Timber rattlesnake spotted in Centerville

On Monday, Houston County Georgia Snake Removal and Relocation was called to the Centerville area after a timber rattlesnake was seen visiting a home in one of the city’s residential neighborhoods. According to a post made to the Centerville Police Department’s Facebook page, it was the first timber rattler to be caught in the city of Centerville in almost 25 years. While Houston County Georgia Snake Removal couldn’t confirm those statistics, the man who runs the department agreed that it’s been awhile.

“As far as how many years it’s been since we’ve seen one in the area … I don’t have that exact information,” James Dowling told Houston Home Journal, “but I have gotten a couple of them from the Centerville area before.”

Not only is Dowling the contact person for snake confiscation with Houston County Snake Removal, he is also set up with the 911 emergency center. So on those occasions where frantic calls come in regarding a snake sighting, he is the man for the job. In this week’s incident, the snake greeted a resident who’d casually walked outside his home.

“He stepped onto his back porch, and there it was, just laying there,” Dowling said with a laugh.

The timber rattlesnake is a venomous species, and according to Wikipedia, it can grow to became anywhere from 36 to 60 inches in length and can tip the scales at nearly 10 pounds. Monday’s catch was about 48 inches (four feet) long per Dowling’s estimation.

If a person were to get bitten by a timber rattler, the immediate course of action should be to seek medical attention. However, based on shared insight from a professional in the matter, just because a snake is poisonous doesn’t mean it has to be deadly.

“That person would need to get to the hospital as soon as possible,” Dowling admitted. “But as long as they do that and receive the right treatment, the bite probably wouldn’t become deadly.”

The Georgia Wildlife website provides a fact-sheet that states as many as half of all bites by venomous snakes are mild or “dry” bites in which little or no venom is injected. Out of 10,000 snakebites in the U.S. per year, 12 to 15 of them result in death. This equates to a survival chance of 499 out of 500. Regarding the timber rattlesnake in particular, the fact-sheet defines the snake as “passive if not pestered, rarely attacking if you back away and leave it alone.”

When residents spot any type of snake in their area, Dowling said the proper response is not to attempt to catch, harm or kill the snake, but rather to call his office or 911. Being that many are not aware that his snake removal service exists, some will opt to call animal control, which is acceptable as well. The trained professionals in these areas will get the message to the right place.

“The average person probably doesn’t know how to identify if a snake is poisonous or not,” Dowling pointed out. “So obviously, if you don’t know, you should never mess with it at all. Statistically speaking, a lot of the people who get bitten by snakes are people who were attempting to kill the snake. Getting close enough to a snake to kill it is putting yourself in more danger than you should.”

What many Houston County residents and Georgians at large may not know is that all non-venomous snakes are protected species within the state. It is, in fact, against the law to kill one unless that snake is poisonous. There are penalties to face if that law is broken.

“A lot of people have a theory that ‘the only good snake is a dead snake,’” Dowling remarked, “but there’s really a lot of ignorance in saying that because snakes do serve a great purpose for us. Going out and killing something that just happens to be out there minding its own business is not a course of action to take.”

Because he’s trained and experienced, Dowling is able to look at many skin patterns, head shapes, tails, colors and other identifying factors and determine the species. However, since most people can’t do the same and are not able to determine whether a snake is venomous or not simply by looking at it, Dowling says killing one just because one is spotted should never be done.

His advice for those who see a snake is this: “Admire it from a distance and let it go on its way. If necessary, call 911 or call me and let me come deal with it.”

For those who would like to have his direct contact information just in case the need arises, James Dowling can be reached at 478-302-8576. Follow the Houston County Georgia Snake Removal and Relocation page on Facebook for ongoing safety tips and other interesting sightings.

HHJ News