Rattlesnake season is supposed to be really bad this summer here in SoCal

[KitchenWitch]

Why didn't anyone tell me about this?

:grr:

:scared:

I am going to bed and not going to come out until November.

[idgiehkt]

1. uh-oh

I wonder what makes a rattlesnake season bad or good? I don't even know who their natural predators are. :hi:

[KitchenWitch]

2. Because it is dry - they are coming down from the hills trying to find food

Their food is mice, which are coming into the neighborhoods to eat. People are finding rattlers in their HOMES.

There are services that remove the nasty things.

Maybe I should get some anti-venin, a bunch of plastic containers and duct tape, and some tongs and go into business.

[Jamastiene]

23. Need an assistant?

I've always wanted to get animals away from harm like that. :D

[KitchenWitch]

24. Sure thing

I think we could do two things...save the rattlesnakes (bring them back to the foothills) AND make exhorbitant and obscene amounts of money (people will PAY a lot for this service).

[MsKandice01]

3. We used to get our share of rattlesnakes in Chino Hills...

But now that the entire area has become so suburbanized, they're not nearly as much of a problem anymore, which is actually pretty sad considering all of the wildlife that has been displaced.

[Shakespeare]

4. Bleah. I should probably get a snakebite kit for hiking.

I've been meaning to for awhile, but I keep hearing how bad they're going to be this summer, so perhaps I should get off my booty and get one. :-(

[Adsos Letter]

5. My understanding is that venomous snakebites

are predicted to be higher than normal this summer, nationwide. (wish I could remember where I saw the Link). We certainly get our share of them here in the NorCal Valley... extra attention to those common-sense "snake precautions" is warranted, especially when hiking. Watch where ya' put your feet and hands, avoid wearing cutoffs if hiking in brushy areas, and learn the proper response to snakebite (as opposed to what we see in those 1950's westerns).

[seemunkee]

6. Put them on the menu.

Thems good eats

[Kajsa]

7. Thanks for the info, KW.

I feel sorry for all the wildlife in SoCal right now.

There's no water and very little vegetation for
them to eat.
Our multiple fires have driven many of them from
their homes.

I'll keep my eyes and ears open when I'm out
in open spaces.
They like to hide under rocks and other shady
areas when it's hot so that's where I will be
extra cautious.

I don't think you have to worry living within a city.
Living on the outskirts, next to an open field or
wilderness area is another story.

Be careful, KW.

You should be OK.

:hug:

[SPKrazy]

8. Bah, just look 'em in the eye!

:grr:

scare em off

rattlesnakes are easy

copperheads are the bastids, they don't warn you and are more aggressive

:hi:

[Kajsa]

15. Southpaw--

Have you ever looked one in the eye?

Inquiring minds want to know.

;-) :hi:

[SPKrazy]

16. Well I've Been Close Enough To

Freaked my damned horse out when I was a teenager.

Thought the horse was gonna dump me right in the middle of a sagebrush where the rattler was underneath.
Luckily, we both made it out of there.

Seen a few rattlers in my time. Looked 'em in the eye in the zoo.

At least you can hear the damned things though!

:hi:

;)

[Kajsa]

49. Whew! That was a close one.

I'm glad you made it out, OK.
:hug:

I hope I never encounter one up close
and personal.

:scared:

[SPKrazy]

52. oh, at least you can hear them usually

unless the rattles are gone

and they are not really into people.

:hi:

:hug:

[Poiuyt]

9. DON'T GO TO BED!!

Snakes like to curl up under your covers at the bottom of your bed where it's nice and warm. If I were you, I'd be popping No-Doz until November.

[KitchenWitch]

11. Gee thanks

Take away my ONE emotional escape measure!

:P

[Nicole]

10. Do they have rattlesnakes hunts there?

They do that here. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it. :scared:

[Adsos Letter]

18. you've gotta be in Texas... lol

[Nicole]

19. Nope!

I'm in Oklahoma & we have several of them here. Texas & Oklahoma aren't the only states that have them.

Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Georgia have them as well.

[Adsos Letter]

20. Well...

Consider me educated... :D

[Nicole]

25. Me too...

I had no idea that they had them in Pennsylvania, I thought it was a southern thing.

[Adsos Letter]

27. Ya' know, my daughter is in school in Pennsylvania

and, having been there a couple of times, I can see where they have the terrain for it. I suppose it would be Eastern Diamondbacks, but don't know for sure.

I drove across Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle last August, and I certainly believe you guys have 'em! :D


Here is a picture I took in downtown Oklahoma City on that trip. It wasn't too far from the Murrah Memorial:






:D :hi:

[Nicole]

35. I wasn't surprised that they had rattle snakes in PA.

I was surprised they had rattlesnake hunts. I figured only southern rednecks were crazy enough to do that. :rofl:


Great photo of the Leadership Square Tower. I have several pics of those buildings because I like the distorted reflections it gives off.
That was built in the 1980's. It was supposed to be a much taller, single skyscraper but funds were cut back so they built shorter, twin towers instead.



