Bill Murray was clearing yard debris out of the traps of his swimming pool behind his home on Habersham Road in Buckhead last Thursday morning when something he'd never imagined latched onto his hand.
“I stuck my hand in the first one and cleaned all the leaves out,” he said. “I went over to the second one and stuck my hand in—and as soon as I did, I just felt a sharp intense pain. I looked down, and there was a copperhead in the skimmer basket.”
“I immediately knew I had to get to the hospital,” Murray said. He kicked the lid back onto the skimmer basket, went into the house and told his wife, “Come on, you have to drive me to the hospital.”
Murray went to nearby Piedmont Hospital, which has seen a lot more snakes this year sinking their fangs into metro Atlanta residents -- six so far compared with two in 2010, one in 2009 and none in 2008, according to hospital spokesman Jim Taylor.
The worst months for bites were June, with three incidents, and September, with two – the most recent being Murray's case last week.
Doctors kept him at the hospital all day, monitoring the bite site for signs of infection and complications as Murray’s hand and arm swelled. They eventually sent him home with instructions and antibiotics to prevent an infection.
Even Monday, four days after the incident, he said, “My arm’s still swollen about 50 percent bigger than it normally is, and I have a limited range of motion. They say it may take several weeks before the swelling comes off and I get the range of motion back.”
But Murray did get the snake. It was a young snake, only 11 inches long, and still in the trap when he came home. Murray's son killed it with a shovel.
A Georgia Department of Natural Resources website lists copperheads as one of six venomous snakes in the state – the others are the cottonmouth, eastern coral snake and three varieties of rattlesnake.
But by far the copperhead is the most likely to be encountered in the Atlanta area, Channel 2 Action News reports.
Copperheads thrive in brushy areas and woodpiles, especially if there’s water or a creek nearby.
“They are very shy snakes,” Brad Lock, assistant curator of herpetology at ZooAtlanta, told Channel 2. “They may not be aggressive, but invade a copperhead’s turf and you can get bit.”
The drought might have something to do with the recent snake-human encounters.
“There’s not as much water out there,” Lock said. “They’re trying to find water. We’re watering our lawns, we have standing water around, and they’re trying to find that.”
In a follow-up email, Lock said there hasn't been a significant spike in snake-human encounters -- statewide, poison control center calls are running 234 so far in 2011 compared with 226 as of this time last year. Calls about copperheads are running almost the same -- 113 to 114.
The incidents being reported locally may be due to the drought "and the fact that this July/August/September is both birthing season -- baby season -- and the fall mating season -- males moving around more to find females," he said.
Lock said copperheads will strike if threatened "even unintentionally, such as when we grab for piles of leaves or wood. They can't distinguish this from an aggressive threat by the person."
The herpetologist recommended that people not leave debris piles of wood, leaves or heavy brush in the yard where snakes can hide; and that they keep garbage that can attract mice and rats, which snakes eat, away from the house.
And if you see a snake, don't try to kill or move it; the reptile will move off on its own soon enough.
"Leave them alone and they won't bite," Lock said.
A Piedmont Hospital website urges anyone who's been bitten by a snake to call 911 and immediately seek medical attention. Try to remember the color and shape of the snake to aid in treatment, and stay still and calm.
If you can’t get to the hospital right away, lie or sit down with the bite below the level of the heart. Wash the bite with soap and water, and cover it with a clean, dry dressing.
Never try the old Boy Scout remedies of putting ice on the wound, applying a tourniquet, slashing the wound with a knife or sucking out the venom.
What the experience taught Murray, he said, was to be more careful poking into concealed places, and “don’t assume you’re not going to see a snake just because you live in Buckhead.”
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