According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, about 7,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year. However, about half of all venomous snakebites are “dry,” meaning the snake does not release venom.

“Snakes are often in bluebonnets. You may want to reconsider sending your kids to sit or lay in them,” said Sharon Evans, injury prevention manager at Cook Children's Health Care System.

Snakebites are most common between April and October, with snakes typically most active in the morning and at dusk. Texas is known for two types of venomous snakes: pit vipers and coral snakes. North Texas is home to three species of pit vipers: copperheads, cottonmouths (also known as water moccasins) and rattlesnakes.

“If you are bitten go to the Emergency Department or Urgent Care Center for treatment and evaluation,” said Evans.

Once at the hospital, patients with moderate to severe envenomation may receive antivenom, which is readily available at Cook Children’s Medical Centers. Patients are closely monitored for symptom progression and may require hospital admission for observation and supportive care. 

Cook Children’s reported three snake bites as of March 2026. Last year, 25 snake bites were reported, the first one in April. In 2024, the first snakebite was reported in March. The system treated 27 snakebites that year.

Bluebonnets may not just be home to some slithery friends, but insects too. In cases of insect bites, such as fire ants, Evans suggests caregivers call the North Texas Poison Center.

“Be careful when your children are getting in there,” said Evans.

Evans shared advice for caregivers on how to enjoy the beautiful flowers, while avoiding a trip to the emergency department.  

Keeping safe:

• Look before you walk.
• Avoid walking in tall grass.
• Wear protective boots.
• Never attempt to touch or handle a snake, even if it appears dead.

 What to do if bitten by a snake:

• Do not try to capture, photograph, or kill the snake.
• Do not apply ice, tourniquets, or attempt to suck out venom.
• Immobilize the affected limb and keep it at heart level if possible.

 Signs of venomous snake bite:

• Blurred vision
• Convulsions
• Dizziness
• Excessive sweating
• Fainting
• Fang marks
• Fever
• Increased salivation
• Localized pain and burning
• Muscle contractions
• Muscle incoordination
• Nausea and vomiting
• Numbness and tingling
• Rapid pulse rate
• Skin discoloration
• Swelling in the bite area
• Thirst
• Tissue death
• Weakness

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Summer Safety: Protecting Your Kids from Snakebites in Texas

Sophia Price, with Cook Children's Trauma and Injury Prevention says Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth reported its first snakebites of the season in late April and early May, including its first copperhead bite in May. In 2024, the Cook Children's Health Care System treated 30 snakebites, with the first reported in March.

Jay Pearson, P.A., a physician assistant with Cook Children’s Trauma Services, offers crucial advice for parents on keeping children safe from snakebites. Price recommends avoiding walking in tall grass and wearing protective boots. She also warns that at night, snakes may rest on warm surfaces like driveways or sidewalks. Price emphasizes that individuals should never attempt to touch or handle a snake, even if it appears dead.

North Texas is home to three species of pit vipers:

• Copperheads
• Cottonmouths (also known as water moccasins)
• Rattlesnakes

A snakebite can cause localized pain and swelling that may spread as venom progresses. Other symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, and an increased heart rate. In severe cases, patients may experience difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, or bleeding disorders.

If a snake bites a child, seek immediate medical attention at the closest emergency department.

What to do if bitten by a snake:

• Do not try to capture, photograph, or kill the snake.
• Do not apply ice, tourniquets, or attempt to suck out venom.
• Immobilize the affected limb and keep it at heart level if possible.

How snakebites are treated at Cook Children's:

Once at the hospital, patients with moderate to severe envenomation may receive antivenom, which is readily available at Cook Children’s Medical Center.

Patients are closely monitored for symptom progression and may require hospital admission for observation and supportive care. 

For most of us, a snake bite of any type would send us directly into a panic. However, when Ray was bitten while working in his lawn, he was hesitant to go to the doctor. He didn’t want to overreact. He wasn’t even sure he’d been bitten because of the heavy gloves he wore outside.

“Initially I knew it wasn’t good, the numbness and tingling. I told my wife that I thought I got bit by a snake but I never saw it because I was trimming the shrubs,” Ray said. “I actually called the Emergency Department at Cook Children’s and talked to one of the physicians I work with, and he advised that I go into my local ER to get some labs.”

