The ferns are a good place to be extra cautious, the timbers find good hunting in them. Swattie can give you some good ideas on gaiters, since he wears them in snake country. I consider the slack in my waders good enough protection from fangs. You pretty much have to step on a rattler to get bitten.
Not to mention, one third of rattlesnake bites are what's called a "dry bite" where the snake doesn't even inject venom, preferring to preserve it for when it's procuring food. More of a "stop bothering me" bite. It usually knows the difference between a potential food source and an annoyance. Just don't step on one. 😉Some Statistics
the odds of you being bitten are 40,965 to one. Basically Drunk Dumb young people get bitten. The 85% of bites happen on the hands tells ya something - don't touch snakes . Cows and Dogs are more dangerous.
This is from an article from Outside Magazine.
- In the United States, 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year.
- 55 percent of people bitten by snakes are male, ages 17 to 27.
- 85 percent of bites are to the fingers and hands.
- 13 percent of snakebites occur on the feet and legs, rarely above the ankle.
- 57 percent of snakebite victims were handling the snake at the time of the bite.
- 28 percent of snakebite victims were intoxicated.
- Denim clothing can reduce the amount of venom injected by a snakebite by 60 percent or more.
- On average, five Americans die from snakebites each year.
