Georgia Snakebite Cases Nearing Record Numbers

An outsider visiting Georgia for the first time will probably get a lot of warnings from those who know the state well.

Rookies will be warned that negotiating Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the busiest airport in the U.S., is a nightmare. They will be told that traffic on the interstates surrounding metro Atlanta, and elsewhere in the state for that matter, is like a race at Talladega Superspeedway. They’ll be warned to ready themselves for urban sprawl like they have probably never seen.

One thing they might not be warned about is to watch where they step. Surprisingly, nowhere else in the deep Southeast will you be as likely to be bitten by a snake. Georgia has more than 45 different native species of snakes, including six that are venomous. Those six are bad dudes.

For reasons that only bring speculation from the experts, snakebites in the state have seen a dramatic rise in recent years. Dr. Gaylord Lopez, of the Georgia Poison Control Center, says Georgia is on pace for 2024 to see the most snakebites ever.

“We’re one of the busiest states for snakebites,” he said. “We get 400 to 500 snakebites reported to us each year. Our busiest year was 2020 when we had 561 snakebites reported to us. There were 533 reported to us in 2022 and 523 last year.

“We’re on pace this year to break the record.”

Scariest of all, Dr. Lopez admits only a portion of snakebites are reported to the Poison Control Center.

“I believe that far more cases are not reported to us,” he said.

There are no laws that require snakebites to be reported to the agency. Hospitals, on the other hand, must report snake bites to a national database. That database shows there have already been 503 snakebites in Georgia this year. Georgia trails only Texas (1,408) and North Carolina (856).

Dr. Lopez has his beliefs on why so many snakebites occur in the state.

“East of the Mississippi River, states have the waterways and terrain that are conducive to snakes and the habitat where snakes can’t easily be seen. By default, there are snakebites.

“Georgia has a lot of people. We have a lot of copperheads and water moccasins. People are not careful. They play golf and hit the ball into a water hazard. There are water moccasins in those places. They go in the water to retrieve a ball.”

Daniel Sollenberger is a senior wildlife biologist and the state herpetologist for the DNR Wildlife Conservation Section. He speculates why Georgia sees so many snakebites and why there are so many this year.

“We have a lot of snakes in the northern half of the state where so many live,” he said. “In the southern half, there are fewer individuals, but there are still a lot of people in places where there are snakes.

“Add to that the fact that it got hot early this year, and a lot of people are recreating. That puts people where snakes are.”

He also believes a rapidly growing population is a factor.

“A lot more people are moving into urban sprawl. There is more and more housing where woods used to be. In the Atlanta area, there are copperheads. People are moving closer to where snakes live.”

He also says people are just not careful and don’t take precautions.

“Most snakebites occur on the lower extremities,” he said. “People do yardwork in shorts and in sandals and wander into places where there is leaf litter, which copperheads love and where they blend in. Some even do yardwork barefooted. They have no protection.”

Rarely do snakebites occur above the ankle, studies show.

Lopez says another factor is that many people are snakebit when they purposely try to handle a snake. Sollenberger says about two-third of the snakebites reported to DNR involve people who keep snakes as pets.

“We had one case where a man was doing yardwork and was bitten on the foot,” Dr. Lopez said. “He went after the snake so it could be identified. He was then bitten on the hand. He required massive amounts of antivenom. Thank goodness he was young and healthy and survived.”

Georgia has seen nine fatal snakebites over the past 40 years. Five of those occurred when the victims attempted to handle a venomous snake.

Jim Rogers, of Fayetteville, was one of those who learned his lesson. He was bitten by a cottonmouth that he attempted to pick up with a stick.

“I kept 18 species of snakes in my house,” he said. “I kept them in captivity because I did educational programs.

“I was bitten on the finger. It didn’t hurt at first. After the venom went through me, though, it hurt for about 12 hours. I was lucky I didn’t lose a finger. It was all my fault.”

One of the saddest cases that turned out to be fatal occurred in 2013 in Armuchee, a small unincorporated community in Floyd County. An 80-year-old-man discovered a pigmy rattlesnake in his garage. Not wanting to kill the snake, he tried pushing it out of the garage with a broom. He lost his balance and fell on top of the snake. He was bitten on his left arm. He was rushed to the hospital and received eight vials of antivenom but died 30 hours later.

Copperheads make up the vast majority of bites from venomous snakes in the state. Even though copperheads are venomous, rarely do they cause death.

Sollenberger doesn’t agree when he hears someone say that the only good snake is a dead snake. He points out that killing a non-venomous snake in Georgia is against the law. He said people are more scared of snakes than they need to be. He points out their good side.

