Shooting snakes within city limits

[pbwalker]

So it has finally happened. I caught my two dogs cornering a baby Rattler. No rattle on this thing and I am surprised I saw it as it was in some dead grass and sand. The only thing that drew my attention was the dogs staring it down. Thankfully, the dogs were not bitten.

I had gone in an gotten a hoe to chop its head off, but in the fury of attempting to kill the snake and, well, being nervous, I missed. I nicked it enough to make it coil up a little bit. But I knew I hit it. It took about 4 more wacks before it split. I got it about 4" from the head.

Anyways, I am far from a tree hugging hippie and frankly feel the best snake is a dead snake (when it comes to poisonous ones). But I also don't want an animal to suffer. I guess it's the PETA in me.

Which brings me to my question. Is there any way to quickly (one shot, one kill) exterminate a snake within city limits? It was funny but my first thought was to grab the shotgun and finish it off. But then I realized I probably couldn't as I was in city limits. Are subsonic rounds the answer? I don't want to break the law, but I also do not want any rattlesnakes. I have a newborn baby and two dogs, so I'd rather just end 'em (the snakes) right there.

Thanks for any input!

[jimlongley]

Even subsonic rounds make a pretty good amount of noise. I think I would try to find an alternative, such as a pellet gun, which still may raise some neighborhood hackles.

[Greybeard]

City ordinances can vary with regard to discharge of even pellet guns. Ya might best just get a hoe with the longest handle possible. And practice for "one chop" stops.

[KaiserB]

Which brings me to my question. Is there any way to quickly (one shot, one kill) exterminate a snake within city limits? It was funny but my first thought was to grab the shotgun and finish it off. But then I realized I probably couldn't as I was in city limits. Are subsonic rounds the answer? I don't want to break the law, but I also do not want any rattlesnakes. I have a newborn baby and two dogs, so I'd rather just end 'em (the snakes) right there.

Thanks for any input!

Two words.... Lawn Mower

[Rokyudai]

if you have no way of relocating them...... machete.

[quidni]

So it has finally happened. I caught my two dogs cornering a baby Rattler. No rattle on this thing and I am surprised I saw it as it was in some dead grass and sand.

Are you sure it was a rattlesnake? Even babies have a "button" on their tail. No rattle or button, just a pointed tail, and it was likely a Gopher/Bullsnake. They do look very much like rattlers (that may be where the name "bull" snake comes from...)

[pbwalker]

So it has finally happened. I caught my two dogs cornering a baby Rattler. No rattle on this thing and I am surprised I saw it as it was in some dead grass and sand.

Are you sure it was a rattlesnake? Even babies have a "button" on their tail. No rattle or button, just a pointed tail, and it was likely a Gopher/Bullsnake. They do look very much like rattlers (that may be where the name "bull" snake comes from...)

To be honest, I have only seen Diamondback Rattlers, so I had to bring my wife over to identify it. I'm a Yankee by birth and have only had to 'worry' about Rattlers for about 5 years now.

In doing a Google Image Search, we are starting to doubt ourselves now. There was no button at all on the tail, nor the black and white colors. The snake in question was about 1.5' long.

The Bullsnake kind of looks like a Diamondback. This snake has what looked like a more boxy color scheme towards its tail. Brown and Dark Brown. I remember hearing that there were different species of Rattlesnakes, so I didn't want to make any assumptions. It had a broad head, which my wife says usually indicates Rattlers.

[quidni]

Some snakes (espec. the aforementioned Bullsnake) have the ability to "puff out" and flatten their heads to make them look more like rattlers when threatened.... Many years ago I had bullsnakes as pets, and I did a couple of "show and tell" classes at a local elementary school where my sister-in-law was working. My smallest at the time was still temperamentally skittish (she was wild-caught less than a month prior), and I lightly "popped" her with a bandanna to get her mad. I had her in a glass tank so the kids could see her reaction. She flattened her head, vibrated her tail against the astroturf floor (the buzzing sounds remarkably like a rattle) and sworped her head around to strike at the offending cloth. The buzzing and hissing were very audible outside the glass of the tank.

"That's what a rattlesnake looks and sounds like, and why it's hard to tell them apart if you come across one outside." The kids took the lesson seriously... I wonder what stories they took home to their folks!

A "checkerboard" pattern on the underside of the tail is also common to bull and rat snakes.

But, if there are kids or pets in the area, and you can't tell what kind of snake it is.... I agree, better safe than sorry. My husband killed a rattler in our driveway one November evening the year after we bought our house. (our son was disgusted that he damaged the rattle.....)

[lrb111]

I killed one about 3 feet long this evening. I had been working on one side of the house all day, and returned from supper to pick up the tools. He zipped out in front of me and went under my little pickup. Right where I had been all day.
It took two shots from the .45. Fwiw, I ain't playing that game again. We have very sturdy hoes around that work better and faster.

[flintknapper]

So it has finally happened. I caught my two dogs cornering a baby Rattler. No rattle on this thing and I am surprised I saw it as it was in some dead grass and sand.

