I've read posts several times where people say they put "snake shot" in there revolvers . Has anyone ever been " attacked" by a snake ? I find it really hard to believe that a snake would go out of its way to attack a human or any animal that was too big to be on the menu . I'm sure that if you stepped on a snake it would probably bite in self defence . If you surprised one most likely iit would try to escape or assume a defensive .posture . There aren't poisonus snakes where I live [ New England ] . I think there used to be eastern diamond backs but they were probably never plentyful and are know extinct in this area. Ihave surprised a few snakes on some hikes , usually Garter snakes . They either face me with there mouths open , trying to look as big and bad as they can , or they slither away as fast as they can . I once almost stepped on a huge black snake , I think they call it a Black Racer . It rased it's head up over the grass to take a look at me then took off . OK , they aren't venomous but snakes are snakes and it's not in there nature to attack . Even if you encouter a rattle snake , copperhead , Corral snake or whatever , why not just walk around it and let it be ?

When it comes to my neck of the woods one answer: INVASION OF TERRITORY. Copperheads become so infested by multiplying on some people's land, they find their land untenable for other uses. Now they have made a big comeback around my father's rural neighborhood after relatively being rarely seen for the last 20 years. These snakes get under your house, etc. I find the best way is just to throw out mothballs everywhere, they chase off about everything, that way nobody gets mad at you for killing the little snakies.

The only kind of snake that I have had actually chase me was a large cottonmouth or Water moccasin. They are poisonous and are very territorial.

Cottonmouths can be very aggressive -- when annoyed -- that is a rule to always remember.

OK , I didn't know copperheads were so agressive . Also if you have them living under your house or on your property and they are a danger to you or your family , I can understand the need to exterminate them . What bugs me is that some people need to kill them on sight for no reason .

Copperheads aren't aggressive, they're docile mostly. Cottonmouths CAN be aggressive, IF provoked. There is just a fear of snakes that some people will never overcome. So they needlessly kill them.

It is illegal to kill any native wild snake here in TN, but when a former schoolteacher I knew had timber rattlers getting inside her house, I think I would make an exception unless a professional snake handler was handy. My brother was almost bitten in the face spraying for bugs underneath her house once. He had no clue they might be under there.

OOPS I meant to say cottonmouth

I don't know about what part of Ma you are located in.
But where I grew up in western Ma, there was poisonous snakes, mostly copperheads.

I used to say, and still do out of habit, that I had to shoot an "attacking" rattler 'cuz my department had a very strick shooting policy, and that was my BS way of getting around it.

In southern CA, western AZ, the "Mojave Green" Rattlesnake is reported to be very aggressive. It is also the worst to be bitten by, its venom attacks both the blood and nervous system.

In Central/South America the Fer-de-lance is agressive and has very nasty venom also. It has a very high mortality rate in some areas. I came inches away from stepping on one once in Panama, I still shiver at the thought...

IMHO, "snake shot " is useful in dispatching the snake that bit you or your pet, for positive ID at the hospital.


In snake counrty, which is pretty much all the tropical and temprate areas on earth, I recommend the following:

Wear leather boots and long pants.

Use a walking stick

Look down along and to the sides of your path

Never step over fallen logs

Watch where you put your feet, hands and backside (unless you want to find out who your friend are...)

If you travel often into wild areas with dense undergrowth, consider getting snake-proof boots and/or chaps, or both.

Most snake bites in the U.S. are the result of deliberate provocation of handling by the victim. More here from Wikipedia.

In North America, say from Mexico City north, the most venmous snake is the Coral Snake. Its venmon is in the same family as the Cobra. It is also one of the most reclusive snakes in North America.

MrJIm

Some property managers need to kill them to keep control of the environment. But killing too many can be bad as well. Snakes manage rodent populatons.

Just a side note. Last week while playing frisbee golf on a local Northern California brewery's property, my buddies and I came upon the littlest baby rattler staking out an ant hole. It was maybe 8-10 inches long. We simply played through but it was cool to come upon it.

With a big field full of mice and rats behind my house, I need all the help I can get.

Snakes are welcome in my yard and I've taught my child how to watch for them and give them the respect they deserve.

That's really the best thing they've ever been for, and personally, I think I'd rather just carry a big stick if the most dangerous thing in the woods was a snake.

Walk around snakes is a wise advice if you see one... I was in Belize and stock my hand into the hole when I came up from diving and had a bad encounter with a coral snake (still have a graze scar on my hand. He tried to bite me and if it wasnt for dive gloves we would have a big problem. Also when in Africa I saw a Black Adler on the trial just hanging out. No way to go around him so we waited for 30 minutes for him to move. Also saw green mambas but they were scared of humans.

I dont like snakes. I'm not walking around looking to blast them away but when I see one I give them a wide berth.

out here in the west we have a snake call a MOHAVE GREEN, which is a member of the ratelsnake famley. and let me assure you they will attack, or chase you. and I am speaking from experence.

I carry snakeshot in my .44, but it is pretty much strictly for ruffed and/or blue grouse, AKA "Pine Hens." The damn things are stupid enough to let you get close enough that the extra-wide patterns of the shot charges are still effective. The only time I would shoot a snake is if it bit somebody. As others have said, in that case it is nice to have the remains for identification purposes in order to aid treatment.

I've had to deal with 3 snakes on my little piece of suburbia. Because of my suburban environment and lack of a place to relocate them, I had to "dispatch" 2 of them, as they were either venmous or aggressive. In a neighborhood with small children I felt this was necessary for safety. The third, however was a good-sized water snake that wanted nothing more than to beat a hasty retreat from my somewhat fixated and lighting-fast rat terrier. I removed the dog and the snake removed itself, at high speed.