“All snakes are predators,” he said. “They eat small mammals like rats, mice and squirrels, and some eat garden pests like snails and slugs. Some snakes eat other snakes. Venomous snakes definitely eat venomous snakes. They are immune to the venom.

“Even venomous snakes are good snakes. From them we get cancer drugs and blood-clotting drugs. Lots of good things come from them.”

Homeowners can go a long way toward distancing themselves from snakes by not making their yards attractive to them.

“People put koi ponds in their yard and those attract frogs and that attracts snakes,” he said. “People put those hanging baskets with ferns on their front porch and birds like to build nests in them. Rat snakes find nests and eat eggs. People put bird feeders in their yards and the seeds spill onto the ground and that attracts the birds and other things, like squirrels that snakes like to eat.”

As summer arrives, the message for the GON Community is to be aware. Don’t cut the grass in Crocs, wear snake boots when you’re filling feeders, don’t chase a golf ball into swampy areas, and never, ever put your hand where you can’t see it. We don’t want you to be a statistic that breaks a Georgia record.

Georgia’s Six Venomous Snakes

Of the more than 45 snake species native to Georgia, only six are venomous—all others are harmless.

Here’s a look at Georgia’s venomous snakes, according to the UGA Savannah River Herpetology Program.

Copperhead

These heavy-bodied snakes have large, triangular heads and tan/brown bodies that show dark, hourglass-like crossbands along their length. An average adult copperhead grows to between 24 to 40 inches.

Copperheads are common across most of the state, except for extreme south-central Georgia. Copperheads can be found in a wide variety of habitats, proving comfortable in dry, rocky areas and cool, forested areas or wetlands. Populations often persist in suburban neighborhoods with patches of forest. The copperhead is much more common in the metro Atlanta area compared to the other venomous snakes on this list.

This aggressive snake is responsible for the majority of venomous snakebites in Georgia each year.

Timber Rattlesnake

The timber rattlesnake is a big, heavy-bodied snake that can grow to 6 feet in length. Timber rattlers are usually gray, may have a pink hue and may have a pink, yellow, orange or brown stripe running along its back.

According to the UGA Savannah River Herpetology Program, “Timber rattlers are typically more brown or yellowish and may even be black. Both forms have solid black tails that appear almost velvet and black chevrons on the back and sides with the point of the (V) pointing forward.”

Experts described their habitats as lowland cane thickets, high areas around swamps and river floodplains, hardwood and pine forests, mountainous areas and rural habitats in farming areas. They typically become reduced in numbers in highly urbanized or areas of housing development.

Active both day and night, they hibernate during cold weather but become active in late spring and can remain so until late fall.

Timber rattler numbers appear to have declined in recent years.

A timber rattlesnake was the subject of one of the most read and talked about stories in GON in the past decade. The story was about Brian Murphy, who was checking his Morgan County deer stands. He was shocked to find a 3-foot timber rattlesnake tucked in his lock-on stand seat. It was 20 feet up a tree.

The reaction to the story ranged from shock to disbelief. It caused some to question, “Could a rattlesnake really climb a tree?” One reader asked, “How could a 3-foot rattler get 20 feet up in a strap-on tree stand?”

Zoologists at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. point out that timber rattlesnakes—especially young ones—are amazing climbers and have been documented in trees at heights of more than 80 feet. One study from eastern Texas documented quite a bit of tree climbing among timber rattlesnakes, including one young timber rattler that was nearly 50 feet up a laurel oak tree.

The story on Brian Murphy’s encounter with the timber rattler caused some to question why a rattlesnake would even want to climb a tree. That’s easy, several zoologists and biologists said. Trees provide them with access to prey like squirrels and birds, or to escape a predator on the ground.

Bites from timber rattlers have killed several in Georgia since 1984.

Eastern Coral Snake

The Eastern coral snake is highly venomous. Its venom is more potent than any other snake in North America. The good news is that bites are almost unheard of because of the snake’s rarity and its inability to strike like other venomous snakes. The coral snake has no fangs and snake experts say it almost has to chew to inject venom.

They are slender, mid-sized snakes with a smooth appearance and notable bright red, yellow and black rings. It is the only venomous snake in Georgia that does not have a triangular head.

According to the University of Georgia, “The eastern coral snake is rarely seen in its habitats. These secretive snakes are most often encountered in spring and fall. Coral snakes are not in any way limited to rural areas “perhaps because of their secretive habits, coral snakes often persist in suburban areas.”

These snakes are often mistaken for the non-venomous scarlet kingsnake, which has a similar color pattern but with a red snout and light-colored rings separating the red ones by black.

Eastern coral snakes, on the other hand, have red rings separated by narrow yellow rings. Here’s a rhyme to help distinguish between the two, according to WRD: “Red touch yellow, deadly fellow; red touch black, venom lack.”

