Anyone got tips for repelling rattlesnakes?

[Mental]

We have a small dog, and I noted our first rattlesnake (decent size, about two feet long or so) today on the property. We also have quails, and rabbits, whose young are probably feeding the snake. The quails and rabbits we're fine with, but the rattlesnake not so much. Does anyone know how to get them to vamoose from an area? Is it possible? We own no guns for shooting.

Might be the wrong crowd considering where most of you live...

[Imakeholesinu]

You could always use some sort of rope/stick contraption and lasso and bag it then do what you will with it (release it in another wooded area, drown it, kill it and eat it.).

[Mental]

I have no such lasso skills. Neither am I skilled enough with the whip to use that, which I understand actually does work wonders against snakes.

I did make one awesome improvised spear out of duct tape, some old tool handles, and an old knife, and stabbed at what I thought were his coils for about five minutes before realizing its tricksy desert camoflauge had allowed him to hide while I stabbed the shit out of some old bits of floorboard. Those sneaky evolutionary bastards.

I also flooded the area, which hopefully sent him out some hole further down the hill.

[Sassafras]

Call Animal control or an exterminator to get rid of it. Unless you know what you are doing you shouldnt be trying to capture a rattlesnake.

[RentCavalier]

My grandpa lives in the heartland of Indiana, and he deals with all his rattlesnakes the same way--a big ole axe. Good for chopping wood AND rattlesnakes. I have a vivid memory of his cleaving a rattlesnake in a few pieces when I was but a lad. I could see its entrails glisten, and in the light they seemed to almost glow with a rainbow-like vividness, akin to diesel fuel flashing in the noon day sun.

Beautiful.

[Kupek]

Sooooo... Rent is crazy. Good to know.

[Mental]

No, apparently it's pretty common to have done it in areas where they are if you're experienced in the outdoors. My sister who splits time between California and Nevada has, apparently done it and one of our neighbors as well.

The problem with me is that I own no cowboy or similar full-length boots, which is something I feel you really ought to have before you go a-spading something with a potentially lethal bite. I'm young and healthy and it's a smaller snake, so there's a good chance I wouldn't die, but I'm not looking to court that experience.

I think the idea is, shoo them away if you can with a hose or similar thing at distance, but if they're a persistent threat put on the boots and go at them with a very long shovel. A nice long ax is probably even better, it is just not for the squeamish or faint of heart (which I will admit to being, somewhat).

[Mental]

I kind of liked my improvised spear, actually. It taught me a hell of a lot about how some of those medieval polearms got developed when the farmers needed to come across with something that looked like a weapon. Take an old blade, stick it on a pole handle, and voila! The peasant version of a cavalry chopper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaive

Reminds me of Secret of Mana, where you could upgrade all your weapons, like the spear. Anyone get them all to Lv. 9? That was a mighty feat to attempt.

[SineSwiper]

If you're not going to call animal control, I would recommend keeping some anti-venom handy. After all, rattlesnakes are, ummmm, poisonous.

Or I can provide you the Toxicity section from Wikipedia for Rattlesnakes:

Most species of rattlesnakes have hemotoxic venom, destroying tissue, degenerating organs and causing coagulopathy (disrupted blood clotting). Some degree of permanent scarring is very likely in the event of a venomous bite, even with prompt, effective treatment, and a severe envenomation, combined with delayed or ineffective treatment, can lead to the loss of a limb or death. Thus, a rattlesnake bite is always a potentially fatal injury. Untreated rattlesnake bites, especially from larger species, are very often fatal. However, antivenom, when applied in time, reduces the death rate to less than 4%. Around 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year[1]. On average, fewer than 15 snakebite deaths are reported.

