4 Snakes To Know On Your Walks, Jogs And Hikes Around Illinois

ILLINOIS — We would launch straight into the defense of much-maligned snakes, but we know many of you who don’t like them at all would click out of this story faster than a garter snake can slither into the sun on a fine Illinois spring day.

Even if you think snakes are creepy, there are some things you need to know about coexisting with them in Illinois as they awake from their refreshing winter brumation (that’s the equivalent of hibernation in the reptile world).

One of the most important of these things is that Illinois has four species of venomous snakes:

Copperheads: Found locally in wooded, rocky hillsides in Southern Illinois south of Route 16 and in the Illinois River Valley. This snake's head is flattened and much wider than the neck, and its coloration can be copper-red head, red-brown or yellow-brown, with hour-glass markings across the back when viewed from above.

Timber rattlesnakes: Found in the heavily timbered areas and rock outcrops in Southern Illinois and in the Mississippi River Valley. This snake is gray, yellow or green-white with a series of dark bands along the back. A rust-colored stripe is present in the middle of the back. A dark bar may be found between the eye and jaw.

Eastern massasauga: Also a rattlesnake species, this is the smallest venomous snake in Illinois and is found in the prairie wetlands and wet old fields and river floodplains in Madison, Clinton, Knox, Warren, Clinton, Piatt, Knox, Will, Cook and Lake counties. This snake's head is flattened and much wider than the neck. The pupil of each eye is vertically elliptical. A rattle is present at the tip of the tail. Scales are keeled (ridged). A row of dark blotches is present down the back, and there are three rows of dark spots on the sides. The body is gray.

Cottonmouths: Most abundant in swamps, sloughs and wet bottomlands in extreme Southern Illinois, south of Route 13. This snake may be plain black or brown above with little evidence of a pattern. Some have dim crossbands across the back.

You’re most likely to see these and other snakes when daytime temperatures are consistently in the 60s. Like us, they seek sunshine to warm their bodies after winter, increasing the potential for encounters on trails, in the woods, and almost anywhere. Remember that time a copperhead showed up near the National Mall?

How To Avoid Venomous Snakes

In 2019, a young camper in southern Illinois was bitten by a venomous snake, most likely a copperhead, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The 9-year-old didn't see the snake until it bit her on the toe, and her camp counselors sprung into action, trying to keep her calm and as motionless as possible, since the venom could circulate more quickly if her heart began racing.

The bite resulted in an air ambulance trip to a hospital and a medical bill of more than $140,000, including more than $67,000 for four vials of antivenin to counteract the venom, the Tribune reported.

Another thing to know about venomous snakes — and to help you avoid them — is that while nonvenomous snakes typically have rounded heads, round pupils and no fangs, Illinois' venomous snakes, all pit vipers, can be identified by their elliptical pupils, triangular-shaped head, fangs and a large opening, or “pit,” on each side of the head between the mouth and nostril.

According to the University of Illinois Division of Research Safety, except for the timber rattlesnake, the tip of the tail is bright yellow in all juvenile Illinois venomous snakes.

Because you probably don't want to get close enough to check for eye shape or fangs, avoiding these snakes altogether is better. Some tips from U of I to help you do that:

Know when to expect snakes: In Illinois, snakes are most active in spring, summer and fall and hibernate in the winter. Illinois Department of Natural Resources specialist Scott Ballard told the Belleville News-Democrat he recommends hikers in areas where there may be venomous snakes wear protective clothing, including long leather boots, rather than open-toed shoes.

If you're in an area where there may be venomous snakes:

• Constantly scan your surroundings.
• Look down to where your next step will be while you walk and scan bushes and other understory vegetation.
• Try to remain on paths as much as possible.
• Avoid tall grass and piles of leaves.
• Avoid climbing on rocks or piles of wood. Keep hands and feet out of areas you can’t see.
• Do not step over logs or large rocks unless you can see what is on the other side. Instead, step up onto the log or rock, look down to the other side, then step down.
• When lifting objects or equipment from the ground, always lift the far side of the object up and towards you. If a snake is under the cover object or equipment, it serves as a barrier between you and the snake.
• Be aware snakes may be swimming in the water.

The Deadliest Snakes

About 8,000 people are bitten by snakes every year, whether because their jobs take them outside or because they want to shake off winter, according to the CDC. Most snakes are harmless, but even those bites can cause an infection or allergic reaction.

