Snakes, Animals, Insects

 
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Snakes / Animals / Insects
Contact your local co-operative extension to find out what creatures you have in your area and what precautions can be made to protect yourself and your family from them.

Find out if there is any special equipment you might need in case of any attack (for example: a snake bite kit)

What particular areas do the wild animals usually roam? Make sure to put away all food and garbage while camping so that rodents and animals do not have anything to entice them into your area.

Snakes and Insects
What kind of insects are in your area and are any of them disease carriers?

For more information on Mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus, visit the Center for Disease Control's site at
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm


Preventing snake bites
  1. Be aware of surroundings. Ask locals if snakes inhabit the area. If mice, chipmunks and other rodents are present, assume that snakes are, too.
  2. Carry a walking stick and prod before stepping in or touching suspected areas. Snakes like to hide under rocks, logs and leaf debris. Pay attention to where you put your hands and feet. Never hop over a rock wall without knowing what’s on the other side!
  3. Wear high boots if walking through a snake infested area. A snake can extend only half its body length, so, if it is on the ground, it will generally bit below your knee.
  4. Step away slowly if you see a snake. If you panic and run, you may step on another snake nearby, or trip and fall.
  5. Know which snakes are dangerous. Look for a triangular head (rattlesnakes, copperheads cottonmouths) or red bands touching yellow to whitish bands (coral snakes).
  6. Do not corner a snake. Give it plenty of room to escape.
Treatment of snake bites rattle snake
  1. Remove yourself or victim from risk of a second bite.
  2. Use a snake extractor pump immediately. The first few minutes are the most important for venom removal.
  3. Calm the patient. Virtually all snakebites are successfully treated in the U.S.
  4. Keep the extremity at heart level or lower. In most cases severe complications DO NOT occur until several hours post-bite. If the victim must be transported or walked out, make wise use of those first few hours.
  5. Seek medical help immediately. Children and adults under 120 lbs. Are particularly at risk, as is anyone who has received multiple bites or a full load of venom.
  6. Limit liquid intake because the body pumps fluids to the bite site, increasing painful swelling. Avoid alcohol, which increases metabolism and impairs judgment.
  7. Remember that most bites, even from poisonous snakes, are not fatal. Panic can increase the danger to the victim by inducing rapid heartbeat.
  8. Do not excite the victim or even allow the victim to walk if it can be avoided. Doing so will increase blood circulation, speeding the spread of the venom beyond the area of the bite.
  9. Do not use the small rubber suction cups found in some first aid kits because they are too weak to remove any significant amount of venom.
  10. Do not cut an “X” or suck out venom with the mouth. This is ineffective and increases trauma in the area of the wound.
  11. Do not apply a tourniquet, constricting band, or “Australian Wrap”, unless you are well trained in its use.
  12. Do not risk a second bite by chasing or trying to capture the snake. The antivenin for pit viper bites is the same for all species so identification is rarely necessary. Emergency room personnel will know from the type of bite (punctured versus “chewed” tissue) whether the attacker was a pit viper or coral snake.
Preventing Bees, Wasps, and Hornets Stings bees
  1. Be aware of surroundings. Listen for buzzing and look for nests or hives. Check long grass before mowing, especially in late summer when yellow jackets are most aggressive. Wear light-colored clothing.
  2. Escape into a body of water if possible when attacked by a swarm of flying insects. Remain submerged, moving away from the insects, if possible, until they leave.
  3. Carry protection. Though repellents are not effective against bees or wasps, the continuous flow of air from a spray can confuse them, giving you time to escape.
  4. Remove and destroy nests, if necessary, at night when the insects are not active.
  5. Do not wear strong perfumes or cosmetics, particularly floral scented ones, which can attract bees and wasps.
  6. Do not leave opened cans of sweet drinks or beer standing around. Always check before drinking from an open container, even if it contains only water.
Treatment of Bees, Wasps, and Hornets
  1. Use an extractor pump to pull out the venom. By pulling out the venom, you can relieve pain, itching and swelling and reduce the risk of future reactions.
