Warm Weather and Deadly Snakes Now a Bad Combination in Idaho

There are snakes here.  Not all of them serve in the legislature.  While most of what we see in southern Idaho isn’t venomous, you can occasionally encounter a rattlesnake.  The Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office has told me they’re often in the rocks at Blue Heart Springs, a popular resting spot for boaters and kayakers.  The snakes are generally shy, but if they feel threatened, they can strike.

The terrain across much of Idaho, whether high deserts, river valleys, or mountains, makes great habitat for snakes.  Even lakes are prime habitat.  One of the most common ones locally would be the bull snake. It can be provoked and give a nasty bite, but it’s not a killer.

A couple of years ago, I came across a snake about four feet long in the street near my home.  It was dead, having been flattened by a car.  It had some yellow stripes around what looked to be a brownish body.  Neighbors told me it hadn’t been dangerous.

I had the impression the South Hills and mountains in Twin Falls and Cassia County were relatively safe, but a friend told me one of her sons encountered a nasty rattler.  The boy was horseback riding when he came across the serpent on a trail.  He was armed with a bow and put an arrow through the snake.  That’s some good aim and a good set of nerves!

Of course, any snake bite, poisonous or not, should require some medical attention.  Especially if you’re not sure what just sank its teeth into you.  Minutes can count, so it probably would be a benefit to carry some first aid supplies if you’re hiking, boating, or on horseback.

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