I hate Rattlesnakes!!!

I live in a hot dry region in Northern California and this year alone I have almost been victim to rattle snake bites 3 times, three extremely close calls. Not like "oh there's a snake, I could have been bit" close, I am talking like Close, like struck at me close!!! After the first scare I started being very cautious walking around, especially at night.

So tonight I was walking out to a place where I feed my barn cats and picked up their bowl, then noticed a young rattler about 12 inches long right next to my hand, I am pretty sure I touched it! I then saw my cats walk over it about 20 times, and it just sat there like it was dead.
I thought my cats must have killed it, so I got a stick and poked it and it took off. I had no idea they play dead.

I have no idea where these things are coming from, I rarely had any encounters prior to this summer. I want them all to go away!!!!
Now, after tonight, I have full on paranoia of walking around my yard without boots and thick pants. Its like no matter how careful I am, I still have close calls.

Rant over.

a reply to: bananashooter

You said it doesn't help to be careful but I'll say it anyway: Be careful. You might want to get a snake bite kit just in case. Also, if you do get bit (which I really hope doesn't happen) do not under any circumstances suck the venom out. It'll make it a lot worse. I know somebody that did it. He had cavities and the venom got in his teeth. Not good.
That said, I hear that rattlesnake is tasty.

a reply to: bananashooter

Yeah, everyone likes to talk about how 21 of the the most 25 deadliest snakes in the world come from Australia. But if you you actually look at the statistics, it's southern & central America where the real dangers is, when it comes to venomous animals.

a reply to: bananashooter

I grew up on a ranch in the foothills of central california, and know what you are talking about. We had White geese to help us get rid of the snakes. When i was 9, I was bit by a rattler that was about 18 inches long in the back of my left hand one day on the way home from school. Not fun!! I tied on a shoelace above my elbow as a tourniquet, made a couple of 'X' cuts over the bite marks, and proceeded to suck on the wound, spitting out the blood. My hand was pretty swollen by the time i reached home, where my mother had an emergency snakebite kit. I was pretty sick for the next couple of days tho, but didn't have to go to the hospital.
If you end up having to kill any large ones, a shovel or hoe works well. Be careful skinning them. If one is a female, it might be full of young ones, and they will come out biting!!

Rattlesnake stew is delicious!!!

a reply to: Skid Mark
I agree that sucking out the venom is not a good idea if you have cavities. If you don't have any, it is not so bad. I am just glad that my mother had some anti-venom on hand, for if she didn't, i might not be here today.

I live in South Australia and we do have two deadly snakes to deal with.

I have one of these.



Sharpen the edge!

Carry it around. You can scoop them up and throw them away without being bitten or you can use the edge to take off the head. Of course some dick put them on the protected species list so .... we can only decapitate one if it comes after us ... well ... you know

These are not heavy to carry around, more like a hiking stick. A also use it where redback spiders may be hiding and the flat of the blade is useful for squashing those as well.

Hone that edge mate!

P

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: bananashooter

Yeah, everyone likes to talk about how 21 of the the most 25 deadliest snakes in the world come from Australia. But if you you actually look at the statistics, it's southern & central America where the real dangers is, when it comes to venomous animals.

I live in South America, and really venonmous animals are not a concern at all here. Maybe it's just this part of the continent, I live in the southernmost region. I only ever heard a couple of accounts of people running into a snake called yarara, but, it's not even as poisonous as the rattlesnake. And I'm talking about two cases in my 25 years. Spiders are no issue either, it's not something people care about at all, there are no dangerous spiders here, although you do hear people bumping into scorpions every once in a while. but again, specialists say their poison poses no threat.
Again, I live in a crowded region of argentina, next to Buenos Aires, so things could be very different in tropical countries, such as Brazil or Ecuador. A place I'd be scare to visit is Australia, sounds like people living in big cities bump into venomoues spider and snakes all the time.

a reply to: payta

Australia, sounds like people living in big cities bump into venomous spider and snakes all the time.

Spiders yes. Honestly though, you live with them all the time, teach children how to deal with them, it is no big deal!

Snakes, generally not in cities. The outer suburbs, yes but once again you either know how to deal with them or call for help if you are that thick. Not much of an issue. Most snakes run away and pets warn us if one is around. Occasionally, a pet can die but it is reasonably rare. I train my dogs to warn but keep away. Have never lost one!

P

a reply to: bananashooter

www.californiaherps.com...

sbsc.wr.usgs.gov...

They are not as dangerous as you think. And they will help keep rodent populations down.

a reply to: payta

A place I'd be scare to visit is Australia, sounds like people living in big cities bump into venomoues spider and snakes all the time.

lol, living down under, you always come across people panicking about about being bitten by white & red tail spiders, there not all that dangerous though. They can't in reality kill a healthy human being.

