle, not a pretty site.
Only big dog I ever seen die from a big rattler bite was too it's flake area and it swelled and busted open and would never heal.
What do you use for snake bites? (other than pray to the man for help)
If you wear a brown paper bag on your head they won't bother you. At night fill your shoes with water so they can't get in your shoes. Be safe. [:)]
I would think that a real tight NON see thru plastic bag tied tight around the head at the neck and their shoes full of pee would be best for some people.
AND
The more people I meet the more I like my dog.
You know Will Rogers was a politician and one of his old saying was he said "he never met a man he did not like." That really sounds to me like something a lieing politician would say to get a vote, because I know that is a lie.
Maybe Hillary should have tried that phrase. (but I'm glad she did not use it, it might have changed the outcome)
[;)][:D]
NRA Member
quote:Originally posted by Okie743
quote:Originally posted by He Dog
Your doctor is behind the times. The use of snake bite kits is way out of date. The treatment typically does more damage than good. Venom is NOT removed by the use of suction!
On the other hand, I have a collection of snake bite kits going back to the 1950s when I started snake hunting, so if you need to buy one...
You need to review the Sawyer snake bite/sting kit that I'm referring too:
I have some of the old cut and slash kits also and I would even use one of them on myself in a heart beat or a knife if that's all I had available, but I'm not a pansie and was * up around big rattlers and have seen what a bite casn do to a person and animals, been stung by most everything, but I've really been lucky that rattlers have always give me a free pass and people think I'm crazy for me giving them a free pass. I've caught big contain and timber rattlers and released them into safer areas so jerks would not kill them.
If one ever bites me though their free pass days is probably over with if I live thru the bite. Other poisonious snakes do not get a free pass from me, such as Cu heads and cotton mouths.
This is the latest version and has not been available very long period of time. It's not the old cut and slash type with the blades and knives. Heck even Ronnie Milsap could use this one and no harm done afterwards even if the OP screws up somehow. You might want to try it afterwards if you had a big rattler hanging onto you and you were way out in the boonies by yourself and also I always save one bullet in my first aid kit for myself. BE prepared.[xx(]
AND
This is not my doctor that was making the speech.
Respectfully;
and
this is the new style kit
AND
I've doctored dogs with kerosene and salt and pencillin shots and seen some that their head would swell up so big that it looked like it would burst and sometimes the skin would burst and leave a scar and they would live thru it. I've seen people with only the bone and skin on their lower leg from the knee down where a big contain rattler bit them in the calf muscle, not a pretty site.
Only big dog I ever seen die from a big rattler bite was too it's flake area and it swelled and busted open and would never heal.
What do you use for snake bites? (other than pray to the man for help)
Oakie, I knew an old, not very smart * hound who went out every spring and got himself bitten by a timber rattler. He would drag himself home, crawl under the porch, and hover on the edge of death for several days. By early summer, he was back to normal and remembered the lesson for the rest of the summer. He got bitten every spring for the 5 years I knew him, his owner told me it had been going on for several years before that.
Dogs have a very high survival rate with no treatment, and survival goes up even more with antivenom. Last I looked, Fort Dodge made an antivenom for dogs.
I never bother to carry a snake bite kit of any kind, but I do carry some nylon strapping, like climbing slings are made from, as well as some paracord. A constriction band, much slowing lymph circulation, but NOT venous or arterial circulation can help localize the damage and slow the venom getting to the heart or lungs. Elevating the bitten extremity can help. Cell phones are a great aid in getting medical assistance these days, even where I live. I am careful how I move around in the desert. Antivenom is the treatment of choice. I have one of the recent Sawyer kits in my collection and I stand by what I said before. Not useful in treating snake bite, because suction actually extracts no venom. It is not sitting in a convenient pool under the skin waiting to be sucked out by a helpful friend or by a kit.
Treatment for elapid snakes, i.e. cobras, corals and everything in Australia, is different. The venom is different, the action is different and there they use compression bandages tightly wrapped to stop movement of the venom and transport to the hospital where antivenom is used. That is all neurotoxic venom, and that method does not work on pit viper or viper bites. Trust me Oakie I know where of I type. Edit: Oakie, better still do not trust me, but call your regional Poison Control Center and ask them. I am not driven by a need to be right, or more expert than you. I just don't want friends wasting time with kits that will not help, when getting to medical help is what is needed.
So, being from Wisconsin, I don't really have a heck of a lot of little things to worry about in the wild. I'm allergic to wasps, so they are sometimes an issue, but otherwise it's pretty much just ticks and a small chance of encountering rattlesnakes in the Southwestern part of the state.
On our trip, we will be heading through some states where other dangerous creatures present themselves. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, Brown Recluse spiders, & Black widow spiders seem to be the big ones. How does a person who has very little experience encountering these creatures, or having to worry about encountering them, go about this in the best possible manner? Plans have us camping in Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, & Montana.....with hotel stays in Nevada and California.
I'm guessing in if a person sticks to the main trails when hiking, keeps their shoes in the tent(and checks them before putting them on), maybe wear something noisy when hiking?, or are there any other preventative tips for these areas and creatures?
