IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM
We met with many experts in the animal field before we decided to focus on improving the way people interact with snakes. We talked to Ms. Williamson at animal control in Cary and found out that people don’t like having snakes on their property. When she is called to deal with them the current methods of snake capture are inadequate and unhelpful. We also met with David Cooper from the NC Herpetological Society and he was very excited because handling snakes is a real problem.
Sources we used for RESEARCH:
EXPERTS
Rachel Williamson, Town of Cary Animal Control
David Cooper, NC Herpetology Society
Shann Burroughs, Veterinarian
Town of Cary K9 program
The Companion Dog Helper
Vets to Vets United
ACADEMIC JOURNALS
Public perceptions of snakes and snakebite management: implications for conservation and human health in southern Nepal. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27255454
WEBSITES
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/snakes/tips/solving_problems_snakes.html?credit=web_id87036200#Removing_snakes
http://www.wildlife-removal.com/snakesafety.html
http://www.snake-removal.com/safety.html
http://www.whatsnakeisthat.com/southeast/north-carolina.html
venomous:
http://naturalsciences.org/docs/Venomous_Snakes_of_NC.pdf
https://ncherps.org
flyer: http://www.parcplace.org/images/stories/YOS/YOS_flyer.pdf
5 really good reasons not to kill snakes:
http://www.capesnakeconservation.com/getting-rid-of-snakes-is-a-bad-idea/
http://www.snake-removal.com/animal-enemies.html
http://snakesarelong.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-truth-about-snakebite.html
http://www.poisonshop.org/snakepackfree.html
http://www.ncpoisoncenter.org/workfiles/SnakeBrochureFinal.pdf
https://www.animalcontrolsolutions.com/north-carolina/charlotte-snake-removal.html
http://www.wral.com/summer-is-snake-bite-season-so-tread-lightly/13740632/
http://wakemedvoices.org/2010/07/snakebites-in-north-carolina-2/
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/avoidsnakebite.htm
http://www.wbtv.com/story/12952273/north-carolina-1-for-snake-bites
http://www.carolinareptilerescue.com/Links.html
DOCUMENTARY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2zEkrIwuI - NatGeo hour long
PRODUCTS to BUY
Snakehandlingequipment.com
VIDEO
tongs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RkvdfJCXY4
4diy noose style catcher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UriJiKIqKk
snake bag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVJ4oOjlaCo
BOOKS
Snake, DK by Chris Mattison
Everything Reptiles by,
National Geographic Kids
Everything you need to know about SNAKES and other scaly reptiles by, DK smithsonian
Snakes by Greve Rourke
ANALYZING THE PROBLEM
We looked at current solutions, and problems they had. We talked to experts, and asked what some problems they had.
Current solutions
These are some existing solutions for handling snakes and what makes them inadequate
-The top one is called snake tongs- need expertise to use them, can injure the spine
-The blue ones second from the top are called snake hooks - need expertise to use
-The second from the bottom is a miscellaneous device for taking care of the snakes(feeding, picking up excrement/scat, etc.)
-The last one is a long plier like snake feeder
Other solutions people use:
adhesive traps - can trap other animals and are cruel
Noose like gadgets
killing them - kind of obvious and it hurts not only snake but the whole ecosystem
Our INNOVATIVE Solution:
Prototype Sketch(Above, Left) Built Prototype(Above, Right)
What makes our Solution INNOVATIVE:
It doesn’t require expertise to use it and has virtually no risk to the snake or human. The attached bag eliminates the need to transfer to a carrying container reducing stress and another chance to injure the snake or expose the human to bites
What it will take to IMPLEMENT our Solution:
Who will BENEFIT from our solution?
The snakes will benefit, because people will not need to kill them. It will benefit people, because it will reduce the risk of a bite. It will also benefit the entire ecosystem, because snakes are right in the middle, so if they all died, rodent populations would soar, and things like owls, that eat snakes would start to die off.
SHARING what we’ve learned:
----- Shared with over 200 people at our regional
----- Shared with over 65 people at our scrimmage
----- Shared with most of the Forge Downtown(a non profit we work with)
----- Shared with over 200 people at other competitions we helped with
----- Email sent to David Cooper (NC Herpetological Society)
----- Email sent to Rachel Williamson (Animal Control officer)
----- YOU!!! :)
We met with many experts in the animal field before we decided to focus on improving the way people interact with snakes. We talked to Ms. Williamson at animal control in Cary and found out that people don’t like having snakes on their property. When she is called to deal with them the current methods of snake capture are inadequate and unhelpful. We also met with David Cooper from the NC Herpetological Society and he was very excited because handling snakes is a real problem.
