Snake Awareness in Southern States
29 CFR 1926.50 · This talk in Spanish
Why it matters
Rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and coral snakes live exactly where site work puts hands and feet: under material stacks, in crawl spaces, along slab edges, and in the cool of pipe and equipment left overnight. Reaching or stepping where you cannot see, or trying to kill a snake, puts you in strike range. Today: where they are, how not to meet one, and what a bite plan looks like.
Hazards
- ⚠ Reaching blind under lumber, pipe, and debris piles
- ⚠ Stepping over logs and material into the hidden far side
- ⚠ Crawl spaces, meter pits, and valve boxes with residents
- ⚠ Trying to kill or move a snake, which makes it feel threatened
- ⚠ Bites walking through tall grass at dawn on rural sites
- ⚠ Wrong first aid: cutting, sucking, ice, and tourniquets all make it worse
Controls and safe practices
- ✓ Look, then lift: roll material toward you so the underside faces away, and use a tool to lift low stacks first.
- ✓ Step ON logs and stacks then over, never blind across, and light every crawl space before entering.
- ✓ Leave snakes alone: back away slowly, mark the area, and let it leave or call a removal service.
- ✓ Boots and long pants on rural and overgrown sites; snake gaiters for heavy brush clearing.
- ✓ Store material off the ground where practical to remove the shade snakes want.
- ✓ Bite plan: keep the victim calm, lay or sit them down with the bite in a comfortable position, remove rings and watches before swelling starts, and get to a hospital fast; call ahead.
- ✓ NO cutting, suction, ice, tourniquets, alcohol, or pain pills.
Crew discussion questions
- What venomous snakes are in this county, and can we recognize them?
- Which spots on this site are snake real estate?
- Where is the nearest hospital with antivenom?
- Who still believes in cut-and-suck? Clear it up today.
Applicable OSHA standards
29 CFR 1926.50
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