i found some little snakes in the woods and they are poison, how to eliminate them?

Question

took one into town and the hardware store boys all say it is a pygmy rattler and can hurt you. look like little garter snakes but they are not safe and a big nest of them have hatchedd arond the barn. nobody knows a sure fire way to get them away. this move to the country is turning into hell. what next timber ratterlers and bears?

Answer 1

pygmy rattlers are very very small as you know and they tend to congregate around some rock piles or even garbage dumps like around campsites. they live on larger insects. they are too small to swallow mice, except baby fresh born mice. they are different and it is important to get rid of them before one bites your finger or your child's finger and somebody loses their life or more likely a finger. little as these snakes are, they can be lethel. i know snakes.

Answer 2

Baby rattlers do not stay together after birth. I think your boys at the store have been sampling the moonshine. Even a baby rattler has a button rattle while a garter has none. Also, garters tend to stay in large groups after birth for a while, so I'd be willing to bet that's what you have here. At any rate, since you know where they are, avoid them & both you & they will be much happier.

Answer 3

well, first of all, get them ID'd by somebody who knows snakes - most people identify anything as whatever is most dangerous in their areas, especially if they've got a newbie to deal with. It's human nature. They may well only be garter snakes - and if so, problem solved. Even if they are some previously unknown to science rattlesnake that looks like a garter snake and doesn't have rattles (or do they? you didn't say) you probably don't have a great deal to worry about. Just leave them be and you should be fine.

Answer 4

Other than watching your step and killing everyone you come across, you also can make sure to get rid of all the hiding places you can. You'll get used to it. Bears and timber rattlers aren't that big of a deal the most pesky critters I've had to deal with are raccoons. There's nothing they won't try and get into.



http://www.okherp.com/Pigmy.html

Answer 5

Snakes in the country are just part of it. Can't get rid of them.

Keep three or four cats around the barn and they will keep them in hiding and possibly push them away.

Answer 6

This is the third question you've asked about killing wildlife. Now that you're in the country, better learn to live with the natives. Or else move back to the city.

Answer 7

dont be such a wussy

Answer 8

Most snakes will get out of your way if they can.

It is a good idea to have someone who KNOWS snake species identify those snakes, I wouldn't trust the opinion of someone hanging around at a store to be accurate.



The kind of environment you found those snakes in, and the area of the country you are in, may also help you in identifying the most likely species you're dealing with.





Range of Pygmy Rattlesnake (also known as Eastern Massasagua Rattlesnake) USA, Desert, and Western Pygmy Rattlesnake, historical and present day, as well as much other detailed info on pygmy rattlesnakes, pdf file.

http://www.brocku.ca/massasauga/Beltz.pdf



Pygmy rattlesnakes (also spelled Pigmy rattlesnake on some websites) are listed as uncommon and are protected by law in at least some states.



Complete List of Snake Species of North America with links to photos of each species

http://www.pitt.edu/~mcs2/herp/SoNA.html



At least one species, the Eastern Hog-nosed snake, may closely resemble the pygmy rattlesnake in appearance. There are a number of Eastern hognosed snake pictures, some that highlight the similarity between species.

http://149.168.1.195/photos/fromNRID.php?sciName=Heterodon%20platirhinos&pid=88&location=photos/LAWA_2004/10/88.jpg&size=640&source=pub



Photos of Pygmy rattlesnakes to compare your snakes with

http://www.uga.edu/srel/rattlesnake.htm

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/FL-GUIDE/Venomsnk.htm

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20o?search=Sistrurus+miliarius&guide=Snakes



Includes info on pygmy rattlesnakes

http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/outreach/accounts/reptiles/snakes/Timber_Rattlesnake/TimberRattlerFactSheet.pdf



How to Identify Snakes (SC site, pygmy rattler is one of the species included)

http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/ident/index.htm



Alabama poisonous snake identification page

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1308/



Florida and Georgia Snake Identification

contains photos of pygmy rattlesnakes as well as other species that you can compare your snakes with.

http://www.southalley.com/snakes.html



PDF file on how to identify Florida snake species, including pygmy rattlesnake.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW22900.pdf



Dealing with Snakes in Florida's Residential Areas - Identifying Commonly Encountered Snakes1

There are links to other pages at bottom of this page, for how to actually deal with the snakes, preventing encounters, etc

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW258



General info, identifying species, etc in Kentucky, pdf file

http://www.kentuckysnakes.org/publication/for46.pdf



Map showing range for Western Pygmy Rattlesnake in Louisiana

http://www.kingsnake.com/louisiana/map_pygmy.htm



Stetson University's Pygmy Rattlesnake research page

http://www.stetson.edu/artsci/pigmy/piginfo.php



Range map for pygmy rattlesnake in Tx, as well as other info on pygmy rattlesnakes.

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/sistrurus.miliarius.html



Photos and range of Pygmy Rattlesnakes in NC

http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/snakes/Sis_mil.html



How to remove a snake from a dwelling

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW037



Preventing Encounters between Children and Snakes (shows ways to deter snakes from entering areas such as school playgrounds)

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW227



How to reduce snake problems around homes (including removal tips)

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2277.pdf



Locally, you might try contacting the Department of Natural Services for your State, Animal control agencies in your area, US Fish & Wildlife, to ask for advice on removal and relocation of the snakes.



Facts regarding poisonous snakes,

http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/venomous_snake_faqs.shtml

The chances of being bitten by a venomous snake in the United States are very low, and the chance of death is virtually nonexistent, particularly given the availability and quality of medical care in the U.S. Approximately one out of 37,500 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the U.S. each year (7-8,000 bites per year), and only one out of 50 million people will die from snakebite (5-6 fatalities per year).

Also are interesting statistics comparing snakebite to other causes of death (lightning strikes are 9 times more likely to kill you than snakebite, and the odds of being killed by lighting are pretty remote!)



THERE NEVER HAS BEEN A DEATH REPORTED FROM THE BITE OF A PYGMY RATTLESNAKE!

So please, don't kill them. You can do things to discourage them and make your environment undesirable for them, and you can most likely find someone through DNR, USFWS, Animal control, local Wildlife Rehabilitators, or other agencies, who would be glad to remove them for you and release them into a suitable place.