More Snakes than Usual

BassPro Boots

Hi,
Say I know what your talking about,I live out in the country .And this year so for I kILLed 4 copperheads around my house,and two at my mothers house.I also think the rain has made the snakes move around more.The biggest copperhead that I killed was 18'' long,and about 1''in dia.
I have had the snake chaps for years 1987,when we hunted up at Richland Creek on Parks And Wildlife land.They are real good but so darn hot,that most of the time you will not wear them.What I've got now is the BassPro snake boots.But I wish I had spent the extra and got them in GOR TEX. They say their 100% waterproof.But this is until the waterproofing wears off.Always carry you a can of waterproofing with you,after alot of walking in water.
But other than this they are 100%better than the snake chaps.

So far this year I've run into a copperhead, a biggun, and a small unknown snake I caught under my front porch and my wife described what sounds like a big chicken snake she saw in the garden. After clearing about 2 acres of very grown up woods in the back of my place I didn't see any.

Last deer season I ran across one while I was trying to cross the creek on my 4 wheeler with a couple of deer. I finally found a place where I wouldn't get hung up on cypress knees and there was about a 12" x 3' log in the way. I stuck my foot under it to flip it over and out of the way and as soon as I realized what I did I felt this bad feeling, looked down and there was one po'd cottonmouth coiling back getting ready to strike. With the aid of a stick an my hatchet he made my third kill of the day. I knew better than that.

In the fall the threat is more from bacteria from copperheads than venom. At least that's what the doc told me 5 years ago when I got bit on my right forearm while rooting around in the horse barn at night for more lawn chairs. The light had gone out a couple of nights before. Anyway, I found a stack of chairs, reached to grab them and felt something hit my forearm. I went back out to the party we were having and showed my girlfriend because there were 2 puncture marks and they were bleeding. Anyway a doc friend (My girlfriend was a tech at South Austin Hospital and we had about 12 doctors there, LOL) took a look and we went to the ER a little while later. The arm swole a bit up but not much venom was injected evidently. A bacteria infection was the real risk. He said in the fall the snakes hunt actively before hibernation so when they bite the rats and other rodents, they get the bacteria on their fangs and when they bite you, you get the infection along with whatever venom they inject depending on if they were suprised or not, the age of the snake, etc... Twice I've been bit by snakes and twice I've been lucky. I've learned more than any one person should know.