Rattlesnakes

If you’re not really bushwhacking, try to just stay on the trail..  Sound simple but it works.

Every time I’ve run into a ratlesnake it was when I was fishing or poking around where people don’t normally walk.

If I’m bushwhacking I’ll make sure to wear boots and thicker pants.

Hard for them to get a bite if you have pants on.

Also, for the most part only the young ones are a threat… the older ones know they have a finite supply of poison they would rather use for hunting and would rather warn you.

I just let my wife lead the way!

I really don’t worry too much about Rattlesnakes.  If I worried out them, Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders, Lyme infested ticks and road rage citizens I’d go crazy. One can always probe stepping areas with poles, but that doesn’t help out with the areas where your striding by.  If the worry is great or there’s a high probability of snakes one option is to wear snake protective gaiters.  Most of the rattlers I see have already seen me and are heading in the opposite direction.

That’s good to know Kevin, about the older snakes not being so keen on biting.

@Kenneth, I am not worried.

They can be anywhere but tend to be more of them in areas where there are lots of rodents. I’ve seen them a lot while hiking. Never had one even coil up — I stepped on a tiny one in Pinnacles and moved it out of the way with a stick since there were a lot of people coming out of the cave behind me. You look where you step, and don’t blindly step over obstacles or put limbs where you can’t see them, and you’ll probably be fine.

My first encounter with one was in our backyard when I was seven. It was sitting at the bottom of the slide I was coming down. I bailed off and got mom to kill it. Three year old brother and our dog were out there too. I have a hard time being as afraid of them as everyone else seems to be, since there were lots of them around where we lived and camped.

I’ve had some stubborn rattlers in my park.     They make a lot of noise, tolerate a few stones tossed at them,  reposition in the sun after a polite lift with a stick, and they scare me.    I’m worried about not seeing one in time while running and having a bad accident.

Not sure people are really afraid of them. It’s one of those things that are good to know and be aware of, that’s all. The other ones I have run into, as in suddendly being very close, have all rattled and let me know.   Since I don’t hike in trail runners or shorts, I am not a good candidate for a bite anyway.

Three weeks ago I ran over one on my bike coming down a switchback and it whipped my leg with the tail end. It was startling and I almost veered down the rocky cliff…

I am not really looking for reassurance,  I am always outside and around animals; I just wonder how often they don’t rattle when they are that close and if people hiking in dense snake areas tend to wear shoes other than trail runners.

@Clue, I assume sarcasm…or why would you lift them with a stick if you are scared?

When in rattlesnake country / season (no worries on a 38F day), I look over logs and rocks especially when in shorts. I avoid putting my hands on unseen handholds above me.

Everytime (N of 6) I’ve encountered them, accidentally or on purpose, they’ve tried hard to head the other way.

@ David,

other than the one that I ran over, same here: they want to get away. Last year I was walking up with my old deaf / half blind dog and he was standing maybe three feet from a very upset/ coiled/rattling snake and that was scary. He had no idea at all and I called him to me , which made him wag his tail which in turn upset the snake even more. That was a close call for old Spotty..

Oh, plenty of people I’ve met are terrified of them. Freaking out at the sight of a gopher snake, a king snake, any snake. A guy expressed happiness upon reaching treeline because “I don’t have to worry about snakes up here” – well, not as much, certainly. But they are up there too.

The snakes really don’t care to bite you. I think a lot of bites are people picking them up with their hands. Now, that, I refuse to do. Trails where mountain bikers rile up the snakes before the hiker comes along — that’s a problem, too, and I’m always more alert in places like that.

“Oh, plenty of people I’ve met are terrified of them. Freaking out at the sight of a gopher snake, a king snake, any snake. A guy expressed happiness upon reaching treeline because “I don’t have to worry about snakes up here” – well, not as much, certainly. But they are up there too.”

well yeah, you have a point. I guess my thinking is that outdoorsy people are not scared of snakes in general, but I don’t know that many people so I will take your word for it.

I had two gopher snakes in my bathroom on Friday. Not sure how the entire forest seems to find their way in, besides the open window for the cat. Therev have been skunks, entire families of raccoons, rabbits, many birds, bats, a scorpion, salamanders and lizards and newts, banana slugs. Some rodents the cat brings in and loses behind the washer…

Just assume that there is at least one snake for every 10 feet as you travel. They normally stay in under cover and focused on much smaller prey that us. As directed above: stay on the trail where at least you can see them, and always give them all the room that they ask for. I’ve seen lots of rattlesnakes, NEVER heard one rattle though.

