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#217413 - 02/17/11 11:14 PM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I would say that by getting a hiking staff you have taken the single most effective step to ward off the buzz tailed critters. Mine always precedes me when walking through dense brush. Be alert and cautious, as has already been pointed out. Pay attention to the temperature. In cold temps, snakes are torpid and sluggish but when it heats up, they become active. In very high temps, snakes will seek shade, while when it is cool, they will seek warmth. That is one reason you often see them flattened on highways

I would be very careful around rock piles, especially if you are moving them; consider that your arms are likely to be at risk as well as your legs. I still think snake proof boots are overkill; a good pair of leather high top boots will offer you good protection against both rocks and snakes.

My encounters with rattlers usually resulted in the snake and me going in different directions, usually rather briskly. On those few occasions where I had to dispatch one, a long handled, round pointed shovel was the most effective instrument; firearms are silly for this purpose.

I lived in Arizona from 1956 to 1985, various locations, primarily Tucson, doing archaeology and a fair amount of SAR, and I did have an encounter or two with rattlesnakes during that time. My SAR unit conducted on the order of 800 or so operations during that period. How many involved rattlesnake bite? NONE. The closet was a gentleman climbing up a rocky face who came face to face with a rattler; he fell and injured himself. Of course,some folks undoubtedly did suffer bites during that period; they apparently did not require any assistance to seek medical help.

While in Tucson, I attended an interesting presentation by a local physician who discussed a series of about fifty cases he had treated. There were two types of patients: 1) very young children, bitten while playing around their homes, often in the face 2) young males always bitten because they were picking up and handling the rattlers.

Snake bite is a possible hazard in the outdoors, but it is minor compared to falls and weather related incidents, like hypothermia. I am not sure it would even make the top ten; for that matter, cougar attacks would be rather far down the list.

You can tell serious rattlesnakes by their horn rim glasses, large book bags, and solemn demeanors. They usually hang out at the library, rather than frat houses.
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#217423 - 02/18/11 02:27 AM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
Carry a walking staff that has some heft to it, and bang it on the ground as you walk. Snakes sense vibration and avoid it unless it sounds like food. A 100+ lb person is danger, not food, rodents are food.

Use the staff to poke around in the rocks until you know there aren't any snakes. Pay attention to what you're doing.

Wear knee-high socks and strap the plastic gaiters (think 'shin guards') over them, put your pants on over them.

The 'warning rattle' is fine for adults, but babies aren't born with rattles and can still bite, and their toxin is more dangerous.

About one-quarter of rattlesnake bites are 'dry', without venom. The snake can apparently control this.

Pay attention to what you're doing, and especially where you put your hands. Don't wear headphones, you need to hear.

Don't worry about making people laugh... the first time your group hears a rattler, your gaiters will immediately become a crucial fashion item. I think they come in denim, too, so match your pants to your gaiters and, as unobservant as most people are, they may not even notice.

And there's nothing so annoying as preparing for something and then not having the problem show up. Some people are born to suffer...

Sue

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#217424 - 02/18/11 02:43 AM Re: Snake Boots [Re: Susan]
CWilson Offline
Stranger

Registered: 02/16/11
Posts: 20
Hey, something popped into my head. Do they make cougar-skin snake boots? Sounds like a win-win, doesn't it? cool

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#217427 - 02/18/11 03:00 AM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA

Wear snakeskin boots -- maybe they don't eat their own. grin

Sue

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#217429 - 02/18/11 03:51 AM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
Richlacal Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 02/11/10
Posts: 778
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
You may want to try The Sportsmans Guide,I saw Snake Boots for sale there,They also sell a few different type of Gaiters too!(I have No Affiliation with Sportsmans Guide)While I'm here,I saw a Lioness with 2 cubs(Mountain Lions)in The Sespe/Lockwood Area of Ventura County,Last August!I saw a lone Male-Mountain Lion in The Frenchmans Flats area of Ventura County,Last November,I watched this one Spray Mark his Territory!I also Play the Lotto,& Haven't won yet!I guess Statistics,are for Lucky People,As They Never have Pertained to Me!Now back to the Snake Boots thread,Baby Rattlesnakes Venom is No more toxic than an Adult Rattlesnake,The difference is Control.The Baby Rattler bites with Full-Auto,due to Lack of Control of the Venom Glands,the adult has control,& rarily Expells,All it has,That said,If I were out Collecting Stones for my Yard in Snake Country,I'd be wearing Gauntlet type gloves,such as Welding Gauntlets,& I'd Definitely NOT be wearing Tony Llamas or other type of "Yee-Haw" Boots as,they lack in the Traction Dept.!If Mr.Rattler show's himself when moving Boulders around,I would like to have traction,to move the heck outa' his way,With Cow patty boots on,It could be Possible to slip/fall on the Snake itself,or within Striking range,Not a Viable Option,IMHO!

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#217433 - 02/18/11 05:52 AM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
CWilson Offline
Stranger

Registered: 02/16/11
Posts: 20
Someone told me that if I see a rattler, I should pick up a medium-sized rock at a safe distance, and lob it in an arc toward the snake, which will cause the snake to track it in the air, strike at it, and get crushed.

This seemed like an old wives tale, but I didn't hear it from an old wife. cool

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#217438 - 02/18/11 11:13 AM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Personally, if I am at a safe distance, I would just let Mr. Snake alone and go on about my business. But circumstances vary, and if you must do the critter in, a thrown rock is a pretty good tool (not quite as effective as a shovel). You can channel your inner Nolan Ryan.....

Rattlesnakes are pretty good at keeping down the local mice, and mice have probably killed more people as a carrier for infectious diseases (hantavirus etc) than rattlesnakes.
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#217439 - 02/18/11 11:53 AM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
Teslinhiker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
Originally Posted By: CWilson
Someone told me that if I see a rattler, I should pick up a medium-sized rock at a safe distance, and lob it in an arc toward the snake, which will cause the snake to track it in the air, strike at it, and get crushed.

This seemed like an old wives tale, but I didn't hear it from an old wife. cool


Please explain what is the purpose and justfication of trying to kill a snake just because you seen it? The snake is not going to do you any harm at all if you avoid it from the same safe distance.
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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

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#217443 - 02/18/11 02:02 PM Re: Snake Boots [Re: CWilson]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Here is an exception to the very good rule of leaving the snake alone:

I was assigned for a project to Chiricahua National Monument, and our (me, wife, 18 mo.old daughter) trailer was sited at an old guest ranch within the park boundaries. We had been there about two weeks and I encountered a large, timber rattler right at my doorstep. I did him in promptly, violating several park regulations, statutes, and policies. I tried a snake load in my 357 first, which was ineffective, and then went to the shovel.

This was a long time ago, and my little girl has made me a grand dad twice over, and , upon reflection, I would do it all over again, just as I did then, but a little faster, and I wouldn't bother with the 357.

That same summer, I encountered several rattlesnakes while hiking in the mountains, and they went on to become grandparents, as far as I was concerned.
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#217452 - 02/18/11 03:32 PM Re: Snake Boots [Re: NightHiker]
bsmith Offline
day hiker
Addict

Registered: 02/15/07
Posts: 589
Loc: ventura county, ca
Originally Posted By: NightHiker
And somebody mentioned that rattlers will only strike at something warm - also not true. They're pit vipers that use their heat sensors to track prey (pretty useful since they mosty hunt at night) but for self-defense purposes they'll strike at movement. On more than one occassion I've seen rattlers strike at the object I was using to relocate them.

thank you for sharing your experience.

i always like to find the science behind the issues.

i actually found that we're both on the right track. a scientific study - blindfolded snakes ? ! - is found here.

seems their vision and heat and smell sense contribute to their dietary intake.
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