Green Mojave’s are hard to kill

[Jchonline]

I came the back way to my CA property last year to find a Honda civic askew on the narrow rural road with passenger door open. Male driver sitting in driver seat.

I stopped; whereupon a 2nd male approached my driver side with a live rattlesnake cradled in his arms. He asked if I wanted to get a close look at it and I said NO!

I slowly went past the Honda, asking the driver why his passenger had a live rattlesnake in his arms. The driver looked aghast and said his passenger saw it on the road and wanted him to stop. The passenger was worried the rattlesnake would get hurt-- so he caught it to release it away from the road. And within about 100 yards of my neighbor who has a 2 year old that plays outside every day .....

I would act interested in helping the passenger find the snake a place off the road...and once they drove away I would shoot it, run over it, hit it with a shovel, light it on fire, then throw it in the volcano.

 

[plowhog]

Ever since I heard that I've been VERY careful when making my way through tall sage.

My favorite trout fishing stream is very remote and there is lots of manzanita bushes that range from small to over your head. We often hike/crash through chest high bushes that are thick enough where you can't see the ground. After doing that for years I'm kind of amazed we have not had any rattlesnake encounters.

 

[deserteagle71]

Rattlers aren't aggressive and will go out of their way not to bite you.

In most cases that is true. In a lifetime (70+ years) of having to deal with rattlers I have come across a few that were very aggressive and came after me, even as I retreated. It's a chilling sight to see one of them somehow moving toward you while still semi-coiled with head and neck in position to strike. Most did not even buzz as they came toward me.

 

[Jstpssng]

<snip>I have never understood the average person's phobia over snakes. Rattlers aren't aggressive and will go out of their way not to bite you. They don't want to waste their venom on something they can't eat. I would bet most of the people that die from getting bit by a rattle snake got bit because they tormented the snake. More people die from bee stings in the US each year than from snake bites, yet people don't relish in cutting the heads off a honey bee. I am sure I will get flamed for this reply but that is my lifelong observation.

It’s a very rare occasion that what stings is a honeybee. If you think people are more tolerant of stinging insects then you haven’t perused this thread.

 

[Jchonline]

In the Palouse I hardly ever see a snake, yet alone a rattle snake. When we lived in the Columbia River Basin we saw rattlers all the time. The majority of the snakes we saw were rattlers. Wasn't too unusual to see one up next to the house. I'd just take a shovel or a rake and sling it out in the sage brush behind the house. When riding horses it was not unusual to have the horses stop when they heard a rattler. (They could pick up the sound of a rattler quicker than we could). We'd just go around. I have never understood the average person's phobia over snakes. Rattlers aren't aggressive and will go out of their way not to bite you. They don't want to waste their venom on something they can't eat. I would bet most of the people that die from getting bit by a rattle snake got bit because they tormented the snake. More people die from bee stings in the US each year than from snake bites, yet people don't relish in cutting the heads off a honey bee. I am sure I will get flamed for this reply but that is my lifelong observation.

I expect a lot of people also get bit because the accidentally stepped on the snake or startled it. No one's fault. On the front range we have them all over the place and they are really hard to see. Even on running/biking trails. I do realize we are encroaching on their territory and best to avoid them if you can. However if small kids are around thats another story.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I will kill a rattlesnake or a copperhead without hesitation. My Dad was a superintendent at a sand dredge, and we lived very near the siding. I have seen rattlesnakes cut in two by the RR cars, and have shot quite a few. You had to keep your eyes open.

This reminds me of a story I posted a few years back, about my brother. I called it "Lanny and the snake". I'll re-post it here just for fun.





Back in the olden days, my Dad was the supervisor of a sand pit, that
shipped sand by rail all over the Southwest, and our house was on the same
property. It was so sandy, that nothing would grow except maybe a few sand
burrs. Out little "house beyond the house" was close by, and surrounded by
ankle deep sand. We also were blessed with an abundance of rattle snakes,
which tended to hang out in the outbuildings. We found quite a few that
didn't quite make it across the RR tracks that serviced the sand pit. My
younger brother, who was deathly afraid of snakes, had the experience of
entering the facility, shutting the door, only to find a hog nosed snake
behind the door. Having had this experience, he was always on the alert, and
very, very cautious.

One morning before school, I saw him enter the privy. After he shut the
door, I sneaked up behind, waited until he got settled and all was quiet,
and then I made a "snake hissing sound" as loudly as I could. He yelled at
the top of his voice: " AWWWWWWWWWW", I heard the door bang open and he came
running, best he could, in the ankle deep sand with his jeans down around
his ankles. Of course I laughed my butt off, but he wasn't amused. When he
turned around all red faced, he made some remark akin to "I'll get you for
that you SOB, if it's the last thing I do". I still think it was funny. He
never got over his fear of snakes, and dispatched quite a few in his
lifetime. He died a couple years ago and I really miss the little ****.

At his funeral, I met his boss and some of the folks he worked for (this
company recovered explosives from old ordinance). They told me that when he
went into the field, he always took his shootin' iron and shot every snake
he saw. His boss asked me why he was so afraid of snakes...

 

[ponytug]

In the Palouse I hardly ever see a snake, yet alone a rattle snake. When we lived in the Columbia River Basin we saw rattlers all the time. The majority of the snakes we saw were rattlers. Wasn't too unusual to see one up next to the house. I'd just take a shovel or a rake and sling it out in the sage brush behind the house. When riding horses it was not unusual to have the horses stop when they heard a rattler. (They could pick up the sound of a rattler quicker than we could). We'd just go around. I have never understood the average person's phobia over snakes. Rattlers aren't aggressive and will go out of their way not to bite you. They don't want to waste their venom on something they can't eat. I would bet most of the people that die from getting bit by a rattle snake got bit because they tormented the snake. More people die from bee stings in the US each year than from snake bites, yet people don't relish in cutting the heads off a honey bee. I am sure I will get flamed for this reply but that is my lifelong observation.

I agree. Out on the trails, we just go around the rattlesnakes, and certainly don't go hunting them in the pasture.

My neighbor across the street doesn't keep cats. Won't keep cats. Spring, summer, fall, he tells me he shoots fifteen to twenty rattlesnakes a month at the house. I have to think that they are coming for his mice and lizards. That is a lot of hassle and grief instead of having a cat...

We get bee swarms most years, and I love watching them come by.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Jchonline]

I agree. Out on the trails, we just go around the rattlesnakes, and certainly don't go hunting them in the pasture.

My neighbor across the street doesn't keep cats. Won't keep cats. Spring, summer, fall, he tells me he shoots fifteen to twenty rattlesnakes a month at the house. I have to think that they are coming for his mice and lizards. That is a lot of hassle and grief instead of having a cat...

We get bee swarms most years, and I love watching them come by.

All the best,

Peter

I would definitely get a cat. What say you @/pine

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Rattlesnakes? We got rattlesnakes...

Okeene Rattlesnake Hunt

Welcome to the home of the World's Oldest Rattlesnake Hunt!

www.okeenesnakehunt.com

My cousin, who lives near Okeene is a member of the Order of the White Fang...membership restricted to those who have been bitten by a rattlesnake.

 

[ponytug]

Rattlesnakes? We got rattlesnakes...

Okeene Rattlesnake Hunt

Welcome to the home of the World's Oldest Rattlesnake Hunt!

www.okeenesnakehunt.com

My cousin, who lives near Okeene is a member of the Order of the White Fang...membership restricted to those who have been bitten by a rattlesnake.

That's a club that I have been trying hard not join since I first saw someone bitten by one....