I live in Southern Arizona, the rattlesnake capital of the Western states.  (Oh joy! Oh, Canada, maybe I can move back to you when we retire…)  They terrify me, but I still get out there when the weather isn’t deadly (it is now).  Is it any wonder I like to get away frequently to some other (cooler and more fauna-friendly) state?

I’ve found them everywhere here — under my BBQ, in the carport/garage (twice), on the street, on trails… And, contrary to “general belief”,  I’ve seen them in every month of the year, even once when it was so cold that I could see my breath (ok, to be fair, the snake was curled up beside the trail, and I honestly don’t think it could have moved enough to bite, even if stepped on).

Unfortunately, I’ve been “buzzed” (rattled at) numerous times, but I’ve also passed close to rattlers who never rattled.  I’m sure this is taking years off my life, btw!!!  The problem is that rattlers rely on camouflage to hunt, so they are naturally hard to see.  Of course, that mechanism works wonderfully for them, but not so fabulously for us.  Basically, you can do two things to lessen your chances of being bitten (3, if you count praying, LOL):

1.  As mentioned above, wear protective clothing.  Pants are harder for them to deal with than shorts, but they can bite through them.  Rubber boots are great against ticks, and will probably present a challenge to rattlers (because they’ll have a hard time positioning their bite), but – again – they can bite through them.  If you really want to be safe, treat yourself to a pair of Kevlar gaiters (or chaps) — I wear them if I’m going bushwhacking in snake season, but they’re hot.
2. Learn their habits/habitat and behave accordingly.  When there is a log/rock in the trail, step onto (not over) it; if there’s a rattler on the other side, you’ll see him before you’re in his “bite zone”.  When it’s sunny/warm, they often curl up under a trail-side bush for a bit of shade; this makes them very hard to see, but try to look before you thoughtlessly brush by a bush.  In very hot weather, they tend to go under a rock/bush during the hottest part of the day, so be especially vigilant around dawn/dusk and at night.  Look carefully before sitting on (or touching) a pile of loose rocks.  We call those “snake condos” around here.  Be alert if you hear faint rustling sounds near the trail (99% of the time it’ll be a lizard, but it could be a snake); also look out for movement where there shouldn’t be movement.  Try not to walk in places where you can’t see your feet (like tall grasses).  They will be more prevalent in areas with good habitat for them (lots of rodents, lots of cover).

There’s nothing you can realistically do to prevent them from being out on a trail… you can only be careful and vigilant.  If you do see one, know that rattlers can actually strike 2/3 of their body length, so give them a wide berth.

What can I say?  I feel your fear… (probably doubly or triple).

Reminds me of the time I was hiking part of the AT at Delaware Water Gap. A gent coming from the opposite direction warned me of a big rattler on the trail about a quarter mile ahead of me, on the right side of the trail. I slowed down slightly and kept my eye on the right. Of course, he meant his right….

Nearly stepped on it, and it was a fairly large one. It was coiled. It rattled a bit. I backed up a bit, then gave it wide berth as I continued up the trail. It never moved from its spot.

This is a case where using trekking poles (two) gives you a slight defensive advantage over non-pole users–IMHO.

(1) Poles can give you a small barrier forward of your path and  (2) You always have a defensive ‘stick’ in hand to move or coax small critters when necessary.

Good question Kat; I really have no idea.

I’ve pretty much resigned myself to relying on pure luck.

Protective clothing isn’t much an option when trail running and canyoneering in 90 degree+ temps.

I do a lot of canyoneering here, which necessitates doing LOTS of off trail hiking and scrambling in rattlesnake habitat.  I kid not; on one local canyon run we had 4 rattlesnake encounters, all juvenile, in less than 2 miles.  Every single time we were stepping within two feet of them before noticing.  I was certain someone was getting antivenom that day…

But in my experience, it would take a lot, like outright stepping on one, to make it bite.  I’ve come incredibly close countless times and they never seem to want to attack…or I’d have already been bitten many times.

Thanks for the helpful post Valerie. # 2 has been copied and pasted, so my daughter can read it too.

While backpacking I mostly stay on trails. Here at home I am everywhere and I maintain the trails so while I am doing that, I can’t see much of where my feet are. I am bit surprised that they would get you through rubber boots.

