Snakes, Ticks and Field Safety on Oklahoma Land

By Seth Willyard, Blue River Realty

Four venomous snakes are the ones to know in the forests of Southeastern Oklahoma: the copperhead, the cottonmouth, the timber rattlesnake and the western pygmy rattlesnake. All of them would rather not meet you, and snakebite deaths are rare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) counts about 7,000 to 8,000 venomous snakebites a year in the whole United States and about five deaths.

Ticks deserve more of your attention than snakes do. The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) lists Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis and tularemia as tick-borne diseases seen regularly in the state, and avoiding them is a matter of routine: treated clothing, repellent and a tick check every day. This guide covers both, plus the other things that hurt people on rural land. It is part of our Oklahoma recreational land guide. It is general information, not medical advice.

The venomous snakes

The Oklahoma Biological Survey lists seven pit vipers in the state: the copperhead, the cottonmouth, and five rattlesnakes (western diamondback, timber, prairie, pygmy and western massasauga). Pit vipers share vertical pupils and a heat-sensing pit on each side of the head, and all except the copperhead and cottonmouth carry a rattle. Four of the seven are forest and water snakes of the kind of country we sell.

A few notes from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) field guide that help in practice:

Copperhead. An ambush hunter that stays still when it senses danger. That stillness, plus a pattern made to match dead leaves, is why people step next to them. ODWC describes the venom as mild and says bites are often short warning strikes with little venom, but any bite needs a hospital.

Cottonmouth. ODWC gives a useful field test. Watersnakes, which are harmless, often bask on tree limbs over water and drop in when disturbed. Cottonmouths rarely climb. A snake sunning on a branch above the creek is far more likely to be a watersnake. Cottonmouths are active from early spring through late fall and often winter in ground cavities or beaver dens.

Timber rattlesnake. The big one. ODWC notes they mature late, often at six or seven years, and can live at least 25. They are most visible in spring and early summer and may bask on or cross warm roads at night in spring and fall. The Oklahoma Biological Survey notes that some timber rattlesnake populations carry a neurotoxic venom component, which is one more reason never to handle one.

Western pygmy rattlesnake. Small, well camouflaged and usually motionless on the forest floor. Its rattle is too small to rely on as a warning. It is active from March through November.

When snakes are active

The same pattern runs through all four ODWC accounts: daytime activity in spring and fall, and a shift to evening and night in the heat of summer. In July and August, the risky moments are dusk, after dark and first light. Carry a light and watch where you put your feet around camp at night.

How not to get bitten

CDC's guidance for people who work outdoors applies directly to land owners:

• Do not touch or handle any snake. That includes a dead one, and it includes a severed head.
• Wear boots and long pants.
• Wear leather gloves when handling brush and debris.
• Avoid tall grass and leaf piles where you can, and do not climb on rock or wood piles where a snake may be sheltering.
• Be more alert at dawn and dusk and in warm weather.

Add habits that fit a tract. Step onto a log and look before stepping over it. Do not reach under tin, boards or rocks with bare hands; lift the far edge toward you with a tool so that anything under it has a way out that is not at your feet. Keep the ground around your camp, cabin and woodpile mowed and clear.

Killing a snake is rarely the safer choice, because it means getting close to it. Give it room and it will leave. Reptiles are also covered by ODWC's reptile and amphibian regulations, so check those before taking or killing any snake. The legal side of dealing with wildlife on your land is in predators and nuisance wildlife.

If someone is bitten

CDC's instructions are short. Do these:

• Get emergency medical care as soon as possible.
• If you can do it from a safe distance, take a photo of the snake to help identify it.
• Keep the person calm and still, sitting or lying down with the bite in a comfortable, neutral position.
• Remove rings and watches before swelling starts.
• Wash the bite with soap and water and cover it with a clean, dry dressing.
• Mark the leading edge of the swelling on the skin and write the time beside it.

Do not do any of these:

• Do not wait for symptoms to appear before getting help.
• Do not try to catch or kill the snake.
• Do not apply a tourniquet.
• Do not cut the wound or try to suck out venom.
• Do not apply ice or soak the wound in water.
• Do not give alcohol, or pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen.
• The bitten person should not drive themselves to the hospital.

CDC notes that an estimated 10 to 44 percent of people bitten by rattlesnakes have lasting injury, such as losing part of a finger or the full use of it. Time matters. On a remote tract, the most useful thing you can do in advance is know your exact location (the county, the road name and your coordinates) and where the nearest emergency room is. Find both out before your first overnight trip.

Ticks

The diseases

OSDH lists these tick-borne diseases as seen regularly in Oklahoma, and reminds residents that numerous cases are reported each year.

OSDH's pages also cover anaplasmosis, Heartland virus, southern tick-associated rash illness and Lyme disease.

Three facts from OSDH's Rocky Mountain spotted fever page are worth remembering because they make prevention practical:

• Only about 1 to 3 percent of American dog ticks carry the bacterium.
• An infected tick usually has to be attached and feeding for at least 4 to 6 hours to transmit it. A tick found and removed the same afternoon is much less of a threat than one found two days later.
• American dog ticks are most active and numerous from May through August.

The other side of that is treatment. OSDH says doxycycline is the first-line antibiotic and should be started as soon as the disease is suspected, without waiting for test results, which can take days to weeks. If you develop a fever in the two weeks after time on your land, tell the doctor you have been in tick country. That one sentence changes what they look for.

Keeping ticks off

CDC and OSDH give the same advice.

Before you go out

• Treat boots, clothing and camping gear with a product containing 0.5 percent permethrin. It stays effective through several washings. Permethrin goes on clothing and gear, not skin.
• Use an EPA-registered repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol or 2-undecanone. Do not use oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol products on children under 3.
• Wear light-colored long sleeves and long pants tucked into socks, and closed shoes.
• Walk in the center of trails and stay out of tall grass and leaf litter where you can.