:hi:

[dropkickpa]

31. Oh yeah, timber rattlers

And eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (these are listed as endangered here). Timbers are found in the forests, and the EMRs are also known as swamp rattlers because they prefer marshy fens and damp grassy areas.

I like snakes, had an encounter with a big ass rattler when I was 7 on the outskirts of Houston (about a block from home).

[Nicole]

36. I would stay out of the forests.

Snakes scare me to death. It started when a water moccasin got in the boat with us. :scared:

[NV Whino]

12. Yep

Already had several here in NoCal. My neighbor's son-in-law unearthed (literally) a nest of babies when he decided he wanted to move a pile of dirt. (No, don't ask why he wanted to move a pile of dirt.)

[datasuspect]

13. better stock up on snakebite juice

always remember:

FOLLOW YOUR DOCTOR'S PROTOCOLS

BARBITUATES HELP YOU SLEEP

[KitchenWitch]

14. Barbs - benzos - opioids!

:)

[Lethe]

17. seriously, don't get bit unless you have insurance

i was reading an article in a Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine a while back.....a guy got bit and they charged his insurance $30,000 for the anti-venom. (didn't even include the hospital stay fees) No joke!!

[Zoigal]

21. Paid $350 for the

anti venom shot when my dog (large breed) was bitten

a couple of years ago in New Mexico. Would

imagine there isn't all that much (if any) difference

in the medication. Interesting that a hospital would

charge that huge amount. Kickback????

[Roon]

22. When I was about five years old

I was walking through a corn field. I heard a rattler and saw his tail,I didn't know what it was but my natural instinct told me to turn and run. I just got my first hearing aids and would not have heard the snake without them. I was lucky.

[KitchenWitch]

26. You ARE lucky.

:hug:

[Roon]

29. .

:hug:

[anti-everything]

28. It's good to live in Northern Minnesota

[KitchenWitch]

30. Yes!

:hi:

[anti-everything]

33. Hi KW

I know you were in MN recently, did you get up to the Northland at all? We had snow in Duluth last weekend. Not unheard of, but strange, nonetheless.

[KitchenWitch]

37. No, alas, I did not

Between my mom being wheelchair bound (temporarily - she is up and hobbling now) and my being sick, I stayed down in the Twin Cities the whole time.

[anti-everything]

39. Good to hear your mom is up and moving around now.

Maybe you'll get to Duluth and Two Harbors on your next visit. Betty's Pies has a new building on the left as you're leaving Two Harbors...

[KitchenWitch]

41. Yes, We were actually at the new Betty's Pies a year ago in March

[dropkickpa]

32. eastern massasauga rattlesnake range includes MN

They are endangered or threatened or a species of concern in all areas in which they occur. They are an indicator species, telling us that their habitat (wetlands) are being destroyed. Watch your step if your in their habitat and be safe!

[anti-everything]

34. Southern MN.

I live by Lake Superior. No rattlesnakes here...

[KitchenWitch]

38. Nope - Just gales of November!

:hi:

[anti-everything]

40. Yes, aka, nice weather.

I'm ready for winter already. Pretty sad. I'm ready for summer hot weather and mowing season to be over. I want to get back to shoveling snow.

[KitchenWitch]

43. Truth be told, I miss the cold and the snow.

[anti-everything]

47. Who wouldn't?

Cold clean air and a fresh coat of snow blanketing everything, covering up all the weeds in the yard...Sled dog races...Ice skating...Hockey...Ice fishing...Skiing. The only thing I don't like about winter is shoveling.

[dropkickpa]

50. Well, perhaps not anymore

They don't think they are there anymore, but MN IS part of their historic range.

[dEMOK]

42. I have the answer to keeping snakes out of the home...

Don't watch Fox News.

[KitchenWitch]

44. Well, then my house is almost entirely snake proof.

[dEMOK]

45. What do you mean by "almost?"...

Is there a closet Fox Noise viewer in your household? You don't actually have to answer (I violated the "don't ask -- don't tell" thing).

[KitchenWitch]

46. Well, sometimes we have the Fox network on for entertainment

and they sneak little clips of Faux Snooze on occasionally. The bastids.

[dEMOK]

48. Well, You Cought Me...

Sometimes when I get tired of reality programming -- I sit back & get a dose of Faux News. You're right.

In the proper context, it is very entertaining.

[MiniMandaRuth]

51. I'm just curious to know

what keeps them away? What's a good natural snake repellent? I know that garlic is supposed to keep scorpions away...

[KitchenWitch]

53. I wish I knew

[dEMOK]

54. Gaelic also keeps non-Mediterraneans awey... nt ;)

[SoCalDemGrrl]

55. Usually they give u a warning. We had one near our front porch

last summer and it gave us fair warning, so we called animal control and

a nice young lady came out, grabbed it with a special hook and took it away

along with 3 others she captured that morning nearby.

We live near Calabasas and have rattlesnakes and scorpions and have

never had a problem with them, although at this time of year we are VERY cautious!!