Posted by Wayne You don't need to fear snakes in the water even if you do see them. The water snakes in Pennsylvania are all harmless nerodian water snakes. You are many thousands of times more likely to drown in the water than be bitten by a snake in the water (that doesn't mean you should worry about drowning, just that the odds you will be bit by a snake are nil). Even in the extremely unlikely event that you were bitten by a nerodian water snake the consequences would be trivial and would require nothing more than washing the bite with soap and water. Your brother is basically right "that they don't come out that far." They could in theory go out that far and on rare occasions they might but generally the water snakes are going to be near the shorelines of the lake. One of the reasons people are so afraid of snakes in the water is because there are tons of silly urban legends about swarms of snakes attacking people in water. All of those legends are false but they make good scary campfire stories. I actually wade in the water looking for snakes at night with a flashlight in the South where we have both the nonvenomous nerodian water snakes (the only kind in your area) and the venomous cottonmouth. I've never been struck at or bitten by either type of snake. While you will probably never adopt that esoteric hobby nor desire to ;-), I hope that gives you a sense of just how little of a threat snakes in the water are. --Previous Message--
on July 6, 2005, 10:59 am, in reply to "snakes"
206.152.117.81
Tracey,
: I went out tubing the other day in a
: local lake and I was terrified of
: snakes in the water. Everytime I got
: thrown from the tube I was petrified of
: a snake coming near me and my brother
: said " they dont come out this
: far." Is that true. Do I need to
: fear them when I am out water tubing on
: the boat. I live in Northeastern Pa?
: Can someone help me with my fear of
: being in a lake and seeing or being
: bitten by a snake?
:
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