{"id":72923,"date":"2025-07-18T15:01:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/72923\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T15:01:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T15:01:07","slug":"does-illinois-have-venomous-snakes-what-to-do-if-you-see-one-get-bit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/72923\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Illinois have venomous snakes? What to do if you see one, get bit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;width:100%;height:100%;z-index:2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/84333700007-snakes-1.jpg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vidplayicon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\" alt=\"play\" style=\"height:40px;margin:auto 18px auto 27px;width:40px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Easy ways to identify snakes<\/p>\n<p>Depending on where you are, snakes are inevitable. Here&#8217;s how to identify if the snake is venomous or not.<\/p>\n<p>Summer vacation typically involves plans of camping, hiking, tubing and more, meaning some Illinois residents may come face-to-face with creatures they&#8217;re not used to \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.illinois.gov\/education\/wildaboutpages\/wildaboutsnakes.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">such as snakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Though your instinct may be to fear them, very few of the state&#8217;s native species are harmful, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/dnr.illinois.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">the Illinois Department of Natural Resources<\/a>. You just need to know how to correctly interact with and identify them while in their home territory.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a look at what snakes you might find around Illinois and what to do if you spot them.<\/p>\n<p>Are there venomous snakes in Illinois?<\/p>\n<p>Only four of Illinois&#8217; 40 native snake species are venomous, according to the IDNR. Here&#8217;s what to look out for:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.illinois.gov\/education\/wildaboutpages\/wildaboutsnakes\/wasnfamilycrotalidae\/wasneasterncopperhead.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Eastern Copperhead:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Found throughout southern Illinois. Average length of 24 to 36 inches with a flattened head wider than its neck and ridged scales. The snake has a copper-red head, red-brown or yellow-brown body and hour-glass markings across the back when viewed from above. They prefer forests and river bluffs.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.illinois.gov\/education\/wildaboutpages\/wildaboutsnakes\/wasnfamilycrotalidae\/wasntimberrattlesnake.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Timber Rattlesnake:<\/a> <\/strong>Found mostly in southern and western regions of Illinois. Average length of 36-60 inches in length. A flat head much wider than the neck with a rattle at the tip of its tail and ridged scales. The body is gray, yellow or green-white with a series of dark bands along the back and a rust-colored stripe in the middle of the back. A dark bar may be found between the eye and jaw.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.illinois.gov\/education\/wildaboutpages\/wildaboutsnakes\/wasnfamilycrotalidae\/wasnnortherncottonmouth.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong>Northern<\/strong> <strong>Cottonmouth:<\/strong><\/a> Found in swamps and wetlands in the southern tip of Illinois. Averages 30-42 inches in length with a flat head much wider than its neck. Ridged scales with plain black or brown coloring and little evidence of a pattern. Some have dim crossbands across the back.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.illinois.gov\/education\/wildaboutpages\/wildaboutsnakes\/wasnfamilycrotalidae\/wasneasternmassasauga.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Eastern Massasauga:<\/a><\/strong> Found in prairie wetlands and river flood plains in the Chicago metro area, as well as parts of central Illinois. Average length of 18-30 inches with flat head much wider than its neck and ridged scales. The snake has a rattle at the tip of its tail, a row of dark blotches down its back and three rows of dark spots on the sides. The body is gray.