69 replies to this topic

[Bill Z]

Strong odors--snakes tend to avoid.

Like mint, they also don't like moth balls.

Ps---it's illegal to kill rattlers in Folsom. (unless you absolutely have to)

I searched the muni code for snake and got zero results.
Where did you hear the above bolded statement? I can't find anything to support your assertion.

[Squidward]

I used to get a baby rattlesnake or two in my office every year until I started treating the hallway and threshold carpet with bug spray. No snakes for several years. When I did catch one I would relocate it. The head here, the tail over there.......At least I'd know that snake would never bite me.

[Darth Lefty]

Most critters have some redeeming characteristic but it's hard to find one for rattlers.

[Nancy]

I know for sure that ants hate mint. If you start getting a line of ants heading toward your kitchen, open up a mint teabag and sprinkle it in their path. They will avoid it and try to find another way around it. G

I put mint essential oil around the baseboards and shelves of my pantry once or twice a year. Seems to keep them away. Knock on wood.

Never heard of mint for snakes though. That would be really cool.

I know for sure that I hate mint too. Bad run-in with Peppermint Schnapps in my youth. Not a good flavor choice to get messed up on when you still have to brush your teeth every day for the rest of your life. Should have gone with the peach.

Nancy

[palango]

Oh. Forgot my original point. Don't plant spearmint!

In terms of plants that you'll never be able get rid of someday, spearmint and honeysuckle are now on my list. They propogate by roots and so you can never eradicate them without a challenge.

I'd rather deal with the snakes than the spearmint.

I never had a botany class, but there are three variations of mint I believe. There is peppermint, spearmint, and regular mint.

Its the regular mint that grows like weeds and I have been told that snakes absolutely hate the smaell of it. The evidence on that is unclear though. The evidence does suggest that rats hate mint so maybe if you cut off the food supply, you decrease the liklihood of them paying you a visit.

[supermom]

I searched the muni code for snake and got zero results.
Where did you hear the above bolded statement? I can't find anything to support your assertion.

Game warden was on the trail one day.--Its not a state law. its apparently a local law.

The rattlers in this area are endangered?

[ducky]

Game warden was on the trail one day.--Its not a state law. its apparently a local law.

The rattlers in this area are endangered?

I don't think so. If I find one in my yard I'm going with the "I was in fear of my life" defense.

The little garter snakes are free to stay because they are unarmed.

I thought that having a cat helped keep snakes away because they don't like cat urine.

[palango]

One time my buddy killed a rattler @ Folsom Lake because it almost bit a lilttle kid. The park ranger cadet was about to give him a ticket for illegally killing the rattler when there was a big crowd that gathered around theis poor cadet. The crowd demanded not to give him a ticket and he obliged....lol

[jagayman]

Folsom Lake SRA is a state park and should be covered by state law -- i.e. dept of fish and game. Fish and game says it's legal to kill rattlesnakes. And no species of rattlesnakes are listed in California's Endangered and Threatened animals list.

And wardens could be mistaken. I'd still like to see the law that says it is illegal -- I've been searching and have come up with nada.

[Bill Z]

Game warden was on the trail one day.--Its not a state law. its apparently a local law.

The rattlers in this area are endangered?

I said I searched the Folsom Municipal code, can't get more local than that. If it isn't there or in the county laws, then it's probable a false statement by the game warden. Unless you were talking about inside a state park, like at Folsom Lake. That is a different story as state parks can & do put protections in place for their wildlife.

[Bill Z]

I said I searched the Folsom Municipal code, can't get more local than that. If it isn't there or in the county laws, then it's probable a false statement by the game warden. Unless you were talking about inside a state park, like at Folsom Lake. That is a different story as state parks can & do put protections in place for their wildlife.

The state park websites only have this to say about rattlers

Rattlesnakes can be found in this area. They are important members of the natural community. They will not attack, but if disturbed or cornered, they will defend themselves. Give them distance and respect!

Nothing forbidding the killing of them.

[ducky]

I don't think any sane person would knowingly disturb a rattler, as this statement suggests. Too many find themselves right on top of one before they know it. If one could, just apologize and back away, when confronted by a rattler, there would be no problem. But that doesn't work.

As another poster stated, I can think of no redeeming values rattlers have. On the contrary, when one considers the human lives they have taken, I think they should be removed from the face of the earth. As well as other critters which kill people. Any part they play in our environment has too high a price.

I can't say that I would agree with this. Mountain lions are deadly, but I'd hate to think of them being eradicated. They are such a beautiful animal. We need rattlesnakes to keep things in balance. They help keep the rodent population under control. I just don't want them in my yard.

Every living thing has a purpose -- except flies and ants... okay, and maybe fleas and ticks, too. I wouldn't miss them too much.

Besides, if there were no more rattlers, Bill Z wouldn't be able to satisfy his tastes-like-chicken craving unless he actually was eating chicken.

[Bill Z]

I don't think any sane person would knowingly disturb a rattler, as this statement suggests. Too many find themselves right on top of one before they know it. If one could, just apologize and back away, when confronted by a rattler, there would be no problem. But that doesn't work.

As another poster stated, I can think of no redeeming values rattlers have. On the contrary, when one considers the human lives they have taken, I think they should be removed from the face of the earth. As well as other critters which kill people. Any part they play in our environment has too high a price.

Well, most rattlesnake bites don't end in death for humans.
They are a natural part of the states ecosystem, just like them pesky mosquito's which probably kill far more people from the diseases they can carry than rattlesnakes do.

Besides, if you killed off all the rattlers, then what would I eat?
OK, I've only eaten one so far in my life, but I would like to dine on another someday.