When you come in

• Shower within two hours.
• Do a full-body check with a mirror. CDC's list of places ticks hide: under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs and around the waist. Check children too.
• Tumble-dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes. Damp clothes need longer.
• Check dogs, packs and jackets, which carry ticks indoors.

Around a cabin or camp

CDC recommends clearing leaf litter and tall grass, mowing often, and laying a 3-foot-wide strip of gravel or wood chips between a lawn and the woods. On a wooded tract, the mowed and graveled area around your pad or cabin is the tick control you get for free with good site work.

Removing a tick

OSDH's method:

• Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible with tweezers, or with fingers shielded by tissue.
• Pull with steady, gentle pressure. Do not twist or jerk.
• Do not squeeze the tick's body.
• Do not use matches, gasoline, nail polish remover or ointments.
• Wash your hands with warm soapy water and note the date.

A small red welt at the bite is normally just irritation and should fade in a day or two. OSDH does not recommend preventive antibiotics for someone who is not ill after a tick bite.

The rest of field safety

Snakes and ticks get the attention. These cause more trouble.

Heat. The Oklahoma Climatological Survey counts more than 40 days a year in the far southeast with a heat index of 105 or higher. Work early, rest in shade and carry water in, because most raw land has none. See weather by season.

Water crossings. The National Weather Service says 6 inches of fast-moving water can knock an adult down and 12 inches can carry away most cars. Mountain creeks rise quickly after rain. Do not drive or wade a flooded crossing.

Being alone and out of signal. Many tracts in the mountains have weak or no cell coverage. Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, and carry a paper note of your tract's coordinates and the route to the nearest hospital.

Chainsaws, tractors and ATVs. Serious injuries on rural land usually come from equipment and vehicles, not wildlife. Use protective gear, do not cut alone, and read our notes on hog hunting, food plots and ATVs.

Hunting seasons. If your land borders other private land or public ground, other people may be hunting nearby. Know the season dates in our deer and turkey seasons guide.

Bears and hogs. Black bears live in Southeastern Oklahoma; food storage at camp is covered in black bear in Southeastern Oklahoma.

None of this is a reason not to own land in the mountains. It is the routine that lets you use it for decades. If you are still at the stage of walking tracts, how to walk a property before buying covers what to wear and carry on that day, and our recreational land for sale page shows what is available.

Frequently asked questions

What venomous snakes live in Southeastern Oklahoma?

The forest and water species are the copperhead, the northern cottonmouth, the timber rattlesnake and the western pygmy rattlesnake. The Oklahoma Biological Survey lists seven pit vipers statewide, adding the western diamondback, the prairie rattlesnake and the western massasauga. ODWC's field guide places copperheads in eastern and central Oklahoma and cottonmouths from south-central Oklahoma eastward.

How do I tell a cottonmouth from a harmless watersnake?

ODWC points to behavior as well as looks. Watersnakes often bask on tree limbs over water and drop in when disturbed, while cottonmouths rarely climb. A cottonmouth has a heavy body, a black triangular head and catlike vertical pupils, and when threatened it coils and gapes to show the white lining of its mouth. Do not approach either to check.

What should I do if a snake bites me on my land?

Call 911 and get to emergency care. CDC advises staying calm and still, removing rings and watches, washing the bite with soap and water, covering it with a clean dry dressing and marking the edge of the swelling with the time. Do not use a tourniquet, cut the wound, suck out venom, apply ice or drive yourself.

When is tick season in Oklahoma?

OSDH says American dog ticks, the species most closely associated with Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Oklahoma, are most active and numerous from May through August, and that most ehrlichiosis cases are reported in the warmer months. Ticks can be picked up outside those months in mild weather, so keep doing tick checks whenever you have been in grass, brush or leaf litter.

How long does a tick have to be attached to make me sick?

For Rocky Mountain spotted fever, OSDH says an infected tick usually needs at least 4 to 6 hours of attachment and feeding to transmit the disease. That is why a daily tick check, or better, a check and shower within two hours of coming in, is the single most effective habit. Other tick-borne diseases have their own timelines.

Sources

1. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Field Guide: Copperhead — description, size, range, behavior, activity pattern.
2. ODWC, Field Guide: Northern Cottonmouth — description, size, habitat, Oklahoma range, behavior, comparison with watersnakes.
3. ODWC, Field Guide: Timber Rattlesnake — description, size, habitat, life history, activity pattern, reference to reptile and amphibian regulations.
4. ODWC, Field Guide: Western Pygmy Rattlesnake — description, size, forest habitat, March to November activity.
5. Oklahoma Biological Survey, Pitvipers of Oklahoma — the seven pit viper species, shared identification features, venom notes.
6. CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Venomous Snakes at Work — annual bite and death figures, lasting-injury estimate, prevention, first aid.
7. Oklahoma State Department of Health, Tickborne and Mosquitoborne Diseases — diseases seen in Oklahoma, prevention, tick removal.
8. OSDH, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever — American dog tick, 1 to 3 percent infection rate, 4 to 6 hour attachment, symptom timing, doxycycline, fatality rate, May to August activity.
9. OSDH, Ehrlichiosis — lone star tick, season, treatment, prevention.
10. CDC, Preventing Tick Bites — 0.5 percent permethrin, EPA-registered repellents, shower within two hours, tick check locations, dryer time, yard measures.
11. Oklahoma Climatological Survey, Climate of Oklahoma — heat index days in the far southeast.
12. National Weather Service, Turn Around Don't Drown — depths of moving water that knock down a person and carry away cars.