Snake protection

[2damnold4this]

Recommend me some snake protection. Should I get boots, chaps or gaiters? I can't use a slip on boot that is fitted at the ankle as my right ankle is bigger due to an injury. What should I get? Boots with laces or a zipper? Gaiters or chaps?

[hogdogs]

Gaitors cover many applications but for waist deep brambles, you need the taller chaps...

Snake boots are really needed if you want total confidence against a strike by a big one with either and a pull on with a chimney top (engineer/biker or bigger cowboy boot shaft type) might be okay for your ankle?

leather may fend off some strikes but is no match for a full strike from a large snake...

Brent

[bswiv]

I'll admit to wearing lace up snake boots most of the time...........kind of a coward.

Have a pair of Muck Woody Armor that are kind of comfortable but HOT AS H$!!. Use them only for slipping on when a short walk is in store.

The lace up boots are Danner Pronghorn......very comfortable for snake boots but as with ALL GorTex lined boots they will leak sooner than you think if you use them a lot. This pair is 3 years old and has leaked for 2 of those years.

Chaps/gaiters have the advantage of being able to remove them as soon as you get out of the woods so your legs can cool.......as HD says though, if you want the added benefit of briar protection the higher the better.

I'll add this......I find that we are in the minority in the timber business in that most of the guys/girls ( Lots of female foresters ) don't bother with them.

Like I said......kind of a coward here.

Last thing......buy both. The boots will be expensive $100-200 depending on what you get.....the gaiters a lot cheaper.

[Gunplummer]

Anybody have stats that give numbers of snake bites on the hand as opposed to the ankle area?

[2damnold4this]

Thanks for the advice, guys.

[bswiv]

Gunplummer makes a very good point......one that lends credibility to the decision I mentioned earlier about most foresters not bothering with snake boots.

I'll still be wearing mine...........and you can bet I'll make sure Louann has hers on!

[Garycw]

Originally Posted by Gunplummer

Anybody have stats that give numbers of snake bites on the hand as opposed to the ankle area?

I would think ankle is were the majority of bites would be since they're commonly at that level.unless reaching for something. I try to kick around the area I'm reaching into first if heavy brush.
I wear some boots I got at Wally World called Herman Survivors. Steel toe and electrical protection soles

[Doyle]

I work chaps for one season. Way too hot and too noisy. Only usefull if you are also bustin some serious thorny brush. I've got boots now. The disadvantage of those is that even expensive ones are not comfortable to walk in for along distance.

When those wear out, I'm going to go with gaiters. That way, I can wear the footwear appropriate for what I'm doing (dry land walking, wetlands, etc.)

[Miss Stana]

If you are in an area that has lots of snakes you should wear something. Whatever is comfortable for you. After all, we all wear seatbelts 'in case' we are in an accident. And how many motorcyclist do you see without helmets and leathers?

[Doyle]

I would think ankle is were the majority of bites would be since they're commonly at that level.unless reaching for something

Actually, not so. A program on one of the educational TV channels said that the majority of snake bites in the US occur as the result of someone actually trying to do something to the snake - therefore on the hands/arms. It's the "ya'll watch this" mentality.

[Garycw]

Originally Posted by Doyle

Actually, not so. A program on one of the educational TV channels said that the majority of snake bites in the US occur as the result of someone actually trying to do something to the snake - therefore on the hands/arms. It's the "ya'll watch this" mentality.

That wouldn't be me. I don't even catch the non poisonous ones anymore. If I saw I poisonous one the only thing I'd be doing is killing it. I wouldn't be using hands unless at the end of shovel or hoe. At the farm this time of year I usually have gun with some shot rounds mixed in with there name on it. I WILL go out of my way to kill a copperhead.

