The recent rain is leading to an uptick in snake bites in metro Atlanta.
Leaders at Georgia Poison Center tell Channel 2 Action News they expect to handle at least 500 bites this year.
Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach talked to a man in Gwinnett County who was bitten twice by the same snake.
He was working at a home in Snellville when one bit him on his foot and his hand.
"Just like out of nowhere, I just felt a weird pain at my foot," said Keoin Embry. "Like my whole hand just blew up you couldn't see my knuckles, veins. It looked like a scene from the 'Nutty Professor,' really like my whole hand just blew up."
Embry said his friend later killed the copperhead that bit him.
The director of the Georgia Poison Center, Dr. Gaylord Lopez, says while most snakes are not poisonous, there are three or four in the state, with the copperhead topping the list, that people need to look out for.
Lopez says what you normally see in movies and TV doesn't work for snake bites.
"No cutting, no sucking of the venom. That hasn't proven to do any good. Don't put any ice on the affected area," Lopez said.
Embry did the right thing and got medical attention right away.
Lopez says the best tool in fighting a bite is your car keys.
"You got to get yourself to an emergency room. That's the best thing to do," Lopez said.
The snake bite season runs through October.
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