About 90 percent of the 150 species of snake found in the United States are harmless. The 10 deadliest snakes in North America include copperheads, found throughout the eastern and central United States; cottonmouths/water moccasins, which like to hide in water throughout the Southeast and in the coastal plains north to Virginia; Eastern coral snakes, found throughout the Southeast; and rattlesnakes.

The Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, the largest species of rattler anywhere in the world, is the most venomous of snakes in North America. It is found primarily in the pinelands of Florida, the coastal plains of North Carolina, and southern Mississippi through eastern Louisiana.

Other rattler species to be aware of:

• Black rattlesnake, found widely across the western half of North America, from British Columbia to northern Mexico; the
• Tiger rattlesnake, found along the Arizona-Mexico border;
• Western diamondback rattlesnake, found throughout the Southwest;
• Prairie rattlesnakes, found in the Great Plains from Canada to Mexico; and
• Mojave rattlesnake (the most venomous rattlesnake in the world), is found in the desert Southwest.

What To Do If You Get Bit

If you’re hiking, camping, or spending time in the woods or any other place where snakes are found, have a plan on how to get emergency medical help — a good idea any time you’re out enjoying nature.

And make sure you have a fully stocked first aid kit, including a snakebite kit. Be skeptical of consumer snakebite kits, according to the Snakebite Foundation, an international group of physicians, paramedics, and scientists who treat snakebite patients.

Snake bites require immediate medical attention. After you’ve called 911, keep the person who was bitten calm and still to slow the spread of venom. Make sure the site of the bite is below the level of the heart; wash the wound with warm, soapy water; and cover the bite with a clean, dry dressing from the first aid kit.

‘Eek,’ You Say, But A World Without Snakes …

Snakes are unlikely to win a popularity contest, but most of the antipathies surrounding snakes are guided by ignorance and myths.

About 12 percent of snake species are assessed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but that’s not a true measure of snakes’ conservation status since most of the world’s reptile species haven’t been assessed by the IUCN, according to Save the Snakes, a Sacramento, California-based nonprofit involved in snake conservation work.

Snakes, both predator, and prey, play an important role in the ecosystem. Without them, rodent populations would explode in areas where there is plenty of food — for example, those areas where humans are the dominant species. Conversely, snakes are a good food source for birds, mammals, and other reptiles.

But the good snakes do go deeper. If all the vipers in the world suddenly didn’t exist and rodent populations were allowed to grow exponentially, diseases such as the bubonic plague, which killed millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages, could see a resurgence. Though treatable, the plague has never been completely eradicated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Humans typically get the plague when they’re bitten by a flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with the plague.

Also, some medications used to treat diabetes and heart disease have been derived from venom produced by snakes and other venomous creatures.

There’s No Need To Kill Snakes

Most encounters with snakes are in passing. The Georgia State University Cooperative Extension Service says there’s no need to kill most snakes, even when they become a nuisance — around chicken coops, for example, where they feast on young chicks and eggs.

They’re also likely to inhabit crawl spaces and attics, very often without the homeowner even knowing. Getting rid of them in these spaces can be extraordinarily difficult because they find hiding spaces in insulation and hard-to-get-to spaces. The first step should be to isolate what is attracting them — rats and mice are a good bet — and then seal off all except the main entry point with caulk or wire mesh.

If the main entry point is a vent hole, install a one-way excluder door over the main entrance to allow the snake to exit once the food source has been eliminated, Georgia State Extension advised

If you find a snake in your living quarters, put an empty bucket over it, slide a piece of heavy cardboard under it to trap it, then carry it outside. You may be able to herd it outside using a broom. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to call in a professional to help.

Venomous snakes found outdoors should be removed, though it doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be killed, Georgia State Extension said. If the snake is just passing through, keep your distance, but if it’s near your house or a barn, consult a qualified nuisance-removal specialist. Several snakebites have occurred while trying to remove venomous snakes.

Snakes Do Stuff You Can’t Unsee

One of the rites of spring on social media is the roll-out of a photo showing a gigantic “garter snake mating ball.”

What’s that?

It’s an entanglement of about 100 male red-sided garter snakes pursuing a single female who is “desperately trying” to get away, according to environmental documentary photographer Paul Colangelo, whose captured photos of the snake orgy for National Geographic.

Breeding ball behavior is most common among garter snakes. Black rattlesnakes in Arizona do, too, according to a paper written by a couple of biology students at Reed University in Portland, Oregon.

It’s possible to see a group of red-sided garter snakes getting frisky in the spring. If your kids ask, just tell them it’s a “snake cuddlefest.” It’s not wrong.

That’s a thing you know now.