For anyone heading out on a summer hike, it's a question that occasionally crosses the mind. If I accidentally stepped on a snake, could it bite through my boots?
The reassuring answer, in the most part, is that it's highly unlikely.
Professor Wolfgang Wüster, Professor of Herpetology and zoology at Bangor University says: "Very flimsy footwear, such as very thin trainers, might be vulnerable if you're really unlucky, but really any kind of proper boot will be fine for an adder."
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Britain's only venomous snake, the Adder (Vipera berus), is responsible for a small number of bites each year, most of which occur when people accidentally tread on one or deliberately try to handle it. Wearing sturdy walking boots dramatically reduces the already small risk.
"If your ankles are covered, you're completely safe," Professor Wüster added.
Further afield, however, the picture becomes more complicated. Surprisingly, there has been very little scientific research into exactly which boots can withstand the bite of different venomous snakes.
"It's actually fairly unstudied," he says. "Broadly speaking, most boots will be effective against most snakes. But if you're dealing with very large venomous species, they can obviously bite with much greater force, and depending on the exact construction of the boot, it's possible a fang could penetrate, particularly if it finds a weak spot."
Contrary to what many people assume, longer fangs don't necessarily make a snake more likely to bite through footwear.
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Vipers, including Britain's adders, have impressively long fangs but they typically strike quickly before immediately letting go. Cobras behave rather differently.
"Vipers have much longer fangs but in reality they're probably less likely to get through a boot than something like a cobra, which tends to chew and work its fangs through the material,” Professor Wüster explains.
In other words, success depends less on fang length than on the force of the bite and how the snake behaves once it has bitten.
Professor Wüster says misconceptions about snakes remain widespread, with one myth proving especially persistent.
"People often say baby snakes are more dangerous because they can't control how much venom they inject. That's simply not true.” he says.
Not only can juvenile snakes control their venom, they also produce far less of it than adults.
"Clinical studies have shown that, on average, people bitten by larger snakes tend to have much worse envenomation than those bitten by small snakes," he says. "That doesn't mean small venomous snakes are harmless - they can still make you seriously ill - but adults are generally much more dangerous."
Another common belief is that snakes inject less venom when biting defensively than when attacking prey but evidence suggests otherwise.
"If you measure it, defensive bites actually release more venom on average," he says. "They're also much more unpredictable. Sometimes a snake injects almost none, while in other cases it may inject a great deal."
In Britain, most snake bites are entirely avoidable and many of those that do occur are as a result people attempting to pick snakes up.
"If someone has been bitten on the hand, it's probably because they've picked up an adder," Professor Wüster says.
Others occur during everyday outdoor activities, particularly on heathland or coastal dunes where adders are commonly found.
"People may put their hands somewhere without looking first while picking berries, or they're walking around in flip-flops and accidentally step on a snake."
The situation in tropical countries is very different.
"In the rural tropics, snake bites can happen literally anywhere," he says. "People get bitten in their homes, while cooking, while sleeping on the floor, in the fields or in their gardens. Snakes simply get into a lot of places."
Even if footwear isn't completely snake-proof, it can still make a remarkable difference. Professor Wüster points to studies showing that sturdy clothing such as loose-fitting denim jeans can absorb a significant proportion of venom before it reaches the skin.
"A fair amount of the venom actually ends up in the fabric rather than your tissues," he explains. "If you can reduce the amount of venom entering your body by half, that can make a real difference to how severe the bite becomes. It could mean the difference between spending a few hours in hospital and several days."
His advice for anyone spending time outdoors is simple: wear appropriate footwear and clothing, be aware of where snakes are likely to occur and watch where you place your hands and feet.
Above all, remember that snakes aren't looking for confrontation.
"They only bite if they think their own life is at risk," he says. "It's a fear response. It's not vicious, it's not premeditated and it's certainly not because they're trying to attack people. There's nothing in it for them to bite us."
For most walkers in Britain, that means the best protection is also the simplest - a decent pair of walking boots, a little awareness and giving any snake you encounter the space it needs to move away.
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Top image: Mexican Lance-headed Rattlesnake. © Mark Newman / Getty Images
