Boy oh boy, did we have some excitement around here yesterday. I went out in the late morning to check the chickens for eggs, and noticed Luna (our black Lab) jumping around over something. I thought she had another chicken, until I heard the buzz. She was tormenting a rattlesnake.

Thankfully, she came when I called, and I hustled the boys inside from playing in the sandbox. This is the first time we’ve seen a rattlesnake in our backyard. We know they’re around here because two of our neighbor’s dogs were bitten several years ago.

As a result, we keep the lawn mowed and don’t allow the boys to play along the perimeter of the property, since we have a hay field behind us with lots of gophers and probably lots of snakes.

So I was shocked to find a rattler along one of the most heavily used areas in our yard.

For a fraction of a second I thought about letting the snake mosey on its merry way, but figured there’s no way I’d be comfortable allowing the boys to play outside not knowing exactly where the snake was, so my stepson and I dispatched it. It was unnerving, to say the least, and I’m still pretty wound up about it.

Dealing with Snakes in the Garden

I don’t know what it is about snakes on the visceral level. Years ago when I lived outside of West Glacier I had a grizzly licking my grill sitting on the front porch, and a mountain lion attacked one of my dogs. Mammals I can handle. And most snakes are fine in my book, too, because I recognize how valuable they are to have around. But I have no tolerance for rattlesnakes.

When I talked to a friend of mine who catches snakes for fun, he asked what color it was. I told him it was a light olive green. What really struck me was how perfectly it blended in with the grass. There was a point I looked straight at it and couldn’t see it. Glenn figured because of the coloration it had recently molted, and was traveling in search of food. There are most likely dens along the east side of the hill we live on, and he noted they’ll travel a mile or more looking for sustenance.

Now the question is what we do about it. Obviously, there’s not much of an option to keep them out of the yard unless I put quarter-inch fencing along the perimeter, which isn’t going to happen. I’m clearing out some of the dense plants in the garden, although I’m torn because they’re helping retain the moisture.

Snake Repellents

I’ve been reading up on snake repellents, and while some folks claim snakes won’t cross a line of lime, I don’t quite buy it. We had plenty of lime in our gardens back in Ohio, and there were also plenty of garter snakes.

Liquid Fence has a Snake Repellent, which I’m going to sprinkler around the gardens and sandbox. It’s hard to tell whether they’d really cross it, although I’m tempted to ask Glenn if he’d be willing to be part of an experiment… with maybe a bull snake instead of a venomous option. I’d like to sprinkle some of the granules on the ground, and see if we can make the snake go over it. I doubt if this type of science is something my husband (a biologist) would approve of in a study, but I’m sure curious to see how it’ll work.

Rattlesnake Vaccine for Pets

Another thing we need to do is get Luna the rattlesnake vaccine. She was right there on the snake. While I appreciate her letting us know about it being there – because I doubt if I would’ve seen it casually walking to the chicken coop – I worry about her safety. The vaccine doesn’t guarantee she’ll be okay, but it gives her a better chance to pull through if bitten.

But the most important thing we need to do is be vigilant. I tell the boys constantly to watch out for snakes, and am overly cautious about letting them run around without first checking the area. It’s going to be an interesting rest of the summer!

(I thought the image of the warning sign from istock was fitting for this post! Copyright jlsohio.)