LAKE WACO, TX — Spring means snake season in Texas.
It's the time we're mostly likely to see them, and if we're lucky, avoid their bite.
Some Texans wear cowboy boots to look stylish, but real Texans wear cowboy boots to prevent snake bites, particularly, when snakes go for the ankles.
Springtime brings out the snakes in Texas, and nobody knows that better than Dallas Realtor Russ Kidwell. Boots didn't help him much, because a rattlesnake bit him on the hand.
"I know first hand that this is the season, and we are in the great state that has snakes, and I've got the scar to prove it," he said.
Kidwell says he'd gone into a storage room at a home at Lake Whitney he'd listed to sell. He went to move some things around and disturbed the snake. That's when it bit.
"I had what was called a "non-envenomation." It left two vicious fang marks and ultimately a bruise and a scar," he recalled.
A nuisance, but not deadly.
What makes spring the most dangerous time? Jeff Wooten of Cen-Tex Pest Control calls it nature's annual awakening.
”As everything starts to warm back up and get wet again, everything's gonna start moving around, and snakes are gonna need to feed more,” he explained.
Wooten says avoid places like tall grass and shady spots.
”I think people should really be careful around rocks and logs. That's where snakes hide. That's where they wait for food,” he said.
Don't forget those storage buildings. Russ Kidwell sure won't.
"Realize, you're never really alone, so be cautious of your surroundings," he said.
The best way to protect yourself? Watch where you walk. If you see a snake, don’t bother it, and don’t forget your cowboy boots for ankle protection.