  2. Seek emergency medical help immediately if the victim has a history of serious reactions to stings or if a serious reaction seems to be developing. Keep the extractor pump on the sting area for up to two minutes while seeking help.
  3. Seek relief of immediate pain with sting wipes.
  4. Itch balm can relieve pain as well as reduce the body’s reaction to the bite. Its benefit is less immediate, but beneficial longer.
  5. Do not pull a bee’s stinger out with fingers or tweezers as this will squeeze more venom into the victim. Instead,, carefully flick it out with the blunt side of a knife, a credit card or other non-sharp object.
  6. Do not put meat tenderizer on a sting. Though this may provide temporary relief from itching and swelling, there are better methods available. Meat tenderizer contains enzymes designed to dissolve the fiber structure of muscle tissue and may permanently damage nerve tissue, resulting in loss of sensation if used repeatedly in one area.
Treatment of Scorpion Bites scorpion
  1. Try to draw out venom immediately with an extractor pump. Seek pain relief. An itch balm, cool water or ice may also reduce the pain.
  2. Monitor for allergic reaction. Scorpions are arachnids, related to spiders, ticks and mites. They are usually black or shades of yellow and brown and range in size from one half to eight inches long. There are 20 known species in the U.S., mostly in the southwest, but one species has been found as far north as Alberta, Canada.
Preventing Fly Bites fly
  1. The most bothersome flies are gnats, no-see-ums, sand flies, black flies and horseflies.
  2. Use repellents containing R-326 (Di-n-propyl Isocinchomeronate), which is even more effective than Deet against flies. “Composite” repellents are best because they repel ticks and mosquitoes as well as flies. Deet Plus and Sawyer Gold is recommended because they contain R-326 and Deet plus a third ingredient, MGK-264, that maximizes the effectiveness of both.
  3. Spray tents and clothing with Permethrin, which lasts up to two weeks and is not washed off by rain water. Permethrin will also kill ticks and mosquitoes.
  4. Dispose of litter, garbage, manure, decaying matter, and remove the places where maggots (fly larvae) can thrive.
  5. Avoid areas of standing water where flies and mosquitoes may breed.
  6. Dispose of standing water.
  7. Use window and door screens. Repair holes promptly.
  8. Spray screens with Permethrin to keep out tiny no-see-ums, fruit flies and pomace flies. Permethrin is effective for up to two weeks and will also kill ticks and mosquitoes.
Treatment of Fly Bites
  1. Try to draw out anticoagulants and irritants if there is local swelling and the appearance of allergic reaction to a fly bite. Use an extractor pump which creates a strong vacuum to suction out poisons and other foreign fluids, thus relieving pain, itching and swelling and perhaps reducing the risk of more serious reactions.
  2. Seek pain relief such as a sting wipe which are soaked in benzocaine anesthetic for fast pain relief.
Preventing Tick Bites Ticks
  1. Wear long pants, preferably tucked into socks. Wear light colors (so you can spot ticks) and tight weaves (so ticks can not get a foothold).
  2. Avoid brush and leaf debris. Stick to trails and check yourself regularly, especially around waistlines, knees, armpits, ears and crotch. Use the buddy system, and do not be modest.
  3. Apply Permethrin repellent on tents, sleeping bags and clothing (not on skin). It kills ticks and mosquitoes on contact, lasts up to 14 days, and won’t wash off with water. Ticks climb upwards so be sure that your barrier covers adequate areas above tick entry levels. If you are only in knee high grass then treating pants is probably adequate. However, if brush or trees are likely drop points for ticks then a total body coverage of Permethrin on clothing and Deet on skin is necessary.
  4. Use insect repellents containing Deet. Composite repellents are best because they use enhancers to boost the power of Deet and therefore less of it is needed. Non-composite repellents require 30% Deet to be effective. Sawyer Gold and Deet Plus both composites containing minimum Deet for mosquito and tick control, R-326 to repel flies and MGK 264 to render both more effective.
Treatment of Tick Bites
  1. Wash the area with soap and water and apply rubbing alcohol to avoid local infection.
  2. Best known are the tiny deer tick, which spreads Lyme disease and the newly diagnosed human granulocytic ehrlichia infection the Lone Star Tick, which transmits Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever; and the dog tick. All ticks are capable of spreading disease to humans and animals. As a precaution, all ticks should be treated as if they carried disease.
