Guess what I found in the front yard
- Thread starter 2000Z-71
- Start date
I had a similar situation several years back. Fortunately it was a chicken snake instead of a rattler. Since it wasn't dangerous I tried to leave him alone in the hope that it would go away. It didn't. He scared the heck out of my then wife. I ended up shooting it with 20 gauge.
BarbC
Member
I'm going to have to remember that phrase: "Why, you little liberal bastion..."
I generally leave snakes alone but one time we saw the bluebird parents very upset near their telephone pole bluebird box. A large black snake had worked its way up the pole and had its head in the box, gulping down baby bluebirds. My ex shot at the snake, which pulled his whole body into the box and kept sticking his head out, hissing. Every time he stuck his head out, my ex shot him, until the snake hung down from the bluebird box. Being the least squeamish of us spectators, I took the hoe and wrapped it around the snake and pulled him out of the box, away from the nest. It was a good 6' long. A few baby birds survived the experience, to the relief of the parents and us, that our efforts were not in vain.
qennis
Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
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I shot a 3 1/2 foot copperhead in my front yard last summer with a
9mm. I live in the country and the two neighbors I have were gald to see it dead.
I leave snakes in the woods alone, but when they are in my yard they are as good as dead.
9mm. I live in the country and the two neighbors I have were gald to see it dead.
I leave snakes in the woods alone, but when they are in my yard they are as good as dead.
Hi 2000Z, I lived in the Valley from 1959 until a bit over 3 years ago. Just a word to the wise - where you find one rattler, there are a bunch more, especially this time of year when they are coming out of their dens. I'll guarantee there is a den nearby (snakes don't usually travel very far) with a lot more of them, including babies. If you find it, I recommend you either: A) send your hysterical neighbor over to save and pet the babies or, B) go on an extermination mission. I can't believe that stupid kid releasing a venomous snake on (or near) a hiking trail in a popular recreation area. There are already too many snakes up there, as they are attracted to the water and the other wildlife that goes to the water (quail, rabbits, ground squirrels, etc.). On second thought, the photo of that kid putting the snake into the bucket says a lot, if you look at the kid's grooming - bet he also is a member of PETA and whatever the Students for a Democratic Society is called now.
I would have been tempted to tell the nut job neighbor to leave my property, made sure she did, and just taken care of the situation. BTW, I hate snakes, but love to hunt them.
Remember, make sure you are snake-aware, you'll probably be seeing more of them.
I would have been tempted to tell the nut job neighbor to leave my property, made sure she did, and just taken care of the situation. BTW, I hate snakes, but love to hunt them.
Remember, make sure you are snake-aware, you'll probably be seeing more of them.
GatorFarmer
Member
If it was my yard, it'd be my snake. I'd have killed it anyway. Then I'd have roasted it and asked the neighbors if they wanted any. I'd have told the do gooder kid not to touch my snake since it was fine eating.
That's why I tend to alienate people and have few friends. Eh.
That's why I tend to alienate people and have few friends. Eh.
DeathGrip
US Veteran
I've had 'rattler for dinner.Pretty good.If I remember correctly you have to marinade in vinegar overnight before cooking.
D.G.
D.G.
I think you'd have been ahead to keep the snake, and have your neighbors hauled off to the desert wilderness.
How'd you ID the species? Can't tell from the pic --- can't see the tail, the most obvious indicator, or tell where the white stripe leading from the eye ends near the back of the mouth. Offhand, I'd guess Western Diamondback as the default ID for your neck of the woods, but it certainly could be a Mojave. It's been warm enough, long enough, here in the Valley, that snakes are already well dispersed from den sites --- they are no longer concentrated around dens. (About three consecutive days of about 75 degrees brings them out, and as it gets warmer, they begin to disperse...) I came across a half-grown Diamondback the other day, out and about in mid-afternoon. Soon, they'll become increasingly nocturnal as daytime temps rise.
