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Rattlesnake (potentially) on my door step


Roadrunner
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I can't tell you how horrified I am right now. I can't stand snakes, and please, please don't try to persuade me to change my mind. It was on my door step and as I exited the house and almost stepped on it, it hid in the crack, which I didn't even know existed before now, between my house and a wooden step. There is a possibility that it's a garden snake, but all the googling my kids did (I can't even look at pictures) makes them believe that it is most likely a baby rattlesnake. What do I do? How do I get rid of it? Is there an exterminator to call? I am so scared that I refuse to go back home until my DH is off work.

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Did you hear it rattle? The sound is unmistakable. And it sounds like you scared it, so it definitely would've rattled.

 

Rattlesnakes will not attack unless they are provoked, so just keep away from it until it can be removed. Call animal control to come pick it up if you don't want to kill it.

 

Sent from my HTCD200LVW using Tapatalk

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Do You have a neighbor or a friend who can deal with it for you? It won't attack you, just don't step on it :) I'm no snake expert, but I'd think that baby snakes should be bigger and nearly grown this time of year?? So maybe it's actually a garden snake? If you didn't see or hear a rattle perhaps it wasn't one. There are lots of Brownish snakes around.

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The pattern is pretty distinctive IF you can still see it clearly to compare to pictures. Also, the shape of the head is distinctive.  A baby rattlesnake won't have a rattle until it sheds the skin, and adults can lose their rattles also.  Are you in the southwest? What state and what type of rattlesnakes do you have there?  

 

When I was a kid, they would come around the house when it got real dry.  The neighbor kid would come over and shoot them if my dad was gone, I'm sure that was more dangerous than the snake...

 

You can harass it with a broom, it will coil and maybe try to hide.  Then leave it alone and it will leave eventually.  

Edited by barnwife
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Call animal control. That will also help you and kids know what to do if it happens again. The drought in the state where I live is apparently causing rattlers to leave their homes in search of food. A boy was bitten a few weeks ago in my city (slightly quieter part of the city but a city nonetheless).

 

Where I lived in my childhood, we often had snakes and huge lizards enter the house, especially when people were clearing the undergrowth near our home. I used a box to trap a baby snake in the kitchen once. Just turned it over on the snake and placed a weight on top and closed the kitchen door. Then waited for dad to come home and we called animal control. Another time, we had a huge black snake enter the house and coil itself on top of the curtain rod (we never found out type because we were all too wary to approach it but it was really thick around the middle). Animal control knew what to do. Those animal control folks are superheroes in my book. :laugh:

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Call animal control. That will also help you and kids know what to do if it happens again. The drought in the state where I live is apparently causing rattlers to leave their homes in search of food. A boy was bitten a few weeks ago in my city (slightly quieter part of the city but a city nonetheless).

 

Where I lived in my childhood, we often had snakes and huge lizards enter the house, especially when people were clearing the undergrowth near our home. I used a box to trap a baby snake in the kitchen once. Just turned it over on the snake and placed a weight on top and closed the kitchen door. Then waited for dad to come home and we called animal control. Another time, we had a huge black snake enter the house and coil itself on top of the curtain rod (we never found out type because we were all too wary to approach it but it was really thick around the middle). Animal control knew what to do. Those animal control folks are superheroes in my book. :laugh:

We are in CA as well. I am still not home. Should I assume the snake has a nest in the crack? I fell funny calling an animal control and then not finding anything in there.

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We are in CA as well. I am still not home. Should I assume the snake has a nest in the crack? I fell funny calling an animal control and then not finding anything in there.

 

I don't know that you can assume that, sorry. I wish I knew. I think animal control is trained for these sorts of things and should be well aware of people calling and not finding anything. I suggested it because of how worried you sound. If it was me, I would call because I have two small dogs who could get hurt. If it was just us (adult/ young adult) humans, I would probably keep a careful watch, close doors tight, warn anyone going in and out of the house to keep watch etc but with small dogs, it's hard to predict what can happen. So if you have young kids or if you are just too terrified, I would call at least for the peace of mind (and maybe even the possibility of saving the poor little critter's life!).

