How to deal with a rattle snake

[BrandoMan]

If a rattlesnake is out while hiking I leave it alone. If on my property and can get it to leave I try to get it to go away. If it's near the house I get a thin stick and a swift smack breaks the neck quick. Harmless snakes I just pick up and relocate. Harmless but aggressive snakes get picked up and thrown to the chickens. I dont get rattle snakes often since I do t get mice or rats so they usually dont bother unless they crossing the property. I get baby snakes who come out I the spring but the last two years havent had any snakes at all. I usually have alot of grasshoppers too at this time of year but none. A crap load of ants this year.

 

[Willow2253]

Rattle snakes here get the shotgun, or a shovel or stick if it’s more convenient. Bury or throw away the heads so nothing can get at the poison, it remains potent for a long time. We keep the rattles and dispose of the snake.

 

[Tlco]

Snakes and mice have a couple natural predators and that is Cats. If you live in the country I suggest a few barn cats will help a lot. Also some other animals will kill your snakes they are "Foxes and raccoons are common predators of snakes. Guinea hens, turkeys, pigs, and cats will also help keep snakes away. If foxes are indigenous to your area, fox urine is a very good natural repellent for snakes when spread around your property." Here is an article for some other natural ideals to keep them at bay if you don't want to shoot them or try to trap the multitude of possible rodent infestation you may have. https://www.callnorthwest.com/2019/04/home-remedies-to-keep-snakes-away/

 

[TexasTurkeyMama]

I have seen two rattlesnakes with my eyes in ten years here. Both times the warning rattle had me reverse course and then the snakes were soon on their way. Yes, they are hoping for mice. I would rather not give them chicks and eggs.

 

[Kriscam]

Thank you. Unfortunately, I do have a bad mouse problem that I've been working on since we moved in. My cats catch all the mice that come inside and the mice is why I desided to retire the preexisting coop and build a new one up off the ground. I do kill mice as I see them. the mice were so bad that at one point they would run up to me to bite my shoes. We moved the old coop away from our house and discovered just how bad the colony was under it. I'm seeing fewer mice now that we moved it. i do like the idea of bucket traps. I do have bull snakes that hang out. They help with the mice so I havnt done nothing but chase them away when they get too close to my chickens. I guess I need to ramp up mouse removal.

We've tried everything to get rid of mice and rats and have finally had some luck with the Tom Cat traps that have bait inside a box. When they eat the bait it expands and kills them. We have lots of neighbors' cats as well as wildlife around so we didn't want to use poison, and snap traps were a lot to keep up with. Plus it's depressing to deal with that every day.

 

[cmom]

I resorted to poison too. My problem was rats. I had a coop that was infested. When I renovated the coop dozens of rats of all sizes poured out and there were rat nests. I put the rat bait stations in pet carriers and put the pet carriers on shelves in our barn which is right behind the coops so nothing but the rats could get to the bait. The rats didn't eat on the Tom Cat rat bait but sure like the Just One Bite bait. I didn't find any dead rats laying around but there were also tunnels around the coops and barn that I believe the rats made and they went into their tunnels and died, so they buried themselves.

 

[cmom]

I had seen a rattle snake around the coops and it went under the coop that was infested with the rats. Since I pretty much got rid of the rats, the snake went away.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

We use snake shot.

 

[BlueBaby]

They also say that there are other snakes that would eat them.

https://animals.mom.com/snakes-can-eat-rattlesnakes-8155.html