How'd you ID the species? Can't tell from the pic --- can't see the tail, the most obvious indicator, or tell where the white stripe leading from the eye ends near the back of the mouth. Offhand, I'd guess Western Diamondback as the default ID for your neck of the woods, but it certainly could be a Mojave. It's been warm enough, long enough, here in the Valley, that snakes are already well dispersed from den sites --- they are no longer concentrated around dens. (About three consecutive days of about 75 degrees brings them out, and as it gets warmer, they begin to disperse...) I came across a half-grown Diamondback the other day, out and about in mid-afternoon. Soon, they'll become increasingly nocturnal as daytime temps rise.
RPM2DAY
Member
Yeah they taste good, hope you found a recipe. I've only found babies in my garage, mean as can be but not a meal!
OP
2000Z-71
Member
It had wide white rings around the tail, the markings were faint with a slight green color and the diamond pattern on the back faded out towards the tail. Unfortunately, it's not the first Mojave we've had in the neighborhood.
I would have shot the snake just to aggravate the neighbors.
snakeman32
US Veteran
When I lived in Texas i worked nights for the Sheriffs department. My now ex-wife calls me one night and tells me she stepped on a rattlesnake on the back deck. She was freaking out a little. I told her to get it off the deck with a broom or long stick and shoot it with my shotgun. She said ok and hung up the phone. When I got home in the morning I went around the house to the back yard to look and see if I could find the snake. I looked around the deck and in the yard and saw no snake body. I figured she had missed the snake and it got away. That was until I stepped on the deck to go in the house. Ther laying on the deck was the dead rattler and several nice holes in my deck where she had shot the snake. I kept slugs in the shotgun for coyotes and I didn't specify to her to unload the slugs and load it with bird shot for the snake. To say I was unhappy was an understatement.
snakeman
snakeman
bk43
Member
You are a better man than I sir. I would not have been able to handle the dippy neighbors as well as you did.
Bob
Bob
The Last Standing Knight
Member
Like I've written before, I'm not scared of snakes...
...this doesn't mean I do not respect them.
While I agree that sometimes there is little alternative in an urban or suburban enviroment than to put a poisonous or dangerous animal down for the saefty of everyone, I do not think that the first response to EVERY snake or EVERY spider is to insure it a speedy trip to the afterlife, that includes my personal fear of scorpions. Yes, I have done so in self defense (I think a lot of us have been chased by Cottonmouths before). But if there is another way, I will take it. If it is a snake I KNOW to be harmless (like the 2ft Texas Rat Snake I caught in the garage at work recently...yes, it bit me...no big deal... the Crocodile Hunter jokes are getting old, though). I caught a Copperhead on a local hiking trail with my boys. I merely picked it up with a long stick and set it off the trail.
I'm pleased that this incident had a happy ending. Personally, I thought the snake was cute.
BTW, in regards to the Texas Rat Snake...it was near two dumpsters which have rats so big you could ride them like He-Man rode BattleCat. It was crawling in the poorly lit area of the garage. Many people there were telling me to kill it...I didn't and let it go in a safe area (for everyone)..those same people came up to me the next day and told me they'd hoped I didn't kill it.
It was quite the scene to say the least. My next door neighbor knocked on my front door to tell me that there was a snake in our front yard. I went outside to find 4 neighbors standing in my front yard watching it crawl up towards the wall separating my front and back yards. Neighbors standing around complicates redneck yard aeration with the 12 guage.
I was contemplating between the long handled hoe and a headshot with a .22. With one neighbor shrieking and going into hysterics about how her daughter rides her bike up and down the sidewalk in front of my house everyday, I made the announcement that if no one had any issues I was going to take care of it.
Then my neighbor who knocked on my door asked rather incredulously if I was going to kill it. I told her that was the general idea since it wasn't safe having it in the neighborhood and I really didn't want to take any chances with trying to capture and handle it.
Then the shrieking neighbor goes into a dialing frenzy on her iPhone. Her hysterics become even more high pitched after calling 911 and being told the police do not respond to snake calls, neither does the fire department and animal control doesn't work on Sundays.
