Snakes, scorpions and crocs: should you worry?
For guests · · 4 min read
Everyone wonders and few people ask. You are coming to stay in a house in the tropical forest, and the forest has residents. Here is what is actually out there, what the numbers say, and what to do about it.
Snakes
Costa Rica records around 600 snakebites a year, in a country of about five million people. The Clodomiro Picado Institute at the University of Costa Rica makes the antivenom, and its work has brought deaths down to almost none. The snake behind most serious bites is the terciopelo, or fer-de-lance. It lives in this region, it is well camouflaged and it is active at night.
The habits are simple. Wear closed shoes and use a torch when you walk outside at night, even to the car. Stay on the path. Do not put your hands where you cannot see. If you see a snake, back away and leave it alone, and tell us if it is near the house.
If someone is bitten, keep them still, call 911 and get to a hospital. No tourniquet, no cutting, no sucking and no ice. Antivenom is the treatment.
Scorpions
You may well meet one, in a shoe or a towel. Researchers at the University of Costa Rica are clear that the country's scorpions are not a threat to life except in exceptional cases. A sting is painful and passes. Shake out shoes and clothes before putting them on. See a doctor for a child, or for anyone who feels unwell beyond the pain.
Crocodiles
American crocodiles live in the rivers, estuaries and mangroves of the Pacific coast, including the Térraba river south of here. The national parks service, SINAC, asks people not to swim or play in river mouths and estuaries, least of all with children, and to be most careful at dawn and dusk. The rule is easy: the sea, yes; the river mouth, no.
The one that actually matters
Mosquitoes. Dengue is present in Costa Rica every year, and the health ministry counts cases in the thousands. The mosquito that carries it bites in the daytime. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus. See a doctor for a high fever during your trip or after it.
None of this is a reason to stay at home. It is a reason to wear shoes at night and carry repellent.
Frequently asked questions
- Are there dangerous snakes in Uvita?
- The terciopelo lives in this region, as it does in much of Costa Rica. Wear closed shoes and carry a torch at night, stay on paths and never handle a snake.
- Are scorpions in Costa Rica deadly?
- University of Costa Rica researchers say the country's scorpions are not a threat to life except in exceptional cases. A sting is painful but passes.
- Are there crocodiles on the beaches in Costa Rica?
- Crocodiles live in river mouths, estuaries and mangroves on the Pacific coast. The parks service asks people not to swim there. Keep away from river mouths, above all at dawn and dusk.
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