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

The Eastern diamondback is the largest of all known rattlesnake species. These snakes have large, heavy bodies with large, broad heads with two light lines on the face. The background color is brown, tan or yellowish and covered with the namesake diamonds, which are brown and surrounded by lighter scales. They can reach 7 feet in length but typically measure 3 to 5 feet in total length. The Eastern diamondback rattlesnake is most prevalent in south Georgia.

“This species usually inhabits dry, sandy areas, palmetto or wiregrass flatwoods, pinewoods, coastal dune habitats or hardwood hammocks,” UGA noted, adding that “they generally avoid wet areas but sometimes live along the edges of swamps. They are accomplished swimmers and even travel through saltwater to and from barrier islands.”

Eastern diamondback rattlers are active during the day, mostly mornings and evenings in summer. They generally hibernate during the winter.

There have been several deaths from bites from Eastern diamondbacks over the last 40 years, mostly from victims who purposely tried to hold them.

Pigmy Rattlesnake

The pigmy rattlesnake is small and has a tiny rattle. UGA notes, “They have a row of mid-dorsal spots and a bar than runs from the eye to the base of the mouth, but the color of this bar can vary from black to brownish red.” An orange or reddish-brown dorsal stripe is also present in the two subspecies found in Georgia.

The species have reached a maximum length of 31 inches, but pigmy rattlesnakes are typically 16 to 23 inches long, according to the Wildlife Resources Division.

Additionally, “The pigmy rattler can be gray, tan, or lavender. Some specimens from northern Georgia are orange or red,” UGA said.

They’re found in northeast, northwest and central Georgia. Pigmy rattlers live in a variety of habitats, both wet and dry, including creeks, swamps, mixed forests and even sandhills. They mostly hide “in leaf litter and can be hard to spot,” according to UGA. They are active throughout the day.

Water Moccasins/Cottonmouth

This snake can be active day or night but typically feeds in the dark when it’s hot. In Georgia, they’re typically found in the southern Coastal Plain area. That doesn’t mean you won’t come across one in west-metro Atlanta, however.

The species can be found in nearly all freshwater habitats but are most common in cypress swamps, river floodplains and heavily vegetated wetlands.

Common water snakes are often mistaken for water moccasins and killed. According to WRD, the killing of non-venomous snakes is illegal in Georgia. Five species of water snakes are often victims of mistaken identity.

There has never been a documented death from a water moccasin bite in Georgia.

 

Georgia’s Fatal Snakebites

2019 – Priscilla Meredith, 62, Waverly

She was bitten by a rattlesnake while in a friend’s garden when she went to sit down. She was in a medically induced coma for several weeks until her death. She was not able to receive antivenom due to her allergies, which doctors said would have put her life at risk.

2015 – David Giles, 59, Arnoldsville

Giles, of Watkinsville, was bitten while he was alone. He normally carried a snakebite kit but did not have it with him this time. He drove to a nearby house to seek help and collapsed. It was thought the bite came from a rattlesnake.

2013 – Ernest Burch, 80, Armuchee

Burch found the timber rattlesnake in his garage. Not wanting to kill it, he tried moving it out with a broom but lost his balance and fell on top of the snake. He was bitten on his left arm. He was rushed to the hospital and received eight vials of antivenom but died 30 hours later.

2009 – Richard Rupert, 68, Oglethorpe

Rupert was hunting with his grandson when he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake.

2007 – Douglas Hiler, 48, Cleveland

Hiler was bitten on his left hand while attempting to cut off the rattles from what he thought was a dead snake that he came across in the road. Medical help was summoned immediately but took 45 minutes to arrive. He survived in intensive care for 42 days before succumbing to the effects.

2001 – Audrey McIntosh, 18, Folkston

The teenager was doing laundry inside her home when she was bitten by a snake that escaped. Authorities determined that it was a undetermined pit viper. According to Ray Morgan, director of emergency management services for Charlton County, McIntosh ran nearly a half mile to a neighbor’s house to call authorities because she didn’t have a telephone. McIntosh was flown to Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, Ga., where she later died.

1995- Dewey Bruce Hale, 40, Enigma

Hale was bitten on the hand while removing a rattlesnake from a box during a religious service. He refused medical treatment and died nine hours later at his home.

1990 – Arnold Loveless, 48, Cartersville

Loveless died after being bitten in the jaw by a rattlesnake during a religious service.

1984 – Richard Barrett, 50, Cartersville

Barrett was bitten by a timber rattlesnake while handling venomous snakes during a religious service. He refused medical treatment and was taken to the pastor’s home and died approximately seven hours later.