Dealing with rattlesnakes

[Tuberale]

TNet partner and I will shortly be searching for a cache. Hider of the cache had no fear of rattlesnakes. I have a healthy "respect" of rattlesnakes, but would prefer not to kill them if possible.

Cache may be concealed near a "den" of these. Weather still quite cool there, but temps could be up next week, and they may start to appear out of the den.

Requesting suggestions on how to deal with them without trying to kill everything. I'm a good shot, and would eliminate the problem that way if not other options. Hope there are other options. The big problem I see is that the den may be in very dense vegetation.

 

[TheHarleyMan2]

Well, If I was closer to you I would say let me go along for 5% of the finds. All I really have to do is look at them and stare them down and it will scare them or anything else away. But, being I am in Texas, I can send you a picture of me, (for 10% of the finds of course), to show them when you see them or anything else and they will also turn and run/scurry away!

 

[Tuberale]

Thanks for the option. Our snattlerakes are a little smaller than yours, and probably less interested in how you look than how you taste.<G>

Mostly worried about the very little ones, which are much harder to recognize without even baby rattles.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Thanks for the option. Our snattlerakes are a little smaller than yours, and probably less interested in how you look than how you taste.<G>

Mostly worried about the very little ones, which are much harder to recognize without even baby rattles.

Too bad you don't have a flame thrower! Be careful, the little ones are the worst. We have used gasoline to clean out nests. There is no humane way to do it short of relocating them. We have Mojave Greens as well as Diamondbacks in Central Arizona - Bad mamajammers! Good Luck!

 

[extractor]

 

[DevilDog812]

buy snake-proof boots and/or chaps and something that will create a big vibration to scare them away and warn them that you are coming. they cant hear you, so it doesnt need to be loud, just make vibrations (even stomping around will work)

bring plenty of anti-venom

 

[Tuberale]

Thanks for the thought, guys! Haven't been to the site yet, so don't know for a fact the snakes are still there. This cache will almost 100 years old, and things do change over time. Still, photos I've seen of the site seem to shout SNAKE! to me: lots of cover, shrubbery, probably lots of prey.

For sure this will be an appropriate area for lots of precautions. I'm generally willing to let snakes stay where they are if they'll let me get away. Mostly, I'm more scared of the 6-8 inchers that are much more venomous than the larger, showier, and easier to stay away from elders.

 

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

I try to avoid killing snakes (or just plain avoid snakes) but I would be very careful if I wasn't using the "Hank Scorpio" method as pictured above.

 

[Tank69]

CO2 fire extinguishers shot in short burst at them will run them off ....serious here...the temp change drives em off an wont hurt em .

 

[ivan salis]

a small amount of gas well drive snakes from a den area* ps if bothersome --they taste like chicken.

 

[deepskyal]

Noise and vibration...thrash the area as you walk...go slow and give em time to slither off.
Watch stepping over obstructions. I read on our dcnr site that most bites happen when people step over logs and such.
Wear heavy boots and chaps.

Not sure I'm too keen on tossing gasoline into heavy brush in a wooded area. If you don't start a forest fire you'll kill a lot of vegatation and ruin the environment for the snakes and other critters.

You can also buy arm protectors, not sure where, but I used them in a couple mfg'r plants.

Al

 

[Tuberale]

Thanks again guys! I like the CO2 idea a lot! Cools 'em down, lots of hissing: probably makes 'em think their being invaded by a larger den.

It is a real brushy area, with larger shrubs, probably to 20 feet tall the most common vegetation. Produces lots of small leaves which would burn like heck if the area had not already had so much water this year it is unlikely to burn at all. But a little gas (or diesel) bomb would certainly remove their cover and make them much easier to see for a small area maybe 20 feet across.

Pretty certain cache will be in a crevice or gap between 2 larger boulders, likely with lots of leaf litter built-up over the last 100 years. Going to have to move a lot of that litter, which I'm willing to bet has completely obscured the cache by now. Enough mass that partner's 2-box should have no trouble at all locating. Fairly small search area of less than 10,000 square feet. Only real potential threat to recovery are the natives. Don't need to harm them if possible. I'm thinking maybe a leaf blower would be one way to scare 'em off, if deepskyal is right. Just a little nervous about making the recovery before having company. It'll probably take at least an hour just to get it moved a couple hundred feet. Not certain if I want to take pictures at this time or not, as it would require more time, but would likely pay for itself. Don't especially want the attention pictures would generate, though.