Sources we used for RESEARCH:
EXPERTS
Rachel Williamson, Town of Cary Animal Control
David Cooper, NC Herpetology Society
Shann Burroughs, Veterinarian
Town of Cary K9 program
The Companion Dog Helper
Vets to Vets United
ACADEMIC JOURNALS
Public perceptions of snakes and snakebite management: implications for conservation and human health in southern Nepal. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27255454
WEBSITES
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/snakes/tips/solving_problems_snakes.html?credit=web_id87036200#Removing_snakes
http://www.wildlife-removal.com/snakesafety.html
http://www.snake-removal.com/safety.html
http://www.whatsnakeisthat.com/southeast/north-carolina.html
venomous:
http://naturalsciences.org/docs/Venomous_Snakes_of_NC.pdf
https://ncherps.org
flyer: http://www.parcplace.org/images/stories/YOS/YOS_flyer.pdf
5 really good reasons not to kill snakes:
http://www.capesnakeconservation.com/getting-rid-of-snakes-is-a-bad-idea/
http://www.snake-removal.com/animal-enemies.html
http://snakesarelong.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-truth-about-snakebite.html
http://www.poisonshop.org/snakepackfree.html
http://www.ncpoisoncenter.org/workfiles/SnakeBrochureFinal.pdf
https://www.animalcontrolsolutions.com/north-carolina/charlotte-snake-removal.html
http://www.wral.com/summer-is-snake-bite-season-so-tread-lightly/13740632/
http://wakemedvoices.org/2010/07/snakebites-in-north-carolina-2/
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/avoidsnakebite.htm
http://www.wbtv.com/story/12952273/north-carolina-1-for-snake-bites
http://www.carolinareptilerescue.com/Links.html
DOCUMENTARY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2zEkrIwuI - NatGeo hour long
PRODUCTS to BUY
Snakehandlingequipment.com
VIDEO
tongs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RkvdfJCXY4
4diy noose style catcher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UriJiKIqKk
snake bag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVJ4oOjlaCo
BOOKS
Snake, DK by Chris Mattison
Everything Reptiles by,
National Geographic Kids
Everything you need to know about SNAKES and other scaly reptiles by, DK smithsonian
Snakes by Greve Rourke
ANALYZING THE PROBLEM
We looked at current solutions, and problems they had. We talked to experts, and asked what some problems they had.
Current solutions
These are some existing solutions for handling snakes and what makes them inadequate
-The top one is called snake tongs- need expertise to use them, can injure the spine
-The blue ones second from the top are called snake hooks - need expertise to use
-The second from the bottom is a miscellaneous device for taking care of the snakes(feeding, picking up excrement/scat, etc.)
-The last one is a long plier like snake feeder
Other solutions people use:
adhesive traps - can trap other animals and are cruel
Noose like gadgets
killing them - kind of obvious and it hurts not only snake but the whole ecosystem
Our INNOVATIVE Solution:
Prototype Sketch(Above, Left) Built Prototype(Above, Right)
What makes our Solution INNOVATIVE:
It doesn’t require expertise to use it and has virtually no risk to the snake or human. The attached bag eliminates the need to transfer to a carrying container reducing stress and another chance to injure the snake or expose the human to bites
What it will take to IMPLEMENT our Solution:
- Incorporate feedback from experts
- Have experts test it
- Have novice test it once it’s proven to be safe
- Go into production
Who will BENEFIT from our solution?
The snakes will benefit, because people will not need to kill them. It will benefit people, because it will reduce the risk of a bite. It will also benefit the entire ecosystem, because snakes are right in the middle, so if they all died, rodent populations would soar, and things like owls, that eat snakes would start to die off.
SHARING what we’ve learned:
----- Shared with over 200 people at our regional
----- Shared with over 65 people at our scrimmage
----- Shared with most of the Forge Downtown(a non profit we work with)
----- Shared with over 200 people at other competitions we helped with
----- Email sent to David Cooper (NC Herpetological Society)
----- Email sent to Rachel Williamson (Animal Control officer)
----- YOU!!! :)