Snakes can become a major problem in flood-hit areas: how people can protect themselves, what to do if bitten, and what not to do. Many people are spreading the idea that burning chillies or keeping carbolic acid at home will keep snakes away. This will not work. It is a completely unscientific method with no basis in science. Hanging a mosquito net is the only correct method. Burnt chillies and the rest are fake; snakes can never be driven away like this. People on Facebook are posting these things without knowing and sharing them widely, so people are learning the wrong things. Following them could put lives at risk.

Snakes are usually burrow-dwelling animals. They spend most of the day hidden in the dark, from the harmless checkered keelback to the cobra. They always keep themselves hidden from people, and also hide from the sun's heat and light. Most snakes in our country are nocturnal and stay in holes during the day. That could be a hole in the ground, a hollow in a tree trunk, or a gap in a pile of bricks or an old house wall. These places will now be full of floodwater, so snakes that were hiding will look for a shelter to save themselves from the water, and that will certainly be a dry, high place.

The place where people sleep now will be high and dry, so snakes will want to take shelter there too. The main way to stay safe from snakes is to sleep under a mosquito net. Simply hanging the net is not enough; it must be tucked in. Many people sleep without tucking in the net, and that will not do. In shelters or at home, look carefully before putting on shoes or touching pots, pans and bowls to see whether a snake is hiding there. If anything is stacked up, whether on the first or second floor, take care when removing things and use a stick; do not move them directly by hand. Never walk through dark places; use a light. There is no other option.

If someone is still bitten by a snake, they must be taken without delay to a district headquarters or upazila hospital. Other hospitals usually do not treat snakebite. If you come across a snake during the flood, do not kill it; inform the forest department or, if possible, call 999, and they will send a snake rescue team. People are more often bitten when they try to attack snakes. This must not be done. If you see a snake, keep away from it.

The writer, Adnan Azad Asif, is a wildlife photographer and researcher.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.