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Non-venomous snake species found in Illinois<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a list of the remaining nonvenomous snake species found in Illinois:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Scarletsnake<\/li>\n<li>North American Racer<\/li>\n<li>Coachwhip<\/li>\n<li>Prairie Kingsnake<\/li>\n<li>Eastern Kingsnake<\/li>\n<li>Milksnake<\/li>\n<li>Rough Greensnake<\/li>\n<li>Smooth Greensnake<\/li>\n<li>Great Plains Ratsnake<\/li>\n<li>Western Foxsnake<\/li>\n<li>Gray Ratsnake<\/li>\n<li>Eastern Foxsnake<\/li>\n<li>Gophersnake<\/li>\n<li>Flat-Headed Snake<\/li>\n<li>Common Wormsnake<\/li>\n<li>Western Wormsnake<\/li>\n<li>Ring-Necked Snake<\/li>\n<li>Red-Bellied Mudsnake<\/li>\n<li>Western Hog-Nosed Snake<\/li>\n<li>Eastern Hog-Nosed Snake<\/li>\n<li>Kirtland\u2019s Snake<\/li>\n<li>Mississippi Green Watersnake<\/li>\n<li>Plain-Bellied Watersnake<\/li>\n<li>Southern Watersnake<\/li>\n<li>Diamond-Backed Watersnake<\/li>\n<li>Common Watersnake<\/li>\n<li>Graham\u2019s Crayfish Snake<\/li>\n<li>Queensnake<\/li>\n<li>DeKay\u2019s Brownsnake<\/li>\n<li>Red-Bellied Snake<\/li>\n<li>Western Ribbonsnake<\/li>\n<li>Plains Gartersnake<\/li>\n<li>Eastern Ribbonsnake<\/li>\n<li>Common Gartersnake<\/li>\n<li>Lined Snake<\/li>\n<li>Smooth Earthsnake<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What to do if you see a snake<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.illinoispoisoncenter.org\/health-safety\/insects-and-animals\/snakes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Illinois Poison Center<\/a> and IDNR recommend avoiding the following actions if you find yourself in areas with snakes:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Intentionally handling a snake<\/li>\n<li>Attempting to trap or feed a wild snake<\/li>\n<li>Touching a snake that appears dead (freshly killed snakes can bite)<\/li>\n<li>Stepping on a snake in the wild<\/li>\n<li>Reaching under or stepping over rocks or logs (look around before sitting)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The two organizations recommend wearing leather boots in areas known to house venomous snakes.<\/p>\n<p>What to do if a snake bites you<\/p>\n<p>The IPC recommends the following actions if you are bitten by a snake:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Immobilize the affected limb.<\/li>\n<li>Remove any jewelry such as rings, bracelets and watches.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do not<\/strong>\u00a0apply ice or heat, tight tourniquet, electric shocks, conduct oral suctioning or make incisions to the bite area.<\/li>\n<li>Go to the nearest emergency department immediately.<\/li>\n<li>You can speak to toxicology experts through the IPC&#8217;s helpline 24\/7 at 1-800-222-1222.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Snakebite symptoms<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a list of venomous snakebite symptoms, according to the IPC:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rapid progressive swelling<\/li>\n<li>Severe pain<\/li>\n<li>Redness on skin<\/li>\n<li>Broken blood vessel or bruised appearance<\/li>\n<li>Large blisters<\/li>\n<li>Bleeding<\/li>\n<li>Tissue ulceration<\/li>\n<li>Tingling of the mouth, hands and feet<\/li>\n<li>Drop in blood pressure or shock<\/li>\n<li>Respiratory failure<\/li>\n<li>Weakness and sweating<\/li>\n<li>Nausea and vomiting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Are venomous snake bites deadly?<\/p>\n<p>Venomous snake bites are usually not deadly, but are painful and can cause swelling, nausea and the risk of infection, according to the IDNR. If you are bitten, go to a hospital for treatment immediately.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indystar.com\/staff\/4969674001\/jenny-porter-tilley\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jenny Porter Tilley<\/a> contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Easy ways to identify snakes Depending on where you are, snakes are inevitable. Here&#8217;s how to identify if&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":72924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[27],"tags":[3184,3194,943,951,2542,3189,5386,51046,1818,641,425,2551,644,663,51044,3185,3203,159,944,3190,645,639,661,646,67,132,68,51043,51045,467,640,837],"class_list":["post-72923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-snakes","tag-amphibians","tag-biological","tag-biological-sciences","tag-connect","tag-content","tag-il","tag-il-content-sharing","tag-illinois","tag-know","tag-local","tag-local-connect","tag-modular","tag-modular-story","tag-rattlesnakes","tag-reptiles","tag-reptiles-u0026-amphibians","tag-science","tag-sciences","tag-sharing","tag-story","tag-ttp","tag-ttp-what-we-know","tag-u0026","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-venomous","tag-venomous-snakes","tag-we","tag-what","tag-wildlife"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114874842370120165","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}