Now my next door neighbor's husband launches into a diatribe about being guilt ridden for buying a house and displacing a snake, how it shouldn't be made to suffer for our irresponsible development of the desert. I asked the neighbor if he had any kids or pets. He said they had a dog when they lived in Tucson, it died, it may have been bitten by a snake.
I'm about to go back inside and load up some .22 hollow points since the snake is now tightly coiled making a clean blow to the head with the hoe a little more complicated. Besides, it's a 5' long Mojave, I really don't want to get close enough to it with the hoe. Just then the hysteric neighbor screams that she's found someone, throws her iPhone to my guilt ridden neighbor and tells him to give them dierections and runs back down the street screaming to her daughter to get inside the house. Guilt ridden neighbor gives directions then explains to us that the Phoenix Herpetological Society is coming to capture and relocate the snake for a donation which he wil gladly pay.
I waited outside with my next door neighbor for about 1/2 an hour waiting for the Herpetological Society to show up. We wanted to make sure that we knew where the snake was and that no kids or animals tried to investigate. The kid from the Herpetological Society shows up and puts the snake in a bucket. I asked where it would be relocated to really hoping it wasn't the desert preserve across the road from our development. He said they relocate them off of a hiking trail at Lake Pleasant. Remind me not to go fishing there...
So in summary, my enlightened next door neighbors think I'm a primitive redneck, I don't have a new belt, my next door neighbor has a new iPhone and I'm never going fishing at Lake Pleasant again.
...this doesn't mean I do not respect them.
While I agree that sometimes there is little alternative in an urban or suburban enviroment than to put a poisonous or dangerous animal down for the saefty of everyone, I do not think that the first response to EVERY snake or EVERY spider is to insure it a speedy trip to the afterlife, that includes my personal fear of scorpions. Yes, I have done so in self defense (I think a lot of us have been chased by Cottonmouths before). But if there is another way, I will take it. If it is a snake I KNOW to be harmless (like the 2ft Texas Rat Snake I caught in the garage at work recently...yes, it bit me...no big deal... the Crocodile Hunter jokes are getting old, though). I caught a Copperhead on a local hiking trail with my boys. I merely picked it up with a long stick and set it off the trail.
I'm pleased that this incident had a happy ending. Personally, I thought the snake was cute.
BTW, in regards to the Texas Rat Snake...it was near two dumpsters which have rats so big you could ride them like He-Man rode BattleCat. It was crawling in the poorly lit area of the garage. Many people there were telling me to kill it...I didn't and let it go in a safe area (for everyone)..those same people came up to me the next day and told me they'd hoped I didn't kill it.
bwsmith2850
Member
Too bad. It would have made a nice holster. Serously, I'm glad no one got bit. But it sure would have made for interesting conversations. Nice holster. Thanks, I shot it myself.
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Texas Star
US Veteran
The Mojave rattler often has highly neurotoxic venom, and is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in North America.
I'm glad that no one was bitten.
T-Star
I'm glad that no one was bitten.
T-Star
YogiBear
Absent Comrade
Aloha,
I find these snake 'stories" amusing and entertaining.
The Wife and I are very Thankful Hawaii does not have snakes.
You have no idea how badly local people react to snakes.
Every now and then someone smuggles a constrictor in and somehow it gets loose......When the state hears about it, it becomes a Major snake hunt. We don't like snake here in paradise. One constrictor was run over Multiple times by the same car just to be sure it was dead, it was.
We are well aware of what the brown tree snake has done to Guam.
I find these snake 'stories" amusing and entertaining.
The Wife and I are very Thankful Hawaii does not have snakes.
You have no idea how badly local people react to snakes.
Every now and then someone smuggles a constrictor in and somehow it gets loose......When the state hears about it, it becomes a Major snake hunt. We don't like snake here in paradise. One constrictor was run over Multiple times by the same car just to be sure it was dead, it was.
We are well aware of what the brown tree snake has done to Guam.
fat tom
Absent Comrade
They really do taste like chicken. 
f.t.
f.t.
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