 

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I don't know that you can assume that, sorry. I wish I knew. I think animal control is trained for these sorts of things and should be well aware of people calling and not finding anything. I suggested it because of how worried you sound. If it was me, I would call because I have two small dogs who could get hurt. If it was just us (adult/ young adult) humans, I would probably keep a careful watch, close doors tight, warn anyone going in and out of the house to keep watch etc but with small dogs, it's hard to predict what can happen. So if you have young kids or if you are just too terrified, I would call at least for the peace of mind (and maybe even the possibility of saving the poor little critter's life!).

 

Oh, I am terrified. My DH will be home by 7 PM. Until then I am sitting at the park with kids.

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I am assuming OP lives in a CA city. Our county has a snake removal service. They also call it animal control. Maybe I am using the words interchangeably when I shouldn't? Sorry, OP. I meant the snake removal unit.

Very nice perk! I live in the country, but DH does a nice business in the city and the country in pest control with these sorts of things where we live. Snakes are definitely dealt with privately, either via the homeowner or a private pest management company.

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Oh no! I would have to leave home too! Do you have another door you can return through? I'm sort of impressed you screamed. I've twice seen a (deadly Australian) snake in my path while walking and both times was reduced to clutching at my walking partner and pointing wildly. I can only assume the snakes were equally appalled at what they saw, as both slithered off rapidly.

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Seriously people.....the snake is afraid of you as much you are afraid of it. Make a little noise. Whack around on the step.....he will run away and hide. If there is a crack between the step and house seal it up.

Sure, but I am not the one capable of delivering poisonous venom!

 

My entire family is kicking back and making fun of me. We are rural, so in his attempt to calm me down, DH just informed me that he has caught at least 8 snakes with similar description over the past year. 😱😱😱

I want to move to the city, badly.

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Sure, but I am not the one capable of delivering poisonous venom!

 

My entire family is kicking back and making fun of me. We are rural, so in his attempt to calm me down, DH just informed me that he has caught at least 8 snakes with similar description over the past year. 😱😱😱

I want to move to the city, badly.

We're in the suburbs and there are many, many rattlesnakes here. 🙄
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Sure, but I am not the one capable of delivering poisonous venom!

 

My entire family is kicking back and making fun of me. We are rural, so in his attempt to calm me down, DH just informed me that he has caught at least 8 snakes with similar description over the past year. 😱😱😱

I want to move to the city, badly.

You have no venom bit you have a shovel that could kill it in one wack.

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We had a baby rattler in our garage a few years ago. We definitely scared it and it didn't rattle. Baby rattlers are especially dangerous.

We're in CA too.

 

How did you remove it? 

I am looking up snake removal services and it looks like they use traps. My DH thinks he can get the trap and set it up himself. Ag. I feat the snakes of the entire neighborhood will come visit that trap. 

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Ugh. I hope your DH was able to catch it for you.

 

Growing up in CA, we had rattlers all over our property. They didn't concern me as a kid, but they sure would now. We've seen more snakes this year (harmless ones, but still) in Maine than we ever have before--I wonder if they are coming out due to the drought? I ran one over recently on my bike--poor DS had never heard me scream like that!

 

When we lived in New Brunswick, we had snakes make themselves at home by our front door. Getting rid of them was a terrifying dance involving a shovel, a bucket, and somehow managing to drive them to the other side of the river. DH is more afraid of snakes than I am--I'm still not sure how we managed it.

 

I hope yours is gone and doesn't return!

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We farm and in September we were picking up square bales of alfalfa hay in the field. We didn't do the whole field, just a strip along the side and my dh rolled the rest in large rolls.

 

He saw me working and thought, "I'll go help her finish her row before I put the roller up."

 

So he parked the tractor and came to help out. In a minute he called out to me. The next bale he was about to lift had about 7 inches of a snake poking out. The head end. The rest of the snake was in the bale. yes, the snake was alive and would strike at anything poking at it.

 

I squealed and shivered while frantically searching for something with which to dispatch the snake. He used a knife found in the truck.