@Doug I thought the joke was it would be far gone by the time you got there…

@Steofan I stay on trails when backpacking but it’s another story here at home.

Yikes Craig. That’s a lot of snakes. Glad you are carrying antivenom. How about tarantulas? I have been in areas in the foothills in the summer where they’d come out by the dozens around sunset and during some caving they were almost hard to avoid.

@steve. Ah, one more reason to love my poles .

not all rattlesnakes are alike.

different species (sub species ?) show different levels of aggressiveness.

In Southern California the greenish ones (greenies) are very aggressive, the black ones are medium aggressive, and the brown and red ones are pretty docile unless provoked.

get to know the different snakes in your area.

I have a patented move whenever a snake is near: I scream like a little girl and jump straight into the air. It’s totally humiliating and emasculating and it’s made worse by my deep voice which cracks and sounds ridiculous when I do the little girl screech. The only upside is that it’s such an effective warning to my hiking friends.

I’m probably lucky that my response has not gotten me bitten.

I really wouldn’t worry about tarantulas.  They’re shyer than rattlers (around here, anyway), quite cautious, and even if they were to bite you (unlikely), it’s not a medical emergency.  More like a wasp sting, or a scorpion sting — only a big deal if you’re allergic or immuno-compromised.

If you’re envenomated by a rattlesnake (aot a “dry bite”), it IS a medical emergency.  The venom may be neurotoxic (worst case is death from shutdown of your breathing/other autonomic systems) or hemotoxic (kills off tissue in the bite area, worst case you could lose a limb, or if untreated, get sepsis and die); or possibly a combination of the two types (where different varieties have interbred).

Antivenom is not available to the public; it is a very in-demand, controlled substance, only sold to hospitals/clinics in the USA.  It must be administered in a hospital.  A small envenomated bite will likely land you in the ICU for 3-4 days, minimum.

This is not to panic anyone.  It is well-known among herpetologists that the common causes of rattlesnake bites usually involve more than one of the following factors:  young adult males; tattoos; alcohol consumption; picking up the snake.  (On the other hand, my friend was bitten walking her dog at dusk – in March – in sandals.  Four days in the ICU, multiple vials of antivenom, even though the ambulance was there in less than 20 minutes.  She doesn’t do that any more.)

My reaction is the same as Matthew’s — NOT on purpose; it’s just visceral, LOL.  Hate it.

“I have a patented move whenever a snake is near: I scream like a little girl and jump straight into the air.”

I don’t suppose you have any video of this you’d like to share. Just among us friends, of course…

I’m not terrified of snakes im terrified of not seeing a snake and having an accident or bite or both.

Ive had them in the path and nkt seen them until I was in striking distance.

Valerie, rattlesnake (as well as copperhead and water moccasin) venom is hemotoxic, which messes up your blood. Coral snake venom is the only neurotoxic venom in North America. Neurotoxic venom hits your nervous system, not a good thing at all (think cobras…). Hemotoxic venom is fairly easy to neutralize if taken care of quickly, but neurotoxic, not so much.

The beauty of a coral snake bite (and the sea snakes that were plentiful off my Saudi Persian Gulf beach) is they have very short teeth, and they have to really want to bite you, which they don’t tend to want to do. To get you, they have to lock onto some place like your ear lobe and stay a short while–not too hard to know when one is on you, and there’s time to get it off before they inject too much, so they say…We stopped doing recreational night dives at my place on the Saudi beach after we once saw 30-40 sea snakes coming toward us that were attracted our dive lights. Night dives can be pretty weird. They can also be fun, until maybe a manta ray, or a pack of sea snakes, comes at you from out of nowhere, attracted to your headlamps.

On the other hand, in places like Costa Rica, there are snake species that have a very potent hemotoxic venom (the fer-de-lance comes to mind here). If that snake hits you and deposits a good amount of its venom, you’ll likely lose a leg, if not actually die. The forest workers down there all wear thick rubber boots when they walk the trails, especially at night. The bad thing about that snake is that they are very territorial, they have an attitude, they mate for life, and they can communicate with their spouses via an ultrasonic “whisper.” So when you are able to side-step one, you have to watch out for its angry mate further down the trail. It’s just not fair, I tell ya…

I think we need some sort of trekking pole-mounted solar-charged Taser thingy to take care of snakes and disrespectful grizzlies and gray squirrels, and mean people on the trail.