Have to make a deal with the landowner, too, so got a few barriers to cross before going forward. Done as much research as I can get done without being on site. Looks like about 95-100% likelihood of recovery at this time, provided I can encourage the natives to leave for at least an hour. Thick boots a requirement here, as well as thicker clothing just to keep warm right now. Might be pretty wet too: Oregon has had only 3 days this year above 70 degrees, and right now it's closer to 50, and raining. Reminds me of Ken Kesey's famous words: "It was Oregon. And it was raining. And it was Oregon." Something like that. Good thing the high desert hasn't gotten very warm yet.

 

[TheNewCatfish]

Watch'em close right now. When they first start coming out of their dens, rattlesnakes are blind and they'll pretty much strike at anything close enough to hit. A blind snake has milky looking eyes. After they shed that first skin, they're a whole lot less dangerous. If they can see you comin, they usually take off the other direction.

 

[Produce Guy]

I know this might sound kind of weird,but I was told by an old timer that lime is good for getting rattlesnakes to move,and when I say lime ,I mean the powder not the fruit.He said just sprinkle it on them and they'll move.

 

[Tuberale]

Lime makes perfect sense if I'm trying to kill them. Lime breaks down organic material quickly. Was used in mass graves during the Black Plague. Cuts down on odors too. Nazis used quicklime in mass graves as well.

 

[s.c.shooter]

Snakechaps and lots of noise!

 

[Felinepeachy]

Rattlesnakes hibernate from November til April. I would go during that time.

I just read this;

If you kill a rattler be aware that even though it is dead, the venom is still active. A dead snake
or snake head can still bite through a reflex action. Remove the head with a shovel and bury it. Do not handle the head with your hands. Yellow jackets like to feed on dead snake. If they ingest the venom and later sting someone, the venom from both the yellow jacket and the rattler is injected into that person. It is a very toxic combination.

 

[21stTNCav]

Awww just take a $10.00 garden sprayer, fill it with some Disel and spray away or take a box of moth balls and throw em all over the area. That shoud take care of the problem. Good luck.

 

[TheNewCatfish]

Don't want to come off as a "tree-hugger" or anything, but rattlesnakes are becoming pretty rare. Even here in the Panhandle of Texas we don't see'em nearly as much as we did 30 years ago. The really BIG snakes are even MORE RARE. I remember seeing sidewinder tracks running diagonally across a creekbed when i was a youngster that were easily two and a half feet in length and as wide as my upper arm. The snake that made those tracks would have been a nightmarish monster. Possibly one for the record books.

Remember the Hanta Virus ? It was caused by an overpopulation of mice. People were breathing bad air from feces and dead mice. The explosion in the rodent population was attributed in part to a diminishing snake population. So even snakes serve a purpose in the overall scheme of things.

Since we're also talking about treasure finds, you might want to consider what a mounted rattlesnake skin over 4 foot long goes for. I bet it's a nice piece of change. Never priced em myself though. I was surprised once when i sold a large paper hornet nest for $300 dollars. That was 15 years ago. God only knows what you'd pay on E-Bay for one nowadays. People buy weird stuff.

 

[Tuberale]

I guess I'm a "live and let live" kind of guy. Why antagonize snakes? Used to live where there was a "round-up" some years. Catching snakes eemed silly. Upwards of 300 in a 4-6 mile stretch of canyon. Had no problem with them except for the young 'uns out sunning on rock slides. A six- or 8-incher tries to coil like daddy, but doesn't have the rattles to warn you. Not their fault, really.

It's said "A coward dies a thousand deaths, a hero only one." As a confirmed coward, I disagree. I'm working on life #637 right now. Prefer being alive. Wouldn't feel bad backing away from a Diamondback. Just need to get out of range. I'd prefer not to step on others while doing it.

Heck, they might not even be there now. Haven't been on-site yet. Just read they were there 100 years ago, and the cache hider didn't harm 'em. I'd prefer not harming 'em too. Just being prepared.