To all our Australian Friends on the site

[redbrass_ca]

I was watching a documentary on the week-end about poisonous animals. Needless to say Australia was 90% of the documentary. They said that 5 out 6 of the most poisonous snakes were found in Australia( real instant killers). They also said they had serious problems with the Funnel Spider near Sydney(Looks like and ugly tarantulla but far more deadly). I was wondering how you guys mustard the courage to go digging in the bushes and overgrown sites when all these critters are roaming around. Do you have to take special precautions or do you get close calls? Are most of you guys like Bobby( with the thick beard) that host the show "Killer instinct". They say brown snake invasion is a full time business for pest controllers. Please share your thoughts!

All the best

Thierry G. Papion

 

[kumtow]

Australians that are born and bred in the country areas are usually taught a few very simple rules by their parents that reduce the risk. For example, never turn over a log or sheet of iron lying on the ground with your hands, always use a big stick, and be prepared to jump clear real fast. If you do see a snake, leave it alone, unless it decides to take up residence in your house, it is usually more scared of you than you are of it. Most aussie snakes are not aggressive unless you corner them. If camping in the bush, ALWAYS and I really mean ALWAYS, roll up your sleeping gear and put it away during the day. Keeps all sorts of bities out of your swag. About 20 years ago when I first joined the Army, an American serviceman on exercise in Shoalwater Bay, central Queensland coast, didn't roll up his sleeping gear. He was found the next morning as stiff as a plank. He had been bitten 18 times by a Taipan that decided the soldiers sleepbag was nice and cozy. Taipans have the ability to inject more venom every time they bite and is the nastiest snake in the world. To put in perspective, studies have been done where venom toxicity is measured by calculating how many mice could be killed with the venom from one bite. The Taipan can kill 140,000 mice with one bite, the King Cobra on the other hand is a pussy and only kills 11,000 mice. Still, I wouldn't want to have an argument with a cobra, could make you a bit crook.
First aid for snake and spider bites is a very very handy thing to know. City born aussies often don't have a clue, but all children are taught about the dangers.
If one has a heathly respect for these animals it is usually not a problem, obey some simple common sense rules and there should be no problem. Got a better chance of being run over by a bus really.

 

[glopf43]

Hey Alan, GREAT ADVICE! And not only for those living Down~Under.

 

[IRISH]

As Alan said we have common sense drilled into us as kids, most people don't even think about the dangers much, it's just something you are always aware of.
I've had a few very close calls with snakes, a year or two ago a Tigersnake hit the bottom part of my boot as I jumped over a rock, that got the heart going a bit harder [:-] . I've been scruffing around in dirt and scrub since before I could walk and never been bitten too badly by anything, some spiders are more a problem than snakes although often less dangerous.

It often seems that everything in our bush bites, stings or prickles though I must admit [] .

 

[redbrass_ca]

Guys,

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Out here were I live ( Halifax, Nova Scotia) the treat of getting poisoned by any creature is extremetly remote. We have a number of insect the can carry viruses or bacteria. The West nile virus found in mosquitoes is spreading across the country. We don't have any deadly snakes or spider.

I think if I could join you guys on a dig I might be a bid on the edge. Is there a lot of accidental death each year because of poisonous bites?

Cheers

Thierry

 

[kumtow]

Hi Redbrass_ca,
I've had a few mates bitten by snakes over the years and it seems hospitals treat the symptoms more so than use anti venom. Horse serum causes more bad reactions than the venom itself. The worst thing one can do for a snake bite is move around. Activity will pump the venom thru the body rapidly. Don't suck the poison out of the wound. Apply a compression bandage and remain as still as possible until help arrives is the way to go. Had a bloke die last year, bitten by a King Brown (very bad snake, No 3 in the world) then he road his push bike to get help (idiot). He improved the species by removed himself from the human race before he could breed.
The only spider to really worry about is the Sydney funnel web. It is aggressive and there was still no anti venom a few years ago. Not sure if we have one now or not. Can kill the young, old and infirm. Healthy adults get very very crook.
I think we have more shark and croc related deaths. But then again, we have many, many more car accident deaths than all venomous critters put together. So when you put it into perspective its a nice place to live.