  3. Because ticks are so small, blood has for them the consistency of jello. In order for the blood meal to be easier to suck in, the tick secretes saliva and in so doing may also secrete any disease carrying bacteria harboring in its gut. This is how Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other tick borrow illnesses are transmitted.
Treatment of Spider Bites
  1. Most spider bites occur at night when a spider passes over a sleeping victim. When discovered hours later, usually a sore red bump, the skin has sealed over and removal of venom by applying an extractor pump is difficult but worth a try. Applying itch balm is helpful.
  2. The Brown Recluse, also known as the Violin or Fiddleback Sp[icer because of the distinctive violin shaped marking on its back, can also deliver a painless bite or a bite that merely itches and burns at first. Later the surrounding tissue turns red, or black and blue, and begins to disintegrate from the venom which is designed to digest the victim’s flesh. A crusted wound forms and after the crust falls off, continues to deepen, forming a crater that may take months to heal. Brown Recluse bites are often not diagnosed until considerable tissue damage has taken place, so it is important to inform the doctor if you suspect a bite.
  3. Seek medical attention if you suspect a Brown Recluse or Black Widow bite.
 brown recluse spider
spider web
Treatment of Ant Bites Ants
  1. Try to remove poisons. For a manageable number of bites, use an extractor pump which creates a strong vacuum to suction out poisons and other foreign fluids, thus relieving pain, itching and swelling and reducing the risk of more serious reactions.
  2. Seek pain relief. Sting wipes are soaked in benzocaine anesthetic for fast pain relief.
  3. Use hydrocortisone to relieve itching. Use an itch balm which contains hydrocortisone for relief of itching, an antihistamine to reduce the body’s reaction to the bite and tetracaine, a pain reliever.
Preventing Mosquito Bites mosquitos
  1. Deet is the most effective mosquito repellent, but it can irritate the skin. Do not use more than necessary, particularly on children. Fortunately, the repelling power of Deet is greatly increased by adding another ingredient known as a “synergist”, which actually makes Deet work better. Sawyer Gold and Deet Plus Composite Insect Repellents contain the synergist MGK-264 as well as R-326 which repels flies and ticks.
  2. Citronella, the most common of the 150 essential oils used to repel mosquitoes, works for short periods of time. However, if presented to the body in high concentrations, it can irritate.
  3. Beware of formulas that are not registered with the EPA. Some unregistered repellents have dangerously high concentrations of essential oils and, thought effective against insects, may irritate the skin and cause other side effects. The EPA does not approve any repellent containing more than 10% essential oils and requires registration of any formula with over 3% essential oils. At high concentrations, these essential oils may not be safe.
  4. Spray tents, at least tent openings, sleeping bags and clothing to kill mosquitoes on contact.
  5. Remove stagnant pools of water near your home.
Treatment of Mosquito Bites mosquito
  1. Apply topical relief. Stig wipes with benzocaine for fast relief and itch balm which contains hydrocortisone for relief of itching, an antihistamine to reduce the body’s reaction to the bite and tetracaine, a pain reliever is good to use.
  2. For very bothersome bites an extractor pump may be helpful by removing this mild form of poison and reducing itching.
  3. Seek medical help if significant swelling appears in the area of the bite or if fever occurs. Though rare, this kind of reaction can be serious.

Treatment of Marine Envenomations (Jellyfish, Poruguese Man-of-War, Stingrays, Coral and Swimmer’s itch)Jelly Fish

Jellyfish – Seek medical attention if stung by a jellyfish. Use a topical agent for relief from pain and itching. A mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% rubbing alcohol should be applied first. This is to disinfect the would. You can then apply an itch balm that contains hydrocortisone for relief of itching, an antihistamine to reduce the body’s reaction to the bite and tetracaine, a pain reliever. portugese man of war

Portuguese Man-of-War – Seek medical attention. Apply vinegar and alcohol followed by an itch balm as above mentioned (see jellyfish)

sting rayStingrays – Seek medical attention. Apply heat or immerse the affected area in hot water to thin the venom. Use an extractor pump and monitor for signs of allergic reaction.

Coral – Clean the affected area thoroughly with a solution of 50% vinegar and 50% rubbing alcohol. Then apply a topical pain reliever such as sting wipes, which are soaked in benzocaine anesthetic for fast pain relief.

Swimmer’s Itch – Clean the area and seek relief from itching. Apply an itch balm as above (see jellyfish). If itching persists, seek medical advice.