HO HO HO. yes, it has.

Although a bull snake may occasionally eat a rattlesnake (probably a baby one) they hunt mainly for rodents.
What you need are king snakes. You have 3 or 4 species out your way I think.
King snakes eat other snakes as their main dietary ingredient and will certainly lower the chances of rattlesnake encounters.

Snakes have a very primitive brain and captive born snakes can adapt to being in the wild fairly well.
Call you local herp club and they will surely help you.

Good luck and don't let nature scare you into staying in the house.

A little caution goes a long way. Use common sense like not putting you hands anywhere you can't see and haven't scanned visually. Don't step over things if you can avoid as there may be a snake hidden where your foot's going to land and your eyes can't see. ETC.

Do not expect a rattlesnake to rattle a warning. Many no longer rattle without being severely hassled. This may be the result of all the rattlesnake hunting done in the SW as the ones that rattle are easy prey so the ones that don't are left to breed.

I second what mgginva said you need king snakes.  And great advice on them not always rattling unless really ticked off.

Also chickens and ducks do a fine job of running them off as well....at least during the day.

When we first moved here, and before chickens I caught a 3' coral snake 4 steps from my back door, absolutely beautiful, I relocated it far away.  Thank goodness (knock on wood) I haven't run across a rattle snake, as they are generally much more aggressive compared to coral snakes.

thanks mike n don. i didn't know about king snakes but i'll try to find one.

that sounds great.

i'm willing to make a nice home for the right snake.

i'm a sissy, but i try to cope.

i'm proud to say i never killed a snake without seeing rattle.
i almost shot that bull snake because it looks so much like a rattler.
but, i  threw a stick at it to make it move. it had no rattles, so i just said hi.
i'm glad i did, because it kept the mice n rattlers away, plus no birds  ever
came near my figs. they knew the snake was here.

Good story, Susie! Certainly, not all snakes, however scary looking, deserve to be shot. The birds probably would disagree with my assertion, but then they have bird brains.

you know, joe, they say snakes have no ears, but that's wrong.

when snake was sunning himself n i needed to get to my plants, i said, GO AWAY SNAKE n it always did.

true story.

:-)

Maybe it just felt your negative vibes and headed out to sun itself elsewhere!

oh i had no negative vibes toward snake. when everyone else was running around buying bird netting, i was sipping tea, knowing my figswould never be touched.

Here's my rattlesnake story: Age 19, camping in the high desert east of San Diego. We had gotten up way before dawn and went for a long hike, returning about 2pm.

Upon returning to camp, I sat in a chaise lounge chair and fell asleep.

Suddenly I was roused from a deep sleep by a stick poking my right shoulder and the voice of my youngest brother saying  "don't move a muscle, there's a rattlesnake next to your right hand!"

I looked over to see that my right arm was hanging off the chair, and indeed there was a coiled rattlesnake only about 6 inches from it.

Now I find snakes fascination and don't mind them if I am out of striking range and fully awake, but this wasn't the case. I froze, and am sure that if my heart were a transmission, I stripped most of the gears.

Again I heard my brother, "don't move yet, but get ready to roll over to your left...I'll count to three....OK, one, two, three...ROLL!!!

I tumbled like I had been tossed off a bull at the rodeo. Still in a daze, I looked up to see five guys laughing their butts off. I looked over at the snake, still coiled. I pushed it with my walking stick, and it fell over. Then they laughed even louder.

When I was asleep, one of them found a rattlesnake in camp that wouldn't leave, so they used a shovel to chop off its head. (We don't like to kill them because they are part of the environment.). Then, they coiled it on the ground next to my hand, pushing the head through the coils as to hide that it had been cut off.  Then, the woke me up.

So glad I was a young guy, that could have given me a heart attack!

i don't find that a funny joke. teen boys are warped.

It wasn't funny at the time, but I didn't let it show and got over it [otherwise they would still be giving me grief about it]

like i said,  weird.

Skin 'm, gut 'm and throw it on the BBQ. I hear it tastes like 'chicken'. :-)

I don't kill rattlers. I have a noose on a pole, like a dog catcher...a LONG pole. Catch them, put them in a large garbage can with a lid and relocate the sucker. Got to have some excitement in your life. :-) By the way I've not seen one on my property yet. Did see a couple at my previous domicile.

I have a lot of respect for you Susieqz!  What gun?  I need one!  We got snakes all over this place, and I love every one of them except for the venomous rattler.  At least they warn you, but no way should we let them make babies!!

Suzi

lots of sues here.  sue, that's just too scary.  i refuse to get that close.
suzi, i bot a used .22 rifle for $25. then i shot 200 rounds of ammo thru it til i could hit anything i want.

but suzi, you are making a BIG  mistake. do not count on rattlers to warn you before they strike. usually they do, but not always. 
they can put you in the hospital with no warning rattle at all. that's why i shoot them.

Where did you get a 22 rifle for $25?  Not so important, but...  I encountered one about 3" in diameter in my front yard planting beds (Should be safe).  I counted 14 rattles while he was coiled and rattling at me, with my wide eyes as I backed off.  OMG!  I RAN!  He RAN the other way!  I had no gun.  But I got a good run!!

Actually, we have a bleeding heart neighbor who caught the thing and took it up in the hills.  He is a nutso!  That snake will snake it's way back.

Suzi

running is good. i got this gun, which is probably older than me from a private owner who thot it didn't work. it turned out

that the gun worked fine, but the spring in the clip was weak. i bot a new one n it works fine.
any woman who spends time alone should have a gun n know how to use it.

even new .22 rifles are not expensive, nor is the ammo to learn how to use it.  not too many regulations with little guns like this. they are refered to as varmint rifles.

OK, I'm fixin' to get one!

Suzi

i hope you do. note this is for little stuff. if you wanna shoot deer or a hubby, you need something bigger.

it's nice tho because it's not  too loud n doesn't kick. it's a training gun, but still a deadly weapon.

You know me Susieqz, I can talk, but the actual walk is a whole new ball game.  I do not wish to shoot hubby or deer.  I just wish to shoot rattlesnakes, gophers, and bad evil birds.  I'll take lessons.  TY for your sage advice!  Would love to visit you sometime, and you are welcome here!

Suzi

thanks, sweety.  i'd love to meet you in person. i took the nra firearms safety course. it took one saturday afternoon. every town has them. i think it cost $5 you get to shoot a .22 with instructors.

for birds n gophers they have this neat shotgun type ammo for .22s. instead of a bullet, it shoots a bunch of bbs
i bot some so i could shoot birds off my figs without damaging my fence.

Wow, you are my kind of new best friend!  I'll take the course, and get the ammo.  Promise!  And we do have 2 guest rooms here (nice comfy bed) with view decks (no furniture yet on the deck, but I need to sweet talk JD into that) Oh did I mention I got fig trees with lots of unripe, swelling figs?

Bob, next door is free, white, and single... He had a divorce or two, and he's crabby kinda, but you could straighten him out.  Dude across, he's free too.  Not crabby.  Forties.  Rick.  But he has a 10 year old kid.  And she (Elie) is so perky and sweet!  Never easy.  He needs to fix her teeth.  But that's another story.

I'm going to buy a 22 take lessons, and let the snakes and gophers deal with it.  I will not point the gun at Jim.  Hubby has this halo!  He got that "get out of jail free" card.

Suzi

suzi, i'm really happy you made this decision.i promise,  having this little gun n knowing how to use it not only saves figs, but 
gives a feeling of security if you spend the nite alone in the house.

lately, i have the gun at the door. these hateful  jackrabbits have developed a taste for the growing tips of fig branches.

my figs are getting pruned without my consent.

unfortunately, they dine at nite.

i'd really like to see your house. i've seen pics of the deck that tell me the house is wonderful.