Snakes are active in town

[hill okie]

Jack!! You the man!! We always relocate any animal whose home we've moved into!

[xpert]

Is anybody else having rattlesnake problems?  Suggestions for effective deterents?  A very large, heavy one (4.5') was hanging around our house and removed yesterday.  It was in our yard a week earlier, coiled, rattling, and ready to strike our dogs who were lunging at it.  We are concerned for visitors, pets, and ourselves!  Also, we hike with our dogs and would like to know the best time to AVOID a viper encounter.

Are there any snake experts out there who can provide us info on snake safety?    THANKS!

[ChrisLynnet]

Geez, I feel lucky -- in my 5+ years here I've never seen or heard one. O.K. by me. Best of luck Xpert, yikes!

[SkierBob]

I wouldn't kill one unless it was necessary.  If I do kill one, I plan to cook it.  Waste not, want not.

Cook it?  I've always wanted to cook a rattlesnake but I don't have an  oven or frying pan that's long enough

[Tomas]

It's actually been a slow snake season for me. We've only had to relocate three on our property. And I only know of one more relotcated in our area. We usually have a lot more.

Xpert, Your dogs could actually serve as a deterant as our snakes really don't go looking for trouble. You really should have your dogs trained in rattle snake avoidance and get them vaccinated. The vaccine works against the venom of a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (and others) which is the most common up here. It does not work against the Mojave Rattlesnake but those are rare at higher altitudes.

As for avoiding them on hikes... They are least active at the hottest time of the day. But it is not very fun to be hiking at that time. Being cold blooded, the snakes are victims of their environment and they tend to "sun" in extreme heat and not hunt.

[cedar]

We only saw one rattlesnake in the forest this Spring, usually we see alot more.  Of course few rattlesnakes explains the overpopulation of ground squirrels this Spring.  When children are afraid of snakes, I ask them which would you prefer a large number of rodents and ground squirrels that carry nasty diseases (like plague) that people can catch, or a few rattlesnakes that you can avoid if you pay attention.

I agree that education about snakes is your best defense.  Unfortunately, I have seen quite a number of Wrightwood rattlesnakes that don't rattle.  By removing (or killing) the best noisy rattlers we are left with the quiet ones.  Personally I much prefer if they rattle and let me know where they are.

Mostly drunk guys from 16 - 24 who are trying to impress a girls are the ones bitten by rattlesnakes.  They are bitten on the hand. 

After much time in snake country here and in East Texas my rule is if you need a sweater to stay warm, no snake worries.  If it is really hot snakes will be most active in the morning and evening.  If it is cold overnight, the snakes will be active when the sun warms them up.

Look at pictures of southern pacific rattlesnakes as babies and adults so you know what to look for if they are not rattling.  And the most important thing to know is to never put your hands or feet where you can't see them.  They love to curl up under shrubs, next to logs and trees.

[xpert]

Thanks for the responses! The problem with this particular snake is that active dogs & people were NOT a deterrent and he evidently felt comfortable traveling to the center of our property, completely surrounded by activity.  (The first time we saw him he was close to the exterior of our fenced property.  A week later he is dead center of the property.)  Pretty sure it was the same "guy" due to his size. 

Snakes make me squeamish - especially poisonous ones for some reason - but I'm not a hater.  The more I learn the more comfortable I'll be so I appreciate all factual input.  I was once a hard core Venom ER junkie!  Actually wouldn't mind an educational session with a bona fide herpetologist.

I've seen references to a few relocation experts.  Any direct numbers to call?  Thanks again!

[Hillbillies]

We only saw one rattlesnake in the forest this Spring, usually we see alot more.  Of course few rattlesnakes explains the overpopulation of ground squirrels this Spring.  When children are afraid of snakes, I ask them which would you prefer a large number of rodents and ground squirrels that carry nasty diseases (like plague) that people can catch, or a few rattlesnakes that you can avoid if you pay attention.