 

It was a copper head. About 3 feet long.

 

My dh asked me if I would have picked up that bale. I said ," Probably" It;s never occurred to me that snake heads sticking out of square bales would be an issue. So the rest of that field was gathered quite slowly and carefully. Every bale was rolled over and examined from all angles.

 

So there's my snake story.

 

I have pictures. But I thought that might be a bit too much for you this morning.

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If you haven't already done something...but were going to, don't do it.

 

When I was in AZ we had a big diamonhead rattle snake right beside the garage, under a bush by the door.  I freaked out!!!  But called local police and they drove right over and rescued it to be released out in the desert.  Killing them is illegal.  I was surprised the local police man was pretty cool with his cage and long arm grabber.

 

:grouphug:

Edited by Tammyla
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Depending on where you live, there may also be a snake relocation service (for example, I know of several in the SW USA) or you may be able to call the local university and have them come get the snake. Some species of rattlesnakes (and other N.AM snakes that look a lot like rattlesnakes. Bayesian mimicry is helpful against non-human predators, but is often fatal when humans are involved) are endangered or close to it, and for those species, any found individual would be helpful for a conservation program. Perhaps more important, such a person could also check and see if you have a hibernaculum or nest site on your property, remove any animals, and let you know how to safely remove it. If you're in an area where it gets below freezing, this is the time of year snakes are traveling to hibernacula for the winter (which is why we spend a lot of time doing field stuff at this time of year). Rattlesnakes are one of the species that are more social and do den communally and stay in family and extended family groups, so it is a good idea, if you see one rattlesnake, to have someone who knows what they're doing, come make sure that you aren't a site for more. While rattlesnakes are great neighbors as far as rodent and tick control goes, they are venomous.

 

If there's no one that comes up on a google search in your area, I agree, animal control. They may or may not handle snakes themselves, but will know who does. Some exterminators will also deal with snakes-but are unlikely to track down if there is a den or hibernaculum vs just a single snake passing through, so the ideal would be someone very, very familiar with snakes.

 

Please do not try the shovel trick or any other means of killing the snake yourself. Rattlesnakes can strike very quickly, and if you're trying to kill them, will do so. They aren't aggressive animals-but they are armed.

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How did you remove it?

I am looking up snake removal services and it looks like they use traps. My DH thinks he can get the trap and set it up himself. Ag. I feat the snakes of the entire neighborhood will come visit that trap.

My DH was home and we dispatched it.

It's legal to kill rattlesnakes in CA.

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I don't blame you for being concerned.  We live in rattler country and they can be very dangerous to people, pets and livestock.  They used to come in our yard when I was a kid and my dad would shoot them.  

 

We "snake-proofed" our current yard by getting rid of the plant beds around our house where snakes liked to hang out.   We replaced the beds with grass that we keep cut pretty short, and that seems to be working.  I've heard that you can spray a sulfur snake repellent around your yard, but I've never actually seen it for sale anywhere.   

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See? You guys all laugh at me when I whine when it's -40 here in January. But, we don't have rattlesnakes!  :laugh:

Well, I'm dumb enough to live where we have very cold winters and rattlesnakes!  You would think the cold would chase the snakes away, but they just hibernate right through it.  :glare:

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We had a 5 foot long black snake come into our house this summer. It came in when a kid opened the door, so by the time we got in there the snake was in the corner hiding under a big pile of shoes and we could not tell what kind or how big or anything. There was A LOT of screaming going on. We used a long shovel to pull the shoes away from it and then it was clear it was over 5 foot so highly unlikely to be a moccasin. Dh scooped him out with the shovel and the poor snake was so distraught and scared it kept trying to come back in the house. Dh had to scoop and sling 3 times to get the snake to go off into the woods.

 

Oh and the smell. Soooo foul. That was the first time I had ever smelled whatever it released....thank heavens for concrete floors!

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Cracks me up that animal control would come out for a snake.

 

me to - since I live rural and see snakes all the time.   If they are non venmous we take  shovel and move them away form the house .  If they are poisonous we use a hoe and chop head off  (only if they are close to house or in house I've  had water moccasin in my basement.  But thankfully I have king snake that is living in my barn.  I haven't seen any poisonous since it moved in.  I've only seen a few non poisonous.

