Rattlesnakes

[Nemo]

Scared to death of them!!!!! <img src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/eek.gif" align="absmiddle" border="0">&nbsp; I've never even seen one in real life before, either.&nbsp; I did some reading up on them so I would know what to expect.&nbsp; I will probably still pee myself if I ever meet up with one, but think I can keep myself from passing out.<br><br>Anyway, do you desert dwelling guys see them a lot?&nbsp; We want to get to Quartzsite and places like that, but I'm so freakin' scared of snakes that everyone makes fun of me.&nbsp; I think I can handle seeing one from many many feet back, but if it's a big fat snake farm out there, I'm going to head back to the beach! <br>

<br><br>been in the Az desert for most of my life.. and very rarely do I come across rattlers..&nbsp; closest instance was when traversing the face of a mountain, and heard the rattles near my feet.. was a 3 foot one not more than a couple feet from me.. I just stopped and held the dog, the snake backed away into some rocks and we went on our way...&nbsp; for the most part, they dont wanna bother you if you dont bother them <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br>

 

[owl]

<P>&nbsp;&nbsp; I think snakes and spiders are around more than folks think. It's just that they want to avoid you more than you them so they generally make themselves scarce. yesican, you have to face your fears to overcome them. I think you should get serveral different types of spiders and make pets of them. Let them sit on your shoulder as you go through your day, catch flies to feed them etc. What do you think?</P>

 

[yesican]

<p>Owl....I'm startin to sweat just thinking about it....but actually, I think slow conditioning to something you're afraid of is a good way to address the fear...Just not sure if I'm up for it...</p>

 

[owl]

<P>LOL---Start with rubber ones! You're a good sport.</P>

 

[mobilekev]

My wife came close to getting bit when we were boondocking in the RV around Lake Havasu. It had come in our camp so don't just keep your eyes open when you're out in the field. She was about 3 foot from it and didn't realize it till it hissed at her. Close call.<br>&nbsp;We'd been talking about them with a ranger in the BLM office a couple days prior. (They have a few in aquariums there). He said 2 people had been bitten in the last 2 years. One a young man about 28 and the other a woman about 65. Both got medical treatment fairly quick and both died. I'm not trying to scare anybody but they're a very real danger. <br>&nbsp;A guy we talked to said in 11 years he'd only seen a couple but I think he moved with the weather and stayed where it was fairly cool.<br><br>

 

[owl]

&nbsp;&nbsp; In the U.S. only six people die from snake bites each year. That is all kinds of snakes not just rattlers. Fifty three die from bee, wasp, and hornet stings!<br>Fifty four die from lightning strikes. Kind of puts it in perspective you think?<br>

 

[rattlesnake joe]

<p>The Mohave Green is the most deadly rattlesnake in Arizona.&nbsp; I have run into a few here and there.&nbsp; I observed their behavior and decided they are just like normal rattlesnakes except the venom is more potent.&nbsp; If you get bit by one of these that hasn't eaten in awhile you only have about 20 minutes to get on the cell phone and tell everyone good bye.&nbsp; By the time a helicopter gets to you you'll be playing the golden harp.&nbsp; Some people build up stories saying things like the Mohave Green is aggressive.&nbsp; Even had a few tell me they will charge at you.&nbsp; I doubt these stories very much.&nbsp; When I run into one I like to study the snakes behavior.&nbsp; I have caught close to probably 50 rattlesnakes over the years if they are near populated areas.&nbsp; I put them in a bucket with an air hole lid, then turn 'em loose out in the deserted desert.&nbsp; No need to kill.&nbsp; Black Widows are everywhere you just don't see 'em during the day.&nbsp; Tarantulas are not deadly here in the USA unless you are very near the Mexico border.&nbsp; The Gila monster is slow moving and not aggressive at all.&nbsp; The scorpions can give a very painful sting and some of the little white or translucent ones are deadly.&nbsp; So dump your shoes out before putting your foot in.&nbsp; If you go blanket camping check under your blanket roll for one or two before rolling it up.&nbsp; Carry a face net and gloves for your hands.&nbsp; More people die from wasp, hornets and bees.&nbsp; They are very territorial and if you walk into their area they will swarm at you and sting the day lights out of you.&nbsp; When you open the door of your van, car, truck or RV.&nbsp; Look before you step down on or near a snake.&nbsp; Don't think just because you are in an RV park that you are safe.&nbsp; I knew a lady who thought her propane tank was leaking because she could hear hissing.&nbsp; It was a rattlesnake and in her haste she stepped right next to him.&nbsp; She got bit and it took her over a year to get over it because the medical people down in La Paz county don't have any anti venom.&nbsp; She was helicoptered to Parker, then to Lake Havasue then finally to Phoenix where they know what to&nbsp;do.&nbsp; Don't assume the medical people are experts because they are not.&nbsp; Sometimes you have to be your own medical advocate.&nbsp; </p>