While Ray was on the phone with the doctor, his wife went to the front yard where he was bit, found the snake and killed it. Later, poison control confirmed the snake hiding in their shrubs was, in fact, a venomous copperhead.

Ray went to Texas Health Resources for testing and bloodwork, and eventually started Crofab (an anti-venom) in the following hours. He spent the next four days in the hospital, receiving additional doses of antivenom while waiting to regain use of his left hand.

Providers aren’t immune to the fear of the unknown that patients often experience. It was in that same unease that he began to sympathize with his own patients.

“Going from a caregiver and being placed into the role of a patient is something I’m going to take away from this,” Ray said. ”I was really anxious in the waiting room because of the swelling, I even knew the science behind it all, but it was still a source of anxiety for me so for children to be a patient, it’s even harder on them.”

Now fully recovered, Ray’s experience has given him a deeper level of empathy for his patients and has made him a better provider for children with anxiety.

“Seeing the compassion of the other physicians and the nurses is something that is going to make me a better provider going forward,” Ray said. “This experience is going to make me more compassionate. I think whenever a provider is forced into the role of a patient it can create more empathy for their future patients.”

Related Topic:

• After the Bite: When and Why Antivenom is Used at Cook Children's
• 1 Year Old Bitten By Rattlesnake Recovering At Cook Children's
• Patients Bitten By Snakes
• What Are The 4 Venomous Snakes Found in Texas?

About one minute outside was all it took for 1-year-old Harrison Bakke to be bitten by a baby rattlesnake. It happened just three feet from the door of his home in Abilene, Texas on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. He’s currently being treated at Cook Children’s.

This is the fourth patient treated for a snake bite at Cook Children’s this week and the fifth this month. According to the Cook Children’s Trauma registry, a total of 14 kids have been seen at the medical center for snake bites this year. Since 2010, 167 children have been treated for a snake bite.

Erin Bakke, Harrison’s mom, said she had just walked out of the room when her 3-year-old daughter opened the back door and both children stepped outside to play. Within no time, Erin heard Harrison crying. She ran outside and saw her son’s right hand bleeding.

She also saw the snake. Erin pulled both children inside and called 911. The fire department arrived to kill the snake and an ambulance took the little boy to an area hospital where he was administered the inititial doses of antivenom.

Harrison was then flown to Cook Children’s. He has received a total of 24 doses of CroFab at the time of this article's publication and is currently receiving two vials of CroFab (antivenom) every six hours. Surgery was also performed on his hand to make two small incisions to allow blood and fluid to drain from Harrison’s hand and reduce the swelling.

“A whirlwind would be the best phrase that for me would describe everything that’s happened,” Erin said. “We spent the first two hours at Abilene Regional Medical Center and it felt like we were there for 15 minutes. Everything was so chaotic, but at the same time everybody has done their job to keep our son healthy. I’m so thankful for everyone who has taken care of Harrison and the quick response.”

Erin and her husband, Michael, both run and walk in the neighborhood and have never seen a snake in the area. She said they live in a suburban area of Abilene and there’s not a lot of construction. Erin said she can’t believe this has all happened so fast because she only took her eyes off her children for such a short time before they made their way outside.

Texas Parks and Wildlife offers these tips for discouraging snakes from coming into the yard:

• Removing their shelter is one of the most effective ways of discouraging them.
• Eliminating rock piles, brush piles, and areas of tall grass will cause snakes to seek a more suitable habitat.
• Store lumber, wood piles and other debris around the home at least 18 inches off the ground.
• Controlling insect and rodent populations in the area will also help to discourage snakes by eliminating their food supply. Snakes will sometimes enter houses, barns and other buildings because they are attracted by the presence of rodents and insects as well as by the cool, damp, dark shelter provided by these buildings.
• To keep snakes out of houses or other buildings, you must seal off all entry points. Snakes usually enter a building at or below ground level.
• For this reason, all openings around water pipes, electrical outlets, doors and windows should be sealed. Any holes in masonry foundations around the home should also be sealed off with mortar.
• Hardware cloth or sheet metal can also be used to seal holes in wooden buildings or siding.
• As the weather heats up and kids are out of school, the opportunity for kids encountering snakes increases.