 

But right now it's not the snakes giving me trouble.  We are in a drought and having problems with black widow spiders.  

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Roadrunners eat rattlers, y'know. Just sayin'. *wink*

 

I was tempted to point that out as well but since I can so well relate to Roadrunner's panic I left this little crack up to you.

 

Roadrunner, I just want to say I'd be in a terror if that had happened to me. Rattler or no rattler. A small snake - I am sure a gopher snake sunned itself near my hydrangea one summer morning. When I walked by it slithered into a hole in the ground. I ran into the house and bolted the door...and you guys are the first ones I have told this little tidbit in detail.

 

dmetler and your daughter: you can laugh at me. I admire people who can get close to snakes. The closest to reptile love I came was with a green iguana with whom I bonded until he realized I was female and he was an alpha male.

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I was tempted to point that out as well but since I can so well relate to Roadrunner's panic I left this little crack up to you.

Yeah, the irony of her username wasn't lost on me. LOL!

 

Roadrunner, seriously, I'd be freaked too. Rattlers are nothing to play around with!

Edited by Kinsa
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When we stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado in CA I asked the concierge about local hikes.  She gave me info about several options.  "You should know that you might see a rattlesnake if you go on one of them."  she said very soberly. I laughed. "Honey, I'm from AZ and do a lot of hiking there.  If I see a rattlesnake my fist instinct is to shoot, cook and eat it, not to freak out about it."

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At out last house there was a pair of roadrunners who lived in our neighborhood.  They liked to run along the 6 foot cinder block walls and pick of  the lizards that lived on them.  We had an upstairs window with a ledge on it that we let our house cats hang out on.  One day they saw one of the road runners hanging out on that ledge and they decided to try and sneak up on it.  They got close enough to get a nose outside and then the roadrunner turned around, made eye contact and took a few step closer to the cats and they ran for their lives and hid under the bed for the rest of the day.  Even cats as dumb as ours know better than to engage a roadrunner.

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me to - since I live rural and see snakes all the time. If they are non venmous we take shovel and move them away form the house . If they are poisonous we use a hoe and chop head off (only if they are close to house or in house I've had water moccasin in my basement. But thankfully I have king snake that is living in my barn. I haven't seen any poisonous since it moved in. I've only seen a few non poisonous.

 

But right now it's not the snakes giving me trouble. We are in a drought and having problems with black widow spiders.

Are they getting in your house? They do freak me out a bit. And I am not afraid of spiders in general.

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My dad used to have pet boa constrictors (one 5 feet long and one 6 feet long) when I was a kid.  My brother has a pet ball python. I've handled them myself. Snakes don't bother me. I remember my grandmother talking about cooking the rattlesnakes my dad would bring home from a hunt (usually a rabbit hunt.) It really irritated her that they still move some for a few minutes when you cook them and the sides kind of curl up.  There are a few restaurants here that serve rattlesnake as an appetizer, but it's not as exotic as it sounds because they batter and fry them like chicken nuggets and serve them with ranch dip.  Yes, it mostly tastes like chicken. 

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We have a road runner that hangs out on our fence frequently. Maybe its keeping the rattlesnakes away (that's what I'm telling myself).

 

 

I know that there are big snakes behind our house. The gardeners that maintain the common area behind our fence have told me that there are BIG snakes in the bushes. I tell myself that they're gopher (bull) snakes because rattlers don't get huge. ðŸ˜

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I'll trade your baby rattler for this that was in my yard today (eastern brown, highly venomous). By the time I rescued my son who found it and the cat who came to investigate it and took them inside it had slithered off. So now its somewhere out in my yard and I cant find it. We plan on never using the yard again... and I'm traumatised that my son came so close to being bitten ( he almost ran it over it with his scooter). First snake I've ever seen in my yard.... or in my entire life of living in Australia for that matter. Panic is an understatement... I took melatonin and still cant sleep. 😳

 

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Edited by sewingmama
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