OMG! We have a mohave green rattlesnake in our supposedly snake proof yard. Yikes!

It's in a big planter under some spikey desert plants where I can't reach it with a shovel unless we destroy the plants. We tried flooding the planter but it wouldn't budge. I poked at it with a hoe handle, but it just went deeper under the bush. There was a little bunny living in the planter, now there's a snake but no bunny. :(

I also learned I can no longer hear the rattles. My spouse could hear them, but I couldn't hear anything. Scary.

Animal control won't respond unless it's in the house, and the police said I can't shoot it with a shotgun. Can you believe after all these years, I don't own a silencer, or a crossbow...

So we are in a standoff.

Anybody have any ideas short of an airstrike? I was thinking of dropping some mothballs through the plants. I don't like to hurt snakes, but they can't live in my yard. I'd rather relocate it, but I'm not a snake wrangler, and don't wish to learn on the most deadly rattler. I figure it will come out this evening. But then who knows where it will end up.

Anyone ever used mace on a snake? If I could get it moving I could introduce it to my famous shovel or chase it out of the yard. :)

Why not try some ammonia. Put in aone of those miracle grow sprayer bottles , hook up the hose and give it some.

You should organize a rattlesnake roundup. My friends from down state in Sweetwater have a big win dig every year. They collect hundreds of them.

Eminent threat. Makes it OK to load up that snake with buckshot. He was going to strike you.

We had a rattlesnake on our back porch once. It might have been ten buttons, or twelve buttons. Can't remember.

We were inside the city limits. We shot it anyways. Didn't ask for permission. One shot to kill it, and a second shot for good measure. Then we buried it.

DH was kind and called it in afterwards. "Hey, if you got any reports of gunshots, we had to shoot a rattlesnake." They hadn't had any calls.

It's food source is gone now unless it likes humans, hee hee.

I agree, shoot first ask later. Easier to get forgiveness then permission.

Some good ideas, thanks.

Roy - I don't think so. I also avoid swimming around stingrays. Bwahaha!

"J" yes I am, but I'm no snake wrangler. As a kid in CA we had big rattlers. In FL I got sorta bit by a cottonmouth. It hit my work boot, thankfully. Encountered a few snakes when I was in central america.

Here in AZ believe it or not we see very few. This is the first time I've ever had one in my (or any) yard. I saw a huge one by the river a couple years ago. We just give them space when we are in their yard.

A coyote got a bunny in our yard a few months ago. The coyotes run just outside our wall along the top of the bluff my house sits on. Every so often we see their tracks behind the wall. Bobcat too. We keep our cat on a leash when she's outside.

When I hiked down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon about 20 years ago I saw several rattlers. I didn't take a tent to save weight. Bad idea, I hardly slept for 4 days. LOL

Mike and Richard, thanks for the ideas. I'm going to try them. My next door neighbor offered to buy me a silencer. LOL

2PM Update - now we "lost" the snake. I went out to poke the bear and can't see it anywhere. I thought if I got it mad it would move so I could deal with it. I think it buried itself way under the bush. I guess we'll just have to wait till it turns up.

I warned the neighbors to keep an eye out. The people at the end of the street had their dog bit in their yard last year. (It survived.) But they are right on the desert without a snake wall.

Deanna & 6x6 - I would, but here discharge in city limits is a felony. And the PD knows that I know better, so I don't think they will buy "self defense." LOL

My neighbor just came over. He called all the exterminators, none will do snakes. Said their insurance won't cover it. Also I don't want to damage the ornamental plants.

Ken, that's a good idea. I'm going to try it right now. Also I may go get some snake crystals. I don't think they work, but it's probably worth trying. Maybe it'll get it moving.

It's about 114 outside so it may not move until after sunset.

Funny you bring this up. I just walked out to the chicken coop to tuck the one hen I have left into bed (close the coop). Saw the tail end of a snake go under the coop.

I'd hope corn snake but not colorful enough. I suspect copperhead. We've had them before years ago.

