Coexisting With Wild Snakes

Course content

1. O — Start here

   1. Locked: Start here: the one rule that always works

2. A — Unlearning what you were taught

   1. Locked: Were you taught "the only good snake is a dead snake"?
   2. Locked: Ten things to get clear
   3. Locked: Snakes are not sinister
   4. Do snakes chase people? Two encounters, seen from the snake's side
   5. Locked: Racers on the trail, snakes at the pier: more "chases" explained
   6. Locked: The maligned cottonmouth
   7. Locked: Old stories: milk, hoops, stingers, and hypnotism
   8. Locked: Things people ask: rattles, babies, boats, and biting underwater
   9. Locked: Repellents don't work, and be careful where you get your information
   10. Locked: Killing a snake does not make you safer

3. B — How snakes actually work

   1. Locked: What is a snake?
   2. Locked: "Cold-blooded" is the wrong word
   3. Locked: Venomous, poisonous, and harmless: words that matter
   4. Locked: What venom is for
   5. Locked: Fangs, and the snakes that have them
   6. Locked: You're getting too close: reading warning signs
   7. Locked: Hidden in plain sight
   8. Locked: Pest control technicians: what snakes do for you
   9. Locked: The little ones in your garden (and the actor in the leaf litter)

4. C — How NOT to identify a venomous snake

   1. Locked: Why rules get snakes killed — and people hurt
   2. Locked: First, a few snake basics: the venomous families
   3. Rule 1: "Triangular heads"
   4. Locked: Rule 2: "Cat eyes"
   5. Locked: Rules 3 & 4: "I heard it rattle!" and the protruding brow
   6. Locked: Rules 5 & 6: heat-sensing pits and swimming on top
   7. Locked: Rule 7: White mouths
   8. Locked: Rule 8: The coralsnake rhyme
   9. Locked: If you know your snakes, you don't need a rule

5. D — Learning your local snakes

   1. Locked: Get to know your neighbors
   2. Locked: Field guides: choosing and using one
   3. Locked: Learning to identify: repetition, variation, and keys
   4. Locked: Where to get an identification (and how to become someone who gives them)
   5. Locked: A bit about names

6. E — Sharing space

   1. Snake in your yard? Here's what to do
   2. Locked: How do most snakebites actually happen?
   3. Locked: Situational awareness: how not to get bitten
   4. Locked: A snake in the house
   5. Locked: Moving a snake: why not far
   6. Seeing fewer snakes: how to help a frightened neighbor
   7. Locked: Seeing more snakes: a friendlier yard
   8. Locked: Hidden hazards: netting, glue traps, burn piles, and buckets
   9. Locked: Children, dogs, and cats
   10. Locked: Storms, floods, and displaced wildlife
   11. If someone is bitten

7. F — What you can do now

   1. Locked: Language you can use with others
   2. Locked: Becoming someone who helps: rescue, removal, and the line you don't cross
   3. Locked: Knowing is not enough: citizen science and continued study
   4. Locked: What to do next