Our Opinion: Of snakebites and space junk

Snakes are a source of both fear and fascination.

In the aftermath of reports last week of a fatal snakebite in Southwest Missouri, snakes now are ranked second among hot topics on the Missouri Department of Conservation's website.

For people who will participate in National Trails Day events this Saturday or those who heed outdoor columnist Brandon Butler's advice to join the 100 Missouri Miles Challenge, hikers may encounter snakes in their natural habitat.

But snakes do not confine themselves to woodlands, and encountering them in the yard is not uncommon.

The Conservation agency provides a wealth of factual information, including:

• Snakebites are rare, and fatal snakebites are extremely rare. An excellent rule of thumb is don't mess with snakes, particularly venomous ones. "Snakes," according to Conservation's website, "do not go looking for people to bite. In fact, snakes are more afraid of you than you are of them."

In an Associated Press story in today's Health section, Joe Jerek, a spokesman for the Conservation Department, said: "If you encounter them (snakes), give them an exit and they will readily go away."

Last week's fatality was only the third officially attributed to venomous snakebites since 1933, and the most recent victim failed to seek medical treatment after being bitten on both legs.

Conservation ranks snakebite just above falling space debris as a deadly threat.

• Snakes are protected in Missouri. Not only is it unlawful to kill snakes, it is poor stewardship of nature. Missouri's 47 species and subspecies of snakes play an important role in controlling rodent populations, according to the Conservation agency, and they also serve as a food source for other wildlife, such as hawks, owls, mink, skunks and herons.

• Discourage snakes around the home. Conservation acknowledges there are places where snakes, particularly venomous ones, are unwanted. Like any creature, snakes reside where shelter and food are available.

Homeowners who control animal pests, including rodents, and eliminate shelter - piles of boards, fence posts, dump heaps, slabs of roofing paper, scrap corrugated steel roofing, burlap, slabs of bark and piles of rocks - will discourage snakes.

Conservation also recommends harmless snakes may be "captured with a hoe or stick and released unharmed in an isolated, safe habitat."

Snakes suffer from poor, largely undeserved, public relations.

They mostly just want to be left alone, which gives all of us more time to watch the skies for falling space debris.