I agree that education about snakes is your best defense.  Unfortunately, I have seen quite a number of Wrightwood rattlesnakes that don't rattle.  By removing (or killing) the best noisy rattlers we are left with the quiet ones.  Personally I much prefer if they rattle and let me know where they are.

Mostly drunk guys from 16 - 24 who are trying to impress a girls are the ones bitten by rattlesnakes.  They are bitten on the hand. 

After much time in snake country here and in East Texas my rule is if you need a sweater to stay warm, no snake worries.  If it is really hot snakes will be most active in the morning and evening.  If it is cold overnight, the snakes will be active when the sun warms them up.

Look at pictures of southern pacific rattlesnakes as babies and adults so you know what to look for if they are not rattling.  And the most important thing to know is to never put your hands or feet where you can't see them.  They love to curl up under shrubs, next to logs and trees.

Good advice.  Especially about NOT putting your hands or feet where you can not see them.  I know a guy who was out golfing in Banning.  He reached into some brush to grab for his ball.  He was bitten on the hand by a rattle snake.  He did not see or catch the snake which made it a bit more difficult for the folks a Loma Linda.  Luckily he survived. 

[Hillbillies]

Check out this guy's website. 

http://www.ramirezrattlesnakeremoval.com/

[Chesslike]

Last night around 6pm we saw a baby rattlesnake at Pine and Apple. It was curled up in a crevice in the asphalt. When we came by a couple hours later, it looked like it had crawled onto the roadway and was run over by a vehicle.

[Nolena]

Check out this guy's website. 

http://www.ramirezrattlesnakeremoval.com/

I think I dated at least one of them.

[xpert]

The website says that Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal is in Northern  California.  Any local removal companies out there?  Please provide ph. numbers.  Thanks!

[clint]

We just cleared a 12" long rattler from our back walk, about four feet away from the house. Had two or three little rattles. Very concerned about our cat who is a hunter.

[xpert]

If there are any local companies/people who specialize in snake removal, please pass the contact info along.  This will be greatly appreciated!

We've  seen two snakes on our property in 3 years.  One baby lurking  next to the stairs descending from the kitchen porch and "Gigantor" of recent fame,  but that's two too many for me!  I lived in the desert for 8 years where Mojaves were supposedly abundant, especially around the stables,  and never saw one which made them my favorite poisonous snakes.   I ran into rattlers once or twice while horseback riding in the hills of OC back in the day when no one lived there.  The horse would spook and that would be the alarm to go in another direction - sometimes the horse taking me against my will which ultimately was probably a good thing:o

Once I get rid of the creeps from this latest encounter,  my snake avoidance obsession will go away.  Last year my short lived but intense topic of research was mountain lions...  There's always something!  And this from a woman who has lived alone in some remote, wild places!

[ForestGal]

Try contacting either of these forum members from Reptile Bob's post last Sept.  I couldn't figure out how to quote him from 2 pages back, so I copied and pasted this:

Akapurple and  ChattyCathy can both contact a local venomous snake expert who can remove the snake safely and humanly relocate it.

[clint]

I humanely relocated ours. I caught him/her with a snare and carried him/her over across the wash to Chatty Cathy's side.

[ChattyCathy]

I can be reached at 4714 - I know a snake wrangler in town.

[budnett]

I don't know if this is coincidental or not..but I have been using "Snake Away" for my second year in a row around my property and haven't had a snake.  Prior years.... I would get 3 to 5 per summer.

You can purchase it Mountain Hardward!

[xpert]

Chatty Cathy - no direct line for the wrangler?  I appreciate you giving out your number but seems like time might be awastin' going through a "middleman" get to the humane snake removal and we might have to resort to our own methods should we encounter this situation in the future...

Anybody with a direct number to local experienced snake removal?  Thanks again for all of the input

[Laughlinguy]

A Gopher Snakes Day:

1: Wake up
2: Get some sun
3: Catch me a bad snake

This beauty is around 4 ft.