I have never been bitten by a venomous reptile in years of searching. Rattlesnakes and other venomous snakes are much more inclined to escape or go unnoticed than to waste their venom on you, which it must preserve for its prey. However extreme caution must be taken when hiking in areas with venomous snakes. Be careful where you step and where you put your hands. Don't rely on a rattlesnake to rattle to alert you of its presence. In fact, most of the time they don't rattle and just lay quietly. I have stepped within two inches of a curled up prairie rattlesnake in the grasslands near Albuquerque, New Mexico, only to have my brother notice the snake behind me. We both looked in astonishment at the site of my foot print an inch from the snake's head!
For this reason I highly recommend that when hiking and flipping for snakes that you wear a pair of protective snake gators. Check these out: Snake Proof Gaiters.
Make sure you thoroughly research the snakes in your area and are familiar with their identification before trying to catch anything. Some venomous snakes look very similar to completely harmless snakes, so make sure you don't grab a cottonmouth thinking it's a yellow bellied watersnake, or a coral snake thinking it's a scarlet kingsnake!
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