The hen is getting into the senior age but still lays an egg every other day. I haven't found one in the last few days. Now I know why.

UPDATE 7:30 Mountain time (I think)

The epic battle is over. The Snake is DEAD! Long Live the SNAKE!

Jeeze what a day. Nobody would help. PD, FD, An Cntrl, no exterminators. As always it was up to me. I ended up climbing into the planter in 112 degrees and using my shovel to murder it in a frenzy of dirt, blood and cactus.

It was about two feet from me and I MISSED the first time and hit it in the guts. THAT got my adrenelin pumping! I had to hit it five times. Poor thing. :(

I need to sharpen my shovel.

I learned that wasp spray can affect, even kill snakes. We squirted it (more like hosed it down) to get it moving, which worked. It crawled out from under the plants to where I was waiting to ambush it.

The snake didn't need to die. I wanted to relocate it. And now I'm a snake murderer.

Well, you all have a great weekend. Thanks for the suggestions, and watch where you step! :)

Snake Slayer -

I hate to kill snakes. They fill a niche and are needed on this planet.

I used to have a neighbor who would catch rattlers and relocate them to the desert so I could just call him.

Try looking on Craigslist in the pet section and see if there is a reptile rescue. Call them and ask if they have people who will capture and relocate rattlers. If you find someone, hang onto that phone number for the next time.

Jen, I'm sorry to have offended you or anyone else. I didn't want to hurt it, and I feel really bad about it.

My yard is supposedly snake proof. I don't know how it got in, but it would be difficult for it to find a way back out. If I had left it, it might have starved or been a risk to our cat, us, and our neighbors pets. Another neighbors dog was bitten a few months ago down the street. Might have been the same snake.

I "think" it came in the other night when I went on an errand and left our driveway gates open for a couple hours, because I don't have a clicker in the car I used. They have rubber "snake sweeps" on the bottom but obviously only work when closed.

I spent 4 hours, along with a neighbor, trying to get anyone to capture it.

This was not like most snake encounters I've had where they are in plain sight and easily captured. This snake was in a planter, at the edge of a 200 ft high, very steep bluff. We had to climb out over our wall, shinny along the top of the bluff without sliding off, then climb back into the planter, which is full of agave and cactus. We we had to be careful to not get bit, fall into a cactus or fall off the hill!

I ordered some snake tongs, kevlar snake chaps and kevlar arm length snake gloves this morning. I intend to learn how to wrangle snakes so I'll be in a better position next time.

In fact, we were just talking on here about alternate income streams. If there's a market I may see what's involved in starting a snake removal business. Who knows maybe I can get a TV show. LOL

OK, I think we've beaten this snake to death. We now return you to our regularly scheduled landlord issues. Have a great weekend. ;)

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Before you blast the poor thing, Did you check in with the neighbors to see if was their ESA?

In SoCal I remember weeding out my ice plant garden one Saturday while I was listening to a Wings CD on the boom box. I stood up straight after hearing a strange triangle sound from "someone is knocking at the door".....

I looked down from where that sound was coming from and there was a eight inch small rattler three feet away. I Was able to make Hoe Sushi in no time at all. I later learned that the babies are more deadly as they inject all poison instead of a limited strike that an adult does.

One life is taken, one was spared today. I relocated a turtle off a busy road today.

I lived in Florida for awhile and personally ran into pygmy rattlers (we were fencing a yard and they were rolled up in the wire we were using!) My brother had to remove a coral snake from his swimming pool yikes!

Here in NC we've had to call a guy to remove a HUGE and very aggressive cottonmouth (water moccasin) that we managed to trap under a wheel barrow in our front yard.

Just the other day Granddaughter recorded a moccasin swimming casually across our submerged beach and up under the rocks of our boat ramp.

We've found them when we've flipped over our kayaks and paddle boards too.

I'll count myself lucky then, since I don't want to encounter them. There were some bobcat sightings around here recently--by others, not me personally.

Jen