September Sees the Highest Number of Snakebites and Wasp Stings... How to Avoid Them

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Right now, in September, is the month with the highest number of snakebites and wasp stings.

Many of you will be going hiking or visiting ancestral graves for Chuseok, and Reporter Jang Seon-i explains how to avoid these hazards.

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Woraksan National Park in North Chungcheong Province.

This is near a grave site just a few steps off the hiking trail.

A snake reveals itself among the grass.

When the camera gets close, it raises its head and lunges straight ahead.

Both the mamushi pit viper, which accounts for the most bite accidents in the country, and the tiger keelback, which is mistakenly known to be non-venomous, are venomous snakes that inhabit this area.

They are particularly dangerous in autumn, including September.

[Song Jae-young / Senior Researcher, Korea National Park Service: Around August and September, mother snakes carry offspring in their bodies. They give birth around September and October. Because of this, the snakes themselves can become sensitive, and their activity increases as they prepare for hibernation in the fall.]

This is also confirmed by the numbers.

Over the past five years, about 4,200 people were taken to 119 ambulances after being bitten by snakes, and September saw the highest number at 886.

Being bitten requires treatment for up to a month, and it can even be fatal.

With the lingering heat, it is easy to encounter snakes in shaded forests, and they are not easy to spot with the naked eye.

Snakes have poor sight and hearing.

Instead, they feel vibrations in the ground.

Therefore, when entering thick grass, it is best to tap the ground like this to give the snakes time to get away.

We visited a house near a mountain.

A hornet nest had been built under the eaves.

Wasp sting accidents are also concentrated around this time of year when outdoor activities increase.

In September of last year alone, about 2,100 people were taken to hospitals for wasp stings.

That averages out to 70 people a day.

[Hong Jong-tae / Head of Songgye 3-ri, Jecheon: Asian giant hornets are common around ancestral graves. Because graves are built by moving soil that is soft rather than firm, Asian giant hornets inhabit those areas in large numbers.]

Hornets attack just from vibrations and human presence, even without being provoked.

If a swarm of wasps attacks, do not lie down on the ground; you must get away immediately.

You need to put a distance of at least 20 meters between you and them.

Experts recommend inspecting the area around the grave for about 5 to 10 minutes before mowing grass around graves.

(Video by: Kang Si-woo | Video Editing by: Kim Yoon-sung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.