When it comes to snakes, the majority of Aussies have never even seen a snake in the wild, let a lone a venomous one. I've personally spent years travelling the country and have only ever witnessed a snake well in a car, when they don't have the opportunity to get out of the way.

When I'm hiking in the the bush, I just make lot's of noise, to make sure they move on before I get there. There more scared of you than you are of of them. But in the Americas, you guys got killer spiders everywhere, rattle snakes, wolves and even half ton bears.

lol, how Australia got the rep of being a dangerous place for wildlife, I have no idea. All we really got is a few salt water crocs, up in the tropics.

originally posted by: occrest
a reply to: bananashooter

I grew up on a ranch in the foothills of central california, and know what you are talking about. We had White geese to help us get rid of the snakes. When i was 9, I was bit by a rattler that was about 18 inches long in the back of my left hand one day on the way home from school. Not fun!! I tied on a shoelace above my elbow as a tourniquet, made a couple of 'X' cuts over the bite marks, and proceeded to suck on the wound, spitting out the blood. My hand was pretty swollen by the time i reached home, where my mother had an emergency snakebite kit. I was pretty sick for the next couple of days tho, but didn't have to go to the hospital.
If you end up having to kill any large ones, a shovel or hoe works well. Be careful skinning them. If one is a female, it might be full of young ones, and they will come out biting!!

Rattlesnake stew is delicious!!!

You did about everything you should NOT do. Cutting an x is a big no no, as is a tourniquet and trying to suck out the venom by mouth or suction cup. Those are myths and can actually make things much worse. The best thing to do is let it bleed 30 secs to 1 minute, wrap it, keep the bite area below your heart and seek medical attention ASAP. The tourniquet can causes more tissue damage because it keeps the venom concentrated in one area and does not allow it to disperse and dilute, to some degree.

Growing up in Arizona I was involved with a few hiking clubs and did extensive hiking in the desert. I learned a lot from some very knowledgeable people, treating bites was a lesson I paid close attention to. I can say first hand that I'm not a big fan of them either. We had a group member bitten by a large rattler a few miles into the Superstitions Mountains, ugly bite but he lived.

a reply to: bananashooter

Whats the good of a rattlesnake thread without a nice picture eh .


And here is a picture of another snake .


If you had to pick one up , which would it be .

There have been a lot of warnings about the the fact that there is a huge increase in rattle snake populations this year in the western U.S. Apparently they are getting closer to populated areas looking for water, and therefore more dangerous due to being more fearful.

a reply to: hutch622

Ouch, that hurts just looking at it, nasty critters they are.

Great pic!!!

a reply to: bananashooter

The irony of a person feeding barn cats warning humans about the dangers of wild poisonous snakes.

Cats are the main domestic animal linked to human exposure to rabies.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

lol I don't know, it still sounds dangerous. I have seen tons of documentaries where people find huge spiders or snakes in their backyard. From what you say I get the idea that it really mustn't be as bad as is generally depicted.
What I do worry about living here is mosquitoes.
I do acknowledge though, whenever I go to a province up north, or to a rural area in general, that there are tons of spiders and snakes out in the wild. You can find massive spiders if you know where to look.

a reply to: hutch622

what snake is the 2nd pic of?

Rattke snakes are everywhere in southern california. I grew up in the hollywood hills and would run across them in the backyard. We had so many that the great horned owls would actually hunt in the day in my backyard snatching them up as they would sun themselves in the morning.

Powerful muscular snakes. Seen them launch themselves their entire body length in a strike, so keep your distance if you can and walk heavy so they can hear you coming and skidattle.

And the stories about them being able to move and strike long after they are dead are 100 percent true. Sounds grusome but a few years ago out in the desert There was one inside our camp that needed to go. So i used a 410 on it. blew it in half. It's head was severed completely leaving about 5 Inches of neck. 20 minutes later I poked it with the barrel and the severed head reached back and bit the barrel. There was venom trickeling down the barrel afterwards. Would have easily done that to a hand picking up what was a long dead exsanguinated rattler. Keep your distance is the best advice. But you can co habitat with them if your careful.

I think you are running across a bunch of juveniles and that a few mothers nested on your property last season and gave birth to a ton of them hence the unusually high population of them this year on your property.

a reply to: payta

Its a fierce snake , or inland taipan . Worlds most venomous snake but lives where few humans do . One drop of venom potentially kills 100 adults . But i guess that depends on the size of the drop i suppose . Any of the taipan snakes can really mess your day up , mind you a rattler bite wont make you look back and say , hey i really enjoyed that .

a reply to: bananashooter

It may be pointless
for me to mention this,
but those rattlers have as much a
right to live as you do.

So either tame and master the situation,
or pick them up and relocate them.
Otherwise , relocate your self.

No rudeness or arrogance intended,
Best Regards,Wildmanimal