Are you sure it was a rattlesnake? Even babies have a "button" on their tail. No rattle or button, just a pointed tail, and it was likely a Gopher/Bullsnake. They do look very much like rattlers (that may be where the name "bull" snake comes from...)

To be honest, I have only seen Diamondback Rattlers, so I had to bring my wife over to identify it. I'm a Yankee by birth and have only had to 'worry' about Rattlers for about 5 years now.

In doing a Google Image Search, we are starting to doubt ourselves now. There was no button at all on the tail, nor the black and white colors. The snake in question was about 1.5' long.

The Bullsnake kind of looks like a Diamondback. This snake has what looked like a more boxy color scheme towards its tail. Brown and Dark Brown. I remember hearing that there were different species of Rattlesnakes, so I didn't want to make any assumptions. It had a broad head, which my wife says usually indicates Rattlers.

One of the most common snakes to be mistaken (and killed) for a rattler is the Prairie King Snake. Juveniles are often mistaken for a Pygmy Rattler.
Prairie King:
http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/vi ... &did=24357" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It might be difficult to see the button(s) (rattles) on a Pygmy, but they are there (assuming a healthy undamaged specimen).
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/37853/60 ... 132_1m.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


The poor old “Hog Nosed” snake is another that takes a beating (often mistaken and killed as a rattler).
http://www.bugsinthenews.com/Texas%20Sn ... ke_web.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


If circumstance permits, you can look closely at the eye of the snake and determine if it is venomous. All of the Pit Vipers (Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, Water Moccasin) indigenous to North America have a vertical (elliptical) pupil. The only other venomous snake indigenous to North America is the Coral Snake which has a round pupil, but can not be mistaken for a rattler, because of the obvious color pattern.

Yeah, I know….most folks will not be inclined to get close enough to a snake to peer into it’s eyes, but…it is a reliable method of identification (assuming the snake is native).

[TDDude]

A long hoe is the best way for a snake. Firearms will usually involve some sort of ricochet and the noise will get you in trouble.

I used to keep a few "shot" shells in .38 sp back when I was living in the sticks and that worked well but you have to be fairly close. It's still a .38 sp and if I would have had any neighbors closer than a mile, they would have probably complained.

Regardless of the type of shell used, the shot has to be dead on the head or you still have a very dangerous snake. Even if you chop the head off, it will still give a deadly bite for several minutes afterwards.

Keep a hoe handy and be in the habit of wearing boots.

[John]

For around the house, a hoe is the best choice, other than just leaving it alone. Other than that, a .38 special with shot shells will work. You can get shot shells for a .22 pistol, but those typically will not cycle a semi-auto, a revolver is best. I have a cheap .38 that I keep loaded with shot shells; but usually only get it out when I go hunting. As far as within city limits... discharging a firearm is still discharging a firearm (snake or not).

[Abraham]

Last winter while splitting firewood, I finally noticed a cotton mouth laying placidly on the ground next to the woodpile I was working with - within striking distance of my hand whenever I retrieved an un-split log! It blended in so well I hadn't noticed it. It had to have been there a good thirty minutes before I saw it.

It took me another thirty minutes or so to decide what to do about it. I really didn't want to kill it. Snakes do a lot of good in rodent control, but I was concerned about it's proximity to my house (and Grandchildren) and so I finally dispatched it with a shovel. I buried the head. I felt terrible about killing it. The poor critter is just trying to make a living - it was simply sitting on the ground enjoying the morning. It could have bit me a number a times and didn't. I'd considered trying to remove it to another location, but that's when people are bitten, that is, when trying to handle venomous snakes.

Fast forward to clean up after hurricane Ike. I had to rake up twigs and branches out of my yard in order to mow. As I'm raking looking down, I noticed movement next to my left foot. An outstandingly beautiful coral snake is hurrying past my foot (withing striking distance again) making a getaway to the woods. In this case, I simply kept him moving by moving my rake near near him until he reached the woods. Yeah, he could come back, but I couldn't stand the thought of killing this beautiful creature. From now on, chancy or not, venomous or not, I'm not killing anymore snakes.

[bryang]

The last time I had any dealings with a snake has been a few months ago. I was working in the yard when all of a sudden I noticed a 3 foot snake under my carport...well, after I recovered from the shock & awe, I grabbed the nearest thing to me which was a shovel and went to work on him.
I didn't know I could swing that shovel so fast....wham, wham, wham.

Needless to say, he did not survive, and every time I told someone about it the first thing they would say was what kind was it?? ...it was a'SNAKE!
Then I would get the lecture on some are good and some are bad. I'm sorry, I am just not a snake person.

-geo

[mr.72]

Probably was a Texas Brown Snake or a rat snake.

They are really common and look like a rattler to the untrained eye.

I would never kill any snake I could not positively identify. Fortunately since I was kind of a snake-o-phile when I was a kid I can identify most snakes in TX relatively easily.