Snakes everywhere!!!

Question
Dear BPC,

Thank you for your resource. I live in Orlando, Fl near a small lake. The lake has ducks etc and is close to a wooded area and the neighbors come to fish etc. I have seen all kinds of different shakes running around and we have a cat who keeps bringing dead baby snakes home. The dog runs outside and a couple of times has gotten very agitated when these crawlers have been near our screen door.Since we are seeing a variety of different kinds of snakes(shapes and sizes) my concern is for my pets and my family when I am either doing the lawn or someone is out with the dog etc. How can one keep these snakes away from us? In the event that someone gets bitten to include the pets how can one administer first aid promptly before heading to the ER? Is there something we can keep on hand to administer to sustain a person or pet till we get professional help? We live about 20 minutes away from both a vet location or ER CENTER.Is there a specific kind of cat or pet we can keep to keep these guys under control? In principle, I do not mind these guys around but I would hate any one to accidentally get hurt or worse because these uninvited guests are frequenting our yard....Thank you


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Answer
Obi, I live about an hour away from you so I'm familiar with the wildlife.  The one venomous snake you would most likely encounter would be the cotton mouth, a.k.a. water moccasin.  They are fairly aggressive and do not tend to shy away from conflict like some other snakes.  Their venom is not very toxic but it can cause severe pain and could kill small pets.  Learn what they look like and avoid them.  There are people in Orlando who will remove them.  Contact the Central FL Herpetological Society and ask for help.  As to first aid, the best thing to do is to quickly but calmly get to an ER.  DO NOT cut the wound, apply a tourniquet, or suck the venom.  Just go to the ER or vet ASAP.  There are literally DOZENS of nonvenomous snakes in our area and those are probably what you are seeing most of the time.  Learn those too, and enjoy them as you would the birds and other wildlife.