Written by: Maynard Wheeler III
Professor Aaron Corbit of the Biology Department recently published a scientific paper on the impact of removing rattlesnakes and relocating them away from human interaction. Corbit has had a long history of studying these animals.
“When I was a graduate student at Loma Linda University over 10 years ago, I studied rattlesnakes,” he said. “This was my doctoral research, and it focused on the conflict between rattlesnakes and humans in Southern California.”
Corbit also researched what factors determined the severity of a bite using data from medical records at the Loma Linda University Medical Center and how human-rattlesnake conflict can be mitigated when a snake is found in someone’s backyard. This led Corbit to study the effects of moving the snake away from the encounter at varying distances.
“The basic findings were that, unlike some other studies, we did not find that moving rattlesnakes increased their mortality and that snakes seemed to acclimate to their new locations about a year after being moved,” Corbit said. “This may mean that, for the population that I studied, moving snakes away from homes may be a useful tool to deal with human-rattlesnake conflict.”
Not only has Corbit been doing his own research on rattlesnakes, but he has also collaborated on research with David Nelson, who is another professor in the Biology Department.
“In 2020, we published a scientific paper on the defensive behavior of the local species of scorpion,” Corbit said. “This was our first peer-reviewed scientific paper that featured research done by SAU students.”
Three former Southern students – Emily M. David, Chad N. Harty and Joseph B. Hector — were co-authors on the project, according to Corbit. Moving forward, Corbit will again work with Nelson who is spearheading a research project on the Joro spider. The spider established itself around the Atlanta area in 2014 and has been spreading from there ever since, according to Corbit.
“This project will be directed toward documenting the spread and seeing whether it impacts the native species of spiders,” he said.
Corbit also has information about the snakes in the Tennessee area and what to do if a person encounters one.
“My experience is that the kinds of snakes most often encountered by homeowners are harmless, non-venomous snakes,” he said. “These include the gray ratsnake, which can get up to six feet long; the common kingsnake and the northern watersnake, which is often mistaken for a copperhead or a water moccasin.”
The best thing to do if you encounter these animals is to leave them alone, since they don’t pose any risk to humans, according to Corbit.
He also gave tips on how to interact with the poisonous snakes in the Tennessee Valley.
“Sometimes people will encounter copperheads, which are venomous,” he said. “Though I think the best policy, even for these snakes, is to leave them alone, I do understand why people might be nervous about having them on their property.”
If done carefully, the snake can be captured using a broom to sweep it into a large trash can and relocating it to the nearest natural habitat, according to Corbit.
“Though, it should be kept in mind that those who attempt to capture or interact with the snake in any way are placing themselves at a significantly greater risk of being bitten,” Corbit said.
The timber rattlesnake also lives around the Tennessee Valley. Its venom is more deadly than the copperhead, but it is much less common, according to Corbit.
“Move it only when absolutely necessary,” he said. “If someone is in Collegedale and finds a snake in their yard, I’m happy to come out to capture it if I’m able to.”