[BigD_in_FL]

Boots are possible, but they would be custom-made - look into Russell Moccasin in Wisconsin; otherwise good Turtle Skin chaps will work

[phil mcwilliam]

Wear Lace up boots & heavy duty trousers & try not to step on snakes. I live "down under" & have a large population of various "deadly" snakes active on my farm in summer. I don't find them a problem if hunting as you are looking where you walk & are also listening for animals. Most snakes will try to move out of your way & its only the ones you startle, corner or tread on that give you grief.
As others have said its mainly people trying to pick up snakes, or kill them that get bitten. That said my mates farm manager was bitten on the calf opening a gate last christmas , & the fellow I use to transport stock has been bitten twice riding his motorbike (wearing shorts) while checking cattle. Its mainly the elderly or young that will die of snake bite. My mates manager actually waited 2 days before he decided to go to the doctor.

[Buzzard Bait]

I was bitten by a rattle snake while wearing cowboy boots. It bit from behind me I had walked past it and not seen it in a very brushy area near a pond. Was sneaking up on some ducks in the pond south Texas brush type area. It bit just above the boot about 15" above the ground. I wear leggings when I go in the brush now that cove me to above my knees.
bb

[fatwhiteboy]

I'll bet a lot of those hand bites were preceded by the words, "Here, hold my beer."

[Gunplummer]

Maybe "Here hold my arsenic". Ever hear about those snake handlers down south?

[double bogey]

I ride mountain bikes on several of the trails in the Dallas area. I know, we don't have mountains but we have some nice trails. This year, I have seen more snakes than ever. Lots of internet talk on bike sites. I mostly ride the Rowlett Creek Preserve and the copperheads are thick. Imagine you are riding along on the single track and there is a snake across the trail. You have no choice but to run over it. A few weeks ago a biker saw a water moccasin and panic braked. Bike fell over and he was bitten on the upper arm. Most riders wear shorts and some form of running or riding shoes. Seems the best policy is to keep going and raise your feet up if you can.

[Gunplummer]

I guess it depends on the terrain where you are. Around here you are climbing and use your hands a lot to grab rocks and trees. That is why I was curious about where most people get bit.

[Erno86]

I like 17" high Gore-Tex snake boots, or some other waterproof variety, compared to snake gaiters. Cabelas has them on sale occasionally --- I own two pairs. I also own a pair of snake chaps. You'll probably need both... especially if you survey snake infested places --- like on some of the islands on the Cape Fear River, in North Carolina --- like I've had.

Copperheads...will sometimes snake coil in a circle, with it's head in the center of the coil --- poised too strike straight up. The strike could go inside of the snake chap legging --- that's why I would go with the snake chaps and gaiters/snake boots.

Water moccasins will sometimes try to avoid being stepped-on by a human. That's why you should learn to hear for a rustle in the leaves or weeds, as the water moccasin try's to avoid you.

[bcarver]

I wear nothing other than Danner lace up(non snake boots). I have never been bit or struck at by a snake. We have timberrattlers mostly. Most of my fellow club members wear zip up calf high snake boots. Some wear lace up.

[colbad]

I wear chaps. They are snake proof from about knees down. I once saw a pair of rattle snakes in TX doing a mating dance where they were extended every bit of waist high. At that point I was wondering if they made snake proof hip wader version.

I like the chaps better because they provide protection from thorns and other brush you might have to bust through. Also saves on your pants.

[AL45]

Along with a good pair of snake boots, you better have good insurance, I know 2 people who were bitten by rattlesnakes and their medical bill was astronomical.

[wet]

I don't know how snake proof snake proof is, when I was a kid I was driving my grandads pickup, stopped to open a gate. A rattler struck at the tire and stuck his fanges in the side of the tire, the tire went flat, driving ripped the body off but the fangs were still in the tire. I found the body not far from the gate.
I don't have any boots tougher than a tire. Do you?

[BIG P]

OLD SCHOOL,Burlap bags & garder belts,cheap & easy.Eastern diamonds, cooper heads.cotton mouth here.one size fits all, 4 layers of burlap fold to your size & belt.works for Me. Watch the ground is the best protection.

[reynolds357]

When I wear something for snakes, it is chaps. I got bit on the calf by a huge copperhead while wearing the chaps. He did not penetrate the chaps, but it is amazing the force those things hit with. It kind of felt like someone kicked me in the back of the leg. I can't imagine getting bitten by something like a mature Eastern Diamond back.