Timber Rattlesnake in the Catskills? (to buy, living, stats)

[Shankapotomus]

Hi,

I have normally low blood pressure. I am planning to buy 5 woodsy acres somewhere in the Catskills. I read online that people bitten by Timber Rattlesnakes with low blood pressure die faster. Should I be worried about moving to the Catskills? What are the chances of being bitten by a tmber rattlesnake in the Catskills?

Thanks.

[Shankapotomus]

okay...i just found the stats for yearly poisonous snake bites. i have a better chance of going into low earth orbit than dying from a snake bite.

[NJbear]

NYSDEC officially maintains that there is no record of anyone in NY state being bitten by a timber rattlesnake that was not either harassing or handling the snake first. Certainly snake bites DO occur on occasion, but this is the official word from the state on the conditions under which the bites occur. I do wonder if their definitions of "harrassment" or "handling" include accidentally stepping on one. That's the only thing I worry about- they are indeed non-aggressive and probably more afraid of you than you are of them. They will also warn you with their rattle if you are too close for their liking- if you know what that sound is it would help both you and them.

But what happens if you catch one off guard and step on or right next to one, before it has a chance to move away or rattle to warn you?

I worry about this because we do have them on our land. However, they are very seldom seen despite ideal habitat (remote/wooded/lots of rock ledges) and a confirmed winter den location on a nearby property. The one area where we've seen them multiple times, some cliffs with southern exposure, is an area I simply avoid in the warmer months- as much because I don't enjoy seeing them as out of any genuine safety concern. However, the chances of a rattlesnake being on your property are pretty slim unless you have wooded land in a fairly remote, mostly undeveloped spot. If you have several neighbors within sight or earshot, you are -probably- not very likely to find one, even in the Catskills.

[rhenning]

Timber Rattlers are very rare in the Catskills, found primarily on Overlook Mountain near the summit and on Mt Tremper. They are very people shy. If you live here, deer eating your shrubs or bears raiding the garbage will be a bigger concern than encountering a rattler. I've only seen one in over 30 years of living here and hiking in many of the mountains and someone had to point out the one. It was tucked under a rock a safe distance away.