Jon
Mosuitos , ticks, blackflies are much worse than the critters of AZ. If you are real lucky you may see a rattler. You have to be very fast and very quite to even see one. Best time will be in the mornings when they find a warm slab.
Not sure but I think more people have been killed by bees than snakes out here.
Caught two rattle snakes and released them back in the brush. Both times I did not know what they were till they were in my hand. But I caught all snakes by controlling their head and had handled hundreds of regular good snakes before that.
But the one that almost got me good was the Fire ant. They say I almost died( I was about 4).
I've traveled and camped in many of the areas you mention. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Relax and enjoy the trip.
Same here.
I been running around the desert for a long time and never have gotten bit by a rattler. I did come real close a few times. I saw a big Mohave Green last summer in Southern Idaho.
I'm one of those jerks that doesn't give a rattler a pass and by the way, Will Rogers never met Harry Reid.
Right about that he never met Harry Reid in reference to Will said he never met a person he did not like.
AND I failed to mention when I said that I had been stung and bitten by most every varmit and insect INCLUDING PEOPLE.
Some of them people bites can really get infected worse than a dog bite. (no anti venom for them people bites)
AND
Not to change the subject talking about being bitten by critters:
Too really feel safe on your trip and fully covered at the very least get yourself some of that NEW Health Care thru the Government operated health care system.
Some of them people that are trying to tell us what the people need for Health care cannot wipe their AXX without getting XXit on their elbow.[;)]
quote:Originally posted by pricklypear
I'm one of those jerks that doesn't give a rattler a pass and by the way, Will Rogers never met Harry Reid.
Right about that he never met Harry Reid in reference to Will said he never met a person he did not like.
AND I failed to mention when I said that I had been stung and bitten by most every varmit and insect INCLUDING PEOPLE.
Some of them people bites can really get infected worse than a dog bite. (no anti venom for them people bites)
AND
Not to change the subject talking about being bitten by critters:
Too really feel safe on your trip and fully covered at the very least get yourself some of that NEW Health Care thru the Government operated health care system.
Some of them people that are trying to tell us what the people need for Health care cannot wipe their AXX without getting XXit on their elbow.[;)]
The beauty is you don't have to have it until after you get bit. Pre existing is covered.
We have some pretty nasty millipedes out here. Worse than a scorpion for sure. over a foot long.
Poisonous Ingredient:
Hydrochloric acid, hydrogen cyanide, organic acids, phenol, cresols, benzoquinones, and hydroquinones (in some millipedes)
http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/millipedes/overview.html
Throw another one out Tarantula's I hate them but there is nothing to fear from them. The only problem is if they do bite you it could get infected from the rotting flesh they eat.
Just cause I saw one of my Marines do it , do not pick up what look to be worms that Bite. Think Baby Rattlesnakes. Marine Brought me a jar with at least 10 Baby Rattlers in it. Took him and the Jar straight to sickbay.
Last thing to look for is a lizard, Gila or Mexican Spotted. Only ever seen one and it was in Calif. But if you are dumb enough to pick up one of these ugly monster you deserve to get bit.
Throw another one out Tarantula's I hate them but there is nothing to fear from them. The only problem is if they do bite you it could get infected from the rotting flesh they eat.
Just cause I saw one of my Marines do it , do not pick up what look to be worms that Bite. Think Baby Rattlesnakes. Marine Brought me a jar with at least 10 Baby Rattlers in it. Took him and the Jar straight to sickbay.
You know it. I have had one casual encounter with a Gila monster a couple years back. The stupid thing was hanging out in the middle of the dirt road in the hills. I tend to shoe them out of the path of getting run over by less attentive or caring folks.
I have pictures somewhere, and every time I tried to get close to get a picture the thing would charge/attack. It did not want to get off the road either. I don't think they will attack just for fun, but they will not turn and run like a rattler.
Desert critters just don't seem to bother me per se. I nearly got in trouble with a pack of Javelinas. That was the most scary thing I ever encountered. Wasn't carrying, startled a whole family and I was in THEIR territory. They are fast and mean. They will eat people. I did get a picture though, not a good one. The bore was staring me down ready to defend.
As for Brown Recluse not "found" in those states. Like bed bugs folks transport them to those states.
What was that bug the rodents carried in Yosemite a few years back that had folks in panic? If you're camping in those states with the black plague don't pet the rodents.
As for Brown Recluse not "found" in those states. Like bed bugs folks transport them to those states
Yes, we do have them here in Nevada. My Dad has been bitten twice by them. The last one killed him.[V]
good thing you aren't coming to SC. the black widow problem is so bad here most of us have anti-venom shots in the fridge. and the copperheads? I won't go out w/o the knee high snake boots on. been bit so much I built up an immunity.
Have they built up an immunity to lead?
Speaking of scorpions, I got nailed by one of the buggers last weekend when I took the mail out of my box.
The Florida version is pretty much harmless though they feel like an industrial strength wasp sting X10.[:D]
Sounds like it nailed you really good, Mark!!!!