Camp rattlesnakes question

[RF76]

I hate them with a passion, if I see one in the ranch, close to camp is a dead rattle snake. I don't mess with black indigos or rat snakes.

[DRT]

I agree snakes keep rodent populations more in check. And I do not bother rat snakes, king snakes, coach whips or bull snakes.
All venomous snakes die. That way the snakes I like have more food for them.

[Katsaregood]

Menard County, 600 acres. My uncle has 700 acres next to us. He has a cave on his place. In early spring they will find 5-6 rattlers "sunning" around the entrance.

A friend used to own 3500 acres there that she raised goats on. She said the abundant rattlesnake population was always a problem for her and others that helped do work on the property.

I sure encountered a lot in Montague County close to the Red River. There are some healthy populations there for sure. A lady dr in that area told me about a little boy who bit by a rattlesnake in the area. There wasn’t sufficient anti venom and the price would easily bankrupt an uninsured snake bite victim. I don’t recall the exact details but medical professionals got together to do something to make the price of anti venom in the county more affordable.

[kmitchl]

Get rid of the food source for the rats and mice and the snakes will not have a reason to come in your camp. Be particularly aware of spilled corn or food left unprotected in the camphouse. A few feral cats from the animal shelter go a long way. Just feed them once a week to keep them around.

Regarding the cost of anti-venom, my adult daughter got bit last year by a small copperhead. She spent about 6 hours in the ER in Brenham. Got four vials of anti-venom. The bill after insurance adjustment was $55K. Her part was $10K.

[okrattler]

I don't kill them but depending on where and how far you relocate a snake you may be causing that snake to die anyway. Rattlesnakes use the same dens year after year. So say you relocate one 3 miles from where you caught it in the Fall. There's a good chance that,that snake will become lost and freeze to death come Winter time.

No snake hunter that I know catches small snakes out of dens in order to leave some for seed. I know guys that have been catching them out of the same dens for 30+ years and their dad and grandpa caught them out of there long before that. Gas isn't allowed to drive snakes from the dens in Oklahoma so obviously some get skipped over and that in itself keeps a den alive. So I can't think that anyone who is having snake problems year after year, especially knowing people catch snakes out of dens on their place should think anything other than the people catching them are just picking out the ones they want to keep. Otherwise I don't think that would be a reoccurring issue.

I can see both sides to it. Personally I don't kill snakes of any kind. Even after having been bit before myself. That was my fault not the snakes. Kill them or don't. I don't think it's really going to matter. Killing one here and there won't have any real impact on the population. If there's food around more will just take their place in the camp.

[DTala]

around camp??? Kill any found near camp, every dang one of them. There is no shortage of snakes in Texas. Just balance what one of those four year old children is worth vs what ALL the dang snakes around there are worth. Easy math....

[parkchief100]

I kill a ll poisonous snakes and let the non-poisonous ones live to eat all of the rodents.

[deerwatcher51]

I have a tacit agreement with the rattlesnakes on our ranch. If I don’t see them, I won’t kill them. I have only killed those that violated that agreement. I am not a kill all snakes person but If it has the potential to harm my family, me, pets, livestock or other wildlife, it’s going down.

[Acameron52]

If we see them close to camp they die no questions asked. Outside of camp it just depends. If killing a snake is gonna screw up anybody’s hunting they live otherwise they’re gone.

[softpoint]

Every venomous snake I see on my place gets killed. There are easier, safer methods to get rid of mice than keeping copperheads and rattlesnakes around the house. I don't care if venomous snakes become extinct, and my great-grandchildren never have the experience of stepping on one while enjoying a nature walk....

[Top Of Texas]

Some research was conducted in the TX Panhandle on relocated prairie rattlers by implanting radio transmitters. I don't recall the specifics or specific distance relocated, but the mortality rate on relocated prairie rattlers was exceptionally high compared to non-relocated snakes.

So, relocating a venomous snake is still essentially a death sentence to the snake.

[68rustbucket]

Rattle bugs in camp are bad juju. There’s rodents they are feeding on, probably due to lots of corn in camp. The guys not killing the snakes must be card carrying members of PETA.

[RascalArms]

Given the opportunity I kill every venomous snake I can. That said, you aren’t going to make much of an impact on the rattlebug population in that area IMO. I've been hunting west Tx for years and I'm not sure most folks appreciate just how many snakes there really are in the area.

I shared a story somewhere on here in the past of me and my fellow lease mates seeing more than 15 different diamondbacks in one evening on a lease south of San Angelo. It was one of those “perfect storm” weather conditions that had them caught out of their dens. Kinda gives you a whole new perspective on things when see that many.

[okrattler]

In my opinion if you know snakes are around and you have to have small kids around to possibly become injured by one the best thing you can do is educate them. Don't make them out to be monsters that are to be feared but respected. Watch where you step or put your hands,etc. Every critter on earth has its place. You're in their environment not the other way around. They ain't going anywhere anytime soon. If you can't deal with that keep the kids at the house.

If someone steps on a snake or reaches under something and gets bit because you neglected to teach them about the dangers of this world, that's on you. The snake was doing what it was built to do. Has nothing to do with the snake being where it wasn't supposed to be.

So are you doing your kids a disservice by killing and disposing of snakes rather than sitting them down and pointing out why that snake is dangerous,why it's there,where they like to be and why? Did the rest of that sandwich they didn't eat and threw in the weeds attract vermin that attracted the snake? Talk about how to avoid the situation altogether. Education is a lot better than just acting like they're invading your space and giving the impression that since you killed one there's nothing to worry about.

[rolylane6]

In my opinion if you know snakes are around and you have to have small kids around to possibly become injured by one the best thing you can do is educate them. Don't make them out to be monsters that are to be feared but respected. Watch where you step or put your hands,etc. Every critter on earth has its place. You're in their environment not the other way around. They ain't going anywhere anytime soon. If you can't deal with that keep the kids at the house.

If someone steps on a snake or reaches under something and gets bit because you neglected to teach them about the dangers of this world, that's on you. The snake was doing what it was built to do. Has nothing to do with the snake being where it wasn't supposed to be.

So are you doing your kids a disservice by killing and disposing of snakes rather than sitting them down and pointing out why that snake is dangerous,why it's there,where they like to be and why? Did the rest of that sandwich they didn't eat and threw in the weeds attract vermin that attracted the snake? Talk about how to avoid the situation altogether. Education is a lot better than just acting like they're invading your space and giving the impression that since you killed one there's nothing to worry about.

I teach em and kill em...nothing wrong with doing both in my book.

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