 

[mockturtle]

I like your philosophy, joe! <img src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" align="absmiddle" border="0"><br>

 

[rattlesnake joe]

<p>The stories you hear about rattlesnakes chasing people come from snakes that are up hill from the person that invaded the snakes territory.&nbsp; The snake wants to get away as fast as possible and because of gravity will slither down hill.&nbsp; People then think the snake is chasing them.&nbsp; Stories get more embellished from telling to telling.&nbsp; Snake stories are the most embellished of them all.&nbsp; You don't have to worry about snakes until the weather gets warm.&nbsp; Then just watch where you walk and put your hands.&nbsp; Look before you step over a log or rock, there may be one on the other side just laying there minding his own business.&nbsp; Unless the snake is a rattler and close to a people area, don't bother him, just walk around him.&nbsp; Gopher snakes are harmless but look like a rattlesnake.&nbsp; They don't have a rattle on the end of their tail and their head is not shaped like an arrow.&nbsp; People like to run over snakes on the roads and highways because of their abnormal fear of snakes.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you do run over one by accident stop and get it off the highway.&nbsp; Take a stick and put it on a fence post or a boulder far enough away from the highway so the crows, ravens, hawks, buzzards, eagles and road runners will be able to eat it without getting run over themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;Vehicles take a mighty toll on wildlife, much more than hunters.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

 

[Groundless]

Ugh. Widows. I got nailed on the hand by one of those little...nngh. Muscle spasms for days, felt like the worst flu ever, full body cramping. I check -everything- now.

 

[VanTrekker]

<p style="margin: 0px;">This was something that always frightened me, too.&nbsp; It's good to know that the danger is small.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I was fishing a couple of years ago and a water moccasin snake came across the water and right up to where I was fishing.&nbsp; I threw the pole down and ran screaming only to see a lady walking her dog on the trail behind me.&nbsp; She was startled too.&nbsp; I explained it was a snake and we had a good laugh.&nbsp; Fear of the unknown...&nbsp; </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Hollywood doesn't help.&nbsp; Lots of TV shows from the 1970s&nbsp;featured southwest scenes and made all rattlesnakes look like critters anxious to bite you no matter what...&nbsp; It scared me then and still scares me now to some degree.&nbsp; </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">When I venture out west some day, would it be prudent to carry a snake bite kit?&nbsp; Not really needed here in Iowa.&nbsp; The only ones we really see are non-venemous for the most part</p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br>VT</p>

 

[Guest]

This guy&nbsp;made me jump several feet off the trail. Fortunately, I heard him before I saw him!<br />Sara

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Yikes! I'm not really afraid of snakes but I can scream with the best of them if I come up on one unexpectedly.&nbsp;My area has no poisonous ones but we have black snakes and racers that get, no kidding, 6 ft long. Nothing like riding a horse thru the woods (always on the outskirts of meadows) and seeing one face to face. They usually drop down and slither off real fast. Always good for a good laugh if your friends hear you scream like a little girl.

 

[yesican]

No snakes in Alaska, but when living back in Wisconsin on the farm it was a bit unnerving to have a 6 footer crawl out from under hay bales or slither across a path in front of you or drop off a rock near a creek where I'd be fishing.&nbsp; We never stuck around each other long enough to find out who was the most dangerous.&nbsp; I ran one direction as quickly as they'd slither the other!<br />Rae

 

[dborla01]

nasty things, lol. I used to live in yuma and have also seen them in various western areas. I had a dream last year that one of those suckers was swimming up at me!<img src="/images/boards/smilies/crazy.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />