Found this critter by the figs. I was wondering why the crows weren't around!

OMG....why are you touching it? I would have had a minor stroke and run for the gun!

That's pretty neat, Howie!

oh heck no!

umm.. that IS a rattlesnake, yes??  or at least some type of pit viper, by the shape of it's head..

Be very careful!!! That certainly does look like a diamond back rattler

Hope that's not Howie's last post, but that snake look's limp appears he already did the job, but that head is still dangerous.

Snake doesn't look limp enough for me!

looks like a western diamondback. typically snakes won't bother you if you leave them alone. that one looks like it's been well fed. i prefer a shovel over a gun on snakes if i have to.

A really long handled shovel ! 

Why a shovel, Pete?  And it's true, they do bite even if they're dead.  Just this last week I met a guy who killed a snake that had cornered his aunt and after he killed it he picked it up.  His index finger was twice as big as it should have been after a week of antibiotics.

That's a beautiful snake. 
Living and gardening in the SoCal dessert, I'm guessing/hoping Howie has overcome any snake-killing impulses and has simply taken the snake for a drive.  Not in the "Jersey" sense of taking someone for a ride into the swamps or pine barrens....but rather to relocate it.

Snakes make nice fig protectors but they're hard to teach to Sit, Stay and Go Fetch! Lol

I got nicked by the snake. Just a little bite. I don't think it injected that much venom in me. I didn't go to the emergency room, because I'm Korean and we think snake venom is like a boost to the immune system/libido. My legg is stttarting tooo sswell aand hhurt a lottt,,,tho. I shhhoould beeeee okkkkkkkkk rrrrrrright?  II fffeeel ffuunnnnnnnnnnnnnyyy.........................

Howie,

Better get that checked. I almost lost my leg last year due to the Brown Recluse bite.
I have pictures of what happens afterwards.

I'm just joking. I'm sorry if I alarmed anyone. I didn't want to kill it but felt I had to protect my family and dog. It was hanging out right by the patio door! i think it was feasting on the mice that were eating my figs, sigh. BUT I am not letting it go to waste. I skinned it and plan to try rattlesnake meat for the 1st time!

i have a milk snake hanging out by my fig. it looks enou like a rattler that i got the gun. i kill rattlers near the house, as i hear they don't always rattle before striking. but i waited till i saw there were no rattles, so i left it alone. anything that eats mice is my friend.

but here's the neat part. when he suns by the fig and i want to see my tree, i say ''GO AWAY SNAKE'', and he does! i swear this is true.

ps: i tried rattler in amarrillo once. just survival food with nasty bones












































































































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[QUOTE=rcantor]Why a shovel, Pete?  [/QUOTE]

bob, see the concrete right next to the snake? if i miss and hit that thing, the bullet will ricochet. i don't like bullet flying around. if the snake just happened to be on concrete drive way or something, chances are even greater. beside, i might miss, and just piss off the snake. even if i hit it, i'll have to clean up the mess before the wife gets home.. i hate touching snakes.. 

with nice shovel, one good whack will break the bone, or crush the snake's head. then with edge, another drop for cutting the head off. things get messy on the grass, i can't seem to get a clean cut, still.. less clean up. 

We had a water moccasin in the back yard a couple of weeks ago, my son took his head off with one shot!


 

I second Frank's "Oh heck no!" I tremble when I have to get a trapped Rat Snake out out of my netting. I just remembered the second reason why I didn't move out west!

Has anyone tried a rubber snake for bird deterrence? Just wondering seems like alot of people have problems with birds.

I'm getting used to them, just last month. My dog came up on a rattler that was 3x as big! It was 50 yards from my house!

I wish there were few of those guys in back of my property, taking care of the Voles.

Howie,
I think its really cool you how you handled the snake!  How did it taste?  I'm the guy in my neighborhood that removes snakes for neighbors.  I won't harm a non-poisonous one, just take em off and throw them in the woods. 

Tami,
That is not a water moccasin.  It is the dark phase of the southern (banded) water snake.  The bands across the back along with reddish brown splotches on the belly are a give away.  They do a real nice job of intimating a moccasin, I've even seen them flatten there backs and heads as if to say "i'm poisonous, stay away", but it's all a bluff.  They will bite though and they do smell bad.  Pretty much all snakes that live in the water have a mean dispostion. 

I bought a package of rubber snakes on ebay. Hopefully they will work when figs here start to get ripe. I've not put the snakes out yet , so the birds don't get used to them .

[QUOTE=Cajun]...they do smell bad...[/QUOTE]

Man you ain't kidding. Why do they smell so bad? You think it is a defense mechanism? If it is it's working. I won't pick them up. Man do they stink. It's not the water they come from because I have got them from clear running creeks and they still stink!

Maybe it's a pre warning for us humans to RUN!!!

ha ha ha Strudeldog ....hope that is not Howie's last post.

For those using rubber snakes as a deterrent for critters in the trees... Coil the snake's body on a limb, then suspend the head from a higher limb with fishing line. When the wind blows the head will sway. Also, verify you are looking at one of the rubber snakes and not the real deal before picking fruit.

OH MY GOD! If I stepped outside to see that curled at the base of my steps I'd freak! Snakes are the stuff of nightmares for me. I've had too many close calls, enough to last a lifetime.

Like Howie said, it was keeping birds and mice away.  The number of mice that one snake would have eaten in a lifetime is enough for me to leave it alone.  But then I'm from the west were 4 corners disease (aka Hantavirus) is spread by mice.  Watch out for those prairie dogs too.  They carry the plague!