It is important to be able to recognize poisonous snakes for anyone who spends time in the outdoors where snakes are known to live.  A little study of their pictures can provide this information. Most of the time, however, the victim is too frightened to know or the snake escapes before identification can be made.  Prevention of bites is the best treatment of all.

If you get a snakebite, chances are you're expecting you might get a snakebite. Think that over for a minute. As soon as it makes sense, please read on. If you're going camping, or are placing yourself in a situation where there's a chance of being bitten by a snake, we recommend that you know the snakes in that area and keep an appropriate snakebite kit handy.

If you're fresh out of snakebite kit, make a poultice from two crushed onions mixed with a few drops of kerosene, and apply it to the bite. After a short time, it should draw out the poison, turning the poultice green. If you're near civilization, forget this remedy and get to a doctor!

Mix a wad of tobacco with saliva or water. Apply this paste directly on the bite. As soon as the paste dries, replace it with another wad of the paste and get to a doctor!

Rattlesnake Bites
Don't get rattled. Wet some salt, put a hunk of it on the bite, then treat the area with a wet-salt poultice. But don't stand around reading this. Get to a doctor!

Rattlesnake Bite Prevention
When Texas panhandlers camped out under the stars, they put their lariat ropes in a circle on the ground, and put their sleeping bags in the middle of it. It seems to be a known fact in the Texas panhandle that rattlesnakes will not crawl across a rope.