From the Union Democrat
Men take bite out of rattlesnake fears
Published: April 1, 2008
By JAMES DAMSCHRODER
The Union Democrat
Robert McBride and Ed Hildreth are rattlesnake wranglers.
Both men capture rattlesnakes and relocate the potentially deadly snakes
to safer conditions.
"It's the busy time of the year," McBride, of San Andreas, said. "In the
early spring, they're out looking for food after winter."
McBride and Hildreth, both admitted reptile lovers, cringe when they
hear about people killing rattlesnakes.
"They're a large asset to the ecosystem," McBride said. "They eat the
rodents, and the hawks and owls eat them."
When McBride was young and living in the Bay Area, he would catch
rattlesnakes and milk their venom for researchers to use at University
of California, Berkeley.
Hildreth, of Sonora, loves snakes so much he breeds king snakes.
But through all of their years of snake wrangling, McBride and Hildreth
have each had only one close call with a snake's venom-filled fangs.
"I've been grazed," McBride said. "I guess I'm lucky."
Hildreth is even luckier.
A rattlesnake bit him on the knuckle, and its fangs bounced off the bone
without injecting venom.
"I like to joke that the snake died instead of me," Hildreth said.
The bites can be deadly but are usually treatable.
According to the California Poison Control Center, rattlesnakes bite
more than 800 people a year worldwide, but only a few die.
"The babies are the most dangerous," McBride said. "They have no control
of their venom sacs when they bite."
Most bites occur between April and October, when snakes and people are
most active outdoors, according to the Department of Fish and Game.
McBride said that most of the calls he gets are from people who find
them while working in their yards.
To avoid confrontations, McBride said to keep your grass mowed. Also,
roosters and chickens will kill rattlesnakes, he said.
Fish and Game recommends wearing ankle-high boots and sticking to trails
while hiking.
They also said to never grab sticks while swimming, because rattlesnakes
will attach themselves to floating debris.
The best thing to do if you are bitten is get to an emergency room, said
Dr. Judith Alsop, the director of the Sacramento Division of California
Poison Control.
"First thing to know is that a rattlesnake has the right-of-way," Alsop
said. "If you are bitten, go directly to the E.R. Home remedies just
waste a lot of time."
If you are deep in the woods, Alsop said, just hike out to get help.
"People try to do the cut and suck, and they have no idea what they are
doing," Alsop said.
"You don't want to do more harm than the snake has already caused."
If you find a rattlesnake on your property and would like it removed for
a small fee, call Robert McBride at 754-0369 for Calaveras County, or Ed
Hildreth at 586-1465 for Tuolumne County.
Syndicate