Luckily, the only venomous snake in Idaho is the Western rattler (there are 3 subspecies including the Prairie rattler). They're timid and in 70 years of kicking around the desert, I've only seen a handful. A few people get bitten every year but I've never known any of them personally. Deaths are rare. The poison can be lethal but usually they don't inject very much of it. Even small dogs usually survive.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is jewelry. If you're bitten on a hand or arm, take off anything that has to be pushed on and off, like rings. The hand will swell and a ring or bracelet can become a hazard if it can't be removed quickly.
The potency of invenomation can depend on the time of year. In the spring the snake is coming out of hybernation and may not have eaten in a few months and not used its venom. In those cases the venom is more lethal. Had a friend at work whose wife got bitten in the morning after he came to work. She was getting the kids on the school bus and she stepped out the door and was standing between the snake and the door.The kids ran out to the bus and the snake bit her as the kids ran by. It was in April and the snake evidently hadn't eaten in a while and its venom was really potent and it injected quite a bit. That woman came close to not making it. The doc told him if it had been another 15 minutes before she got to the emergency room he thought she would have died. In fact, at that time they used to give four test of antivenom to the bite victim to insure they weren't allergic. The doc told him he needed his permission to give the anti venom after the first two because he was losing her. She survived but her leg got huge and black. She got bit in the calf. Lots of Western Diamond backs around here and they get big. That snake was a four footer and I've seen more than a couple of six+ footers around here.
The worst Rattlers are the Mojave. Thank God we don't have those around here. They have Neuro Toxin venom.
