ARIZONA DAILY STAR (Tucson, Arizona) 08 September 06 Bites from "invisible snakes" and mosquitoes higher than usual (Tom Beal)
Tucson, Arizona: An unusually wet summer has produced prime habitat for things that bite, from tiny, voracious mosquitoes to invisible snakes.
The snakes aren’t actually invisible, but at least three people in Southern Arizona have been bitten this summer by venomous snakes they neither saw nor heard.
Experts at the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center suspect baby rattlers in dense cover were the culprits.
Snake bites are up substantially this August, said Jude McNally, managing director of the center, operated by the University of Arizona’s College of Pharmacy.
Cooler daytime temperatures have brought hikers and snakes into greater contact with each other, McNally said. This is also the time of year for rattlesnakes to give birth, and more offspring may be eluding hawks, road runners and other predators by hiding in the lush cover the rains have produced.
According to the center, three people who were bitten over the past three weeks didn’t immediately realize that snakes were the culprits.
The parents of 7-year-old Aubrey Staten of Thatcher treated her for a suspected scorpion sting before describing her symptoms in a telephone call to the Poison Center, which advised them to seek treatment for snake bite.
The center “encourages anyone who feels an unidentified sting, pinch or bite while outdoors” to call 1-800-222-1222.
Bites from "invisible snakes" and mosquitoes higher than usual