Get trained to handle snakes
Whether you just want to be more self-sufficient, or you want to help out your neighbors and community, rattlesnake handling courses are a great idea.
The professional rattlesnake wrangler class tuition fee is $300.
This covers your 40 inch standard snake hook, 40 inch M1 series smooth rubber top 40 inch rattlesnake tongs, rattlesnake transport with screw top lid, hands on class lasting up to, or exceeding 2 hours handling very uncooperative rattlesnakes. The rest below is ongoing home study, research, reading, books, video lectures, my personal experiences below of trial and learning.
These notes are from many years of going out on snake calls and what I learned...1998 until present.
First and foremost: keeping you and the snakes safe! Always project a professional image to clients and refrain from any profanity or free-handling. Always practice being calm and calculated.
ALWAYS carry your transport container, snake hook, and tongs in your hands when exiting your vehicle at a rescue!
SUMMER SAFETY:Always carry a light colored hat, light colored clothes, proper hiking footwear, extra gallon of drinking water. Cover exposed skin with light colored clothes, be hydrated before you leave, run a google map search so you know where you are going, and have an idea of the release location. Have a full tank of gas, properly maintained vehicle, cell phone fully charged (or car charger)
Mid-day releases can be postponed until the evening for safety, use common sense and always be aware of your surroundings!
Night rescue? Wear a headlamp and have a back up flashlight (preferably on a lanyard)! Hiking boots or sneakers are best for hiking up hillsides to find logical, humane release locations.
NEVER release a snake into the open desert! They must go in a hole, pack rat nest, deep rock crevice, or some other suitable location.
In order to become a member of the Rattlesnake Removal Team you must use the equipment we use.
Screw top lid bucket with one air hole away from where your fingers touch
Midwest tongs Gentle giant 40 inches or
M1 tongs and 40 inch standard snake hook
Cheap tongs and hooks with sharp mouth edges or points will injure the snake.
Watch all recommended lectures!
Dr. Emily Taylor, "Myth-busting Rattlesnakes." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZMU4cA4u9k
Scenarios you will encounter.
Always ask the client to keep eyes on the snake from a safe distance until you arrive at their location. If possible, ask for them to text you a photo to make sure it is a rattlesnake.
Client lost the snake? Ask them to call you when it resurfaces, usually around 5 or 6pm in the summer, unless you have to time to go look for it. Not something I enjoy in the HOT desert sun!!
Client lost the snake and you decided to go look for it? Follow obvious route around the perimeter of the home. Check behind boxes, trash cans, wood piles, under boards, lumber, (always use your hook to lift and ALWAYS CARRY HOOK AND TONGS WITH YOU!)
Snake went into a hiding place near the house?Take a water hose and flush them out. This can take 10 minutes sometimes. If the rock garden is large, station several of the clients, at safe distances, on different ends to watch for the snake when you flush it out. Place a hose nozzle near the snake using your snake tongs and NOT your bare hand! Rattlesnakes float in water and only breathe approximately every 30 seconds or so depending on the time of year, and do not typically drown in water.
Jumpy snake? Use only tongs into the middle of the body, in one calculated, gentle, but deliberate grab, or you may lose the snake again to yet another hiding place. Be very careful not to jab the fragile body of the snake as you can break their fragile bones. Instead, gently slide underneath. Never tug the snake if it is tangled in something as you can injure and kill them! Coach it out with your hook by tapping the face or tail gentle to get it to release into your tongs!
NEVER GRAB A SNAKE BY THE HEAD OR NECK AREA
How far can a 3 foot rattlesnake strike? Always assume that a frightened snake can easily strike with its entire body length. Watch Bryan Hughes and learn!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZxsCtQVIrn4
Place your bucket between you and the snake if you can do so safely, then grab the snake with your tongs! Never assume there is only one snake! After catching one snake do a perimeter search for others, especially during mating season: April-May and October-November. Baby rattlesnakes are born during late summer and fall, and can be very difficult to see. Place an old shirt, towel, terry cloth, or some other soft fabric in the base of the transport bucket to allow the snake a place to hide and relax.
Hot summer rescues? Remove the towel and pour some water in the transport container so the snake can get a drink before being safely relocated & released.
Do NOT ever place a red racer or California King snake in with a rattlesnake! Gopher snakes and rattlesnakes get along just fine for a short period but, even gopher snakes are capable of killing a rattlesnake, though extremely rarely.
Release. The only safe places to release a rattlesnake are a pack rat nest, or a recently dug squirrel hole, or a rock outcropping with a small cave or hole in it to protect the snake from the environment. This can be time consuming to find, and it is best to have a few rock outcroppings staked out where there are likely to be pack rat nests. Google maps or google earth will show you potential release locations away from homes and people.
RULE OF THUMB. When you get a call and the clients have identified the snake as a rattlesnake, ask the client to keep an eye on the snake from 10+ feet away because rattlesnakes KNOW you have seen them and will quickly relocate when they see you are no longer watching them. Ask the clients NOT to disturb the snake in any way.
Gentle Giant or standard Midwest rattlesnake tongs: Never use them for any other purpose but snakes. The manufacturer will repair and return them to you if damaged. These are very sturdy and preferred by all top professionals in the world. Never tong a snake by the head or tail, you can seriously injure them.
Snake hook use: This is for either cold, docile or more mellow rattlesnakes. Hook the middle of the body and place in bucket immediately using the lid as a shield to avoid getting bitten.
Client says he placed a bucket over the snake? Snakes can dig out from under a bucket or die from exposure to heat VERY FAST! Bucket over snake on concrete? Make sure the snake is NOT in the sun! Snake caught in bird netting or wire!?? Call another wrangler and we can help.
Bryan Hughes video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3GrgDf2rQM
Red racer in netting, wear gloves because you are going to get bit. Fortunately racers are non venomous but it still hurts!
Bring your questions!
I am always available when you have a question.
Be sure to check local fish and wildlife rules and regulations related to rattlesnake relocation. Ask me more about this subject in person for my take on this. I have my annual fish & wildlife permit.
This info comes direct from one of our members who works for California fish and wildlife.
Mandatory best rattlesnake lecture by Bryan Hughes of Rattlesnake Solutions.