Mark Shelton, M.D., an Infectious Disease doctor at Cook Children’s and an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, says it’s important to teach respect for snakes.

"If you ignore a snake, more than likely, the snake will avoid you,” Dr. Shelton said. “But kids being kids, that’s sometimes easier said than done. Talk to your children about staying away from the snake. Don’t try to pick it up or kill it. Teach your child not to touch it or walk near it. Children should stand still when they spot a snake, then turn around slowly and walk away. Usually, the snake will crawl away into the bushes.”

Sharon Evans, Trauma/Injury Prevention Outreach Coordinator at Cook Children’s, says it’s not just live snakes that pose a threat either.

"We’ve seen bites that occurred after a snake was killed. Often the parents or kids want to get a closer look at the ‘dead’ snake and the head still had the reflex to bite,” Evans said.

As the warm weather approaches, this is a good opportunity for parents to talk to their children about snake safety.

Here are nine tips to start the conversation with your child:

1. Don't touch a snake.
2. Don't try to kill a snake.
3. Ignore the snake if you see it.
4. Wear closed-toe shoes in wooded areas.
5. Don't put fingers under rocks or crawl under houses or other structures.
6. Don't canoe or boat under limbs on rivers, streams or lakes.
7. Avoid edges of lakes, streams and rivers where vegetation is high.
8. Instruct your children to notify you if they see a snake.
9. If bitten by a snake, seek medical help immediately. DO NOT open the wound or try to suck out the venom.

Unfortunately, it can also be a time of tragedy when kids are rushed to Cook Children’s for help.

Four species of venomous snakes found in Texas: rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copperheads, and coral snakes.

Rattlesnakes are most populous in dry areas with prevalent rocks and canyons. When threatened, rattlesnakes will curl into a defensive position and rapidly shake their rattles. Rattlesnakes can be recognized by the “rattle” apparatus at the end of the tail. This species of snake has scales in a distinct diamond pattern, as well as a large head and fangs. Depending on the location, rattlesnakes can vary in color from brick red, buff pink, straw-yellow, beige, brownish and light gray:

Cottonmouth snakes (seen on the right), also known as water moccasins, are found where prey is plentiful. These snakes require large basking sites and will travel far from water to hibernate. Cottonmouths spend the majority of their time coiled at the edge of bodies of water or draped over nearby vegetation:

Copperhead snakes are common in wooded areas from the hardwood bottomlands in east Texas, to woody patches in the Trans Pecos of west Texas. Additionally, copperheads can be found in open areas within short proximity of woods. During the summer, copperheads are most active at night:

Coral snakes are extremely common across the state, from the pine forests in the East to the oak juniper canyons on the Pecos River. These snakes thrive in urban, suburban, and other habitats with plentiful rock crevices or plant cover:

Mark Shelton, M.D., an Infectious Disease doctor at Cook Children’s and an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, says it’s important to teach respect for snakes.

If you ignore a snake, more than likely, the snake will avoid you,” Dr. Shelton said. “But kids being kids, that’s sometimes easier said than done. Talk to your children about staying away from the snake. Don’t try to pick it up or kill it. Teach your child not to touch it or walk near it. Children should stand still when they spot a snake, then turn around slowly and walk away. Usually, the snake will crawl away into the bushes.”

Don’t be alarmed by the prevalence of these creepy crawlies within our great state, they love the sun and warmth just like us! Here are 10 tips to stay safe from snakes this summer:

1. Be especially careful of snakes after the rain. They will be seeking dry area and may be on a sidewalk or walking path they normally wouldn’t cross.
2. Don’t canoe or boat under limbs on rivers, streams and lakes.
3. Ignore the snake and they will ignore you.
4. Don’t touch or pick up a snake.
5. Don’t try to kill a snake.
6. Wear closed-toe shoes when in wooded areas.
7. Don’t put fingers under rocks and don’t crawl under houses or other structures.
8. Avoid the edges of lakes, streams, and rivers where vegetation is high.
9. Instruct your children to notify you if they see any species of snakes or other threatening animals.
10. If bitten by a snake, seek medical help immediately. Don’t open the wound or suck out the venom. Seek medical help.