Some rattlesnakes, especially the tropical species, have neurotoxic venom. A bite from these snakes can interfere with or shut down parts of the nervous system. In the U.S. the Mojave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus) in Arizona and parts of California has a neurotoxic venom component known as Mojave Type A toxin. The current antivenom, (FDA-approved in October, 2000) known as Cro-Fab, contains antibodies to Mojave A and B toxins as well as the toxins of most other U.S. pit vipers. Mojave A toxin has been identified present in the venoms of other species of rattlesnakes on occasion. Neurotoxins cause neurological symptoms, paralysis and could result in death due to respiratory paralysis. In the U.S., Central and South America there are another group of neurotoxic snakes known as the Coral Snakes, not related to rattlesnakes but more closely related to the cobra family of Africa and Asia. These snakes can also cause death due to respiratory paralysis if not properly treated.

CALL FUCKING ANIMAL CONTROL!! YOU ARE GOING TO KILL YOURSELF!!!

[Kupek]

Rent's reaction, not what his grandfather did, prompted my comment.

[Mental]

Sine, you really need to stop being so sanctimonious.

1. I looked at the Wikipedia section on rattlesnakes and toxicity before I posted anything here, as well as several other sites so your wonderful cut-and-paste there is not exactly the informative revelation you're expecting.

2. I also looked into antivenin. It's not readily available for sale without a prescription, I believe. I will continue to look into it if it continues to be a problem.

3. The rattlesnake, as snakes are prone to do, most likely slithered out an alternate section of its tunnelling when I flooded the joint and took off for other pastures. If it comes back, I will have to decide what to do about it.

4. People in rural areas across the Southwestern United States do chop up and kill rattlesnakes with shovels or axes all the time. I've been looking at research on the Internet and asking around. You do it with heavy boots on, you take a long shovel blade, and you don't miss. That's how it's done. More often than not, even if you do miss, most of them will prefer to run instead of strike unless you trap them in a corner, which is something you don't want to do.

Yes, you can call Animal Control or the Fire Department around here if the snake is visibly resting somewhere, but a day later with the snake not having been seen since then? They will most likely to say that rattlesnakes are indigenous to the area, avoid them, wear boots, and call us if it comes out to rest in the open again.

[Mental]

Also, calling the Fire Dept. is not cheap, I hope I don't have to remind you of that.

I'm not trying to minimize the danger, but as Rent's anecdote shows, people in the U.S. have had to deal with poisonous snakes since long before there was a concept of "Animal Control". And they did. It's not good to be flippant about it. Neither is it particularly good to follow your concept of "OMGZ! IT IS A SNAKEH!!!" panic.

The right answer is, like most things with snakes, watch your step and your hands. Wear boots around where they've been recently seen. Clean out piles of junk in appropriate gear so they have less tempting reasons to nest near your residence. Don't back them into a corner if you see one. And have the number of an emergency room ready nearby in case you do get bitten.

As a final note, rattlesnake bites are highly dangerous, but not usually fatal with treatment. I think something like one or two people die per year in the U.S., and 29-year-old males who are fit and healthy are in the "highest survivability rate" bracket. And they sometimes don't manage to envenomate heavily when they strike (though they sometimes do as well). As I said, I'm not particularly courting the experience, nor would I find it particularly pleasant if I had to go through it. But I think your response is kind of a freak-out, and that's also not on the "recommended tips" sheet. If our neighbor - a fortysomething-year-old mousy-ish woman who runs a fine jewelry store and coos over her miniature dachshund like a newborn baby - has killed rattlesnakes with a shovel before, I don't know that there's a particular reason to panic.

[bovine]

"OMGZ! IT IS A SNAKEH!!!"

That would be my reaction.

[Julius Seeker]

For spiders and snakes, I usually just use a large box that can be closed easily. I then let it go far away. I am not sure if the rattlesnakes are like the ones in Canada (small and relatively docile), so that may not be a good plan.

[Mental]

For spiders and snakes, I usually just use a large box that can be closed easily. I then let it go far away. I am not sure if the rattlesnakes are like the ones in Canada (small and relatively docile), so that may not be a good plan.

Not a bad plan. Put a few quail eggs in some kind of a box trap and then let it go up in the hills if I catch anything, maybe...

[Zeus]

You live in America. Wouldn't a shotgun be the most effective method?

[Mental]

We are not of the type in this household to rely on "freedom dispensers". Nice thought though.