A homeowner called about a rattlesnake that had started showing up each morning and resting at the base of a fountain.
It wasn’t difficult to see why the spot had become part of the snake’s routine. The fountain turned on during the day, providing a reliable source of water and likely attracting small animals looking for a drink. For a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, that makes for a pretty useful place to spend some time.
The snake was there again when Gary arrived. He safely captured it and relocated it an appropriate distance from the home, releasing it directly into a packrat midden along the rocky side of an arroyo.
The homeowner was arriving home when they spotted a snake moving along the driveway and heading for cover beneath a bush.
By the time we arrived, the snake was nowhere to be found. We started working through the likely hiding places around the property and eventually found it next door, tucked beneath a different bush in the neighbor’s front yard.
Apparently the first bush didn’t meet its standards.
The snake was safely captured and relocated into suitable habitat away from the homes.
Apryl was called to a Scottsdale home for a young adult rattlesnake that had made its way into the backyard through a gap beneath the side gate. The homeowner mentioned that landscapers had also seen a snake in the front yard earlier in the week after removing a bush, but nobody knew whether it was the same one.
While checking around the front of the house, Apryl found the answer, or at least another snake. A teeny tiny neonate was tucked beneath the recessed perimeter of the home. The family and their two dogs had apparently walked right past it several times that day without ever noticing it.
Both snakes were safely relocated into natural desert habitat. The baby immediately chose an appropriately tiny rodent burrow, while the adult disappeared into the much larger packrat nest visible in the background.
When it’s hot and dry in the desert, anything with regular access to water becomes useful to wildlife. Lawns, gardens, and potted plants on patios are all things we create to make our homes a little more comfortable in an otherwise very dry environment. But we’re not the only ones that benefit from them. These areas provide water, shade, cooler temperatures, and often attract the smaller animals that rattlesnakes are looking for. We respond to several calls that show this happening in different ways. None of these homeowners are doing anything unusual—they’re just maintaining their yards. But when conditions in the surrounding desert are hot and dry, those small pockets of water and vegetation can become very attractive to wildlife. We also answer a question that comes up pretty regularly in the comments: if it’s so hot and dry outside, why don’t we give every rattlesnake water before we relocate it?
This Rattlesnake Found ExaHorse properties are a common place for rattlesnake calls. They are usually located near open desert, livestock feed attracts rodents, and there are often plenty of holes and covered areas for rattlesnakes to use. This rattlesnake was found on the property shortly after eating a rodent. It’s a simple example of why rattlesnakes are regularly found around horse properties: food, shelter, and easy access to nearby habitat.
A homeowner in Ahwatukee was heading out to walk her dog when she stepped through the front door and noticed this Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake coiled quietly in the corner.
The home sits right next to a large drainage ditch that extends up the rocky mountainside of South Mountain, providing a natural travel corridor for wildlife moving between the mountain and the surrounding neighborhood.
Marissa arrived to relocate the unexpected front-door visitor.
It’s baby rattlesnake season in Arizona. With the summer rains and more suitable conditions, female rattlesnakes are finding cool, shaded places to have their babies. Mothers will often remain with their young until the babies have their first shed, after which they begin to disperse. Once that happens, the babies can head in just about any direction. Near neighborhoods and development, that often means some of them end up in yards, patios, garages, and other areas around homes. Our crew has been responding to calls involving mothers still with their babies, as well as individual babies that have already dispersed and found their way onto properties. Baby rattlesnakes also come with plenty of myths and misconceptions. Understanding what they actually do, why so many begin showing up this time of year, and how to respond when one turns up around a home can make baby season a lot easier to navigate safely.
Our fastest-growing service are recurring property inspections at large properties and communities. We’ve been doing this for awhile for an HOA in Scottsdale. Here are some notes from the latest session:
The south side of the community closely borders a wash area that is overgrown with brush, and the overgrowth is creeping its way up the hill close to the backside of the homes where the A/C unit condensation drains and the Community Trash Area are located.
I first found this shed skin belonging to an adolescent coachwhip heading from the holes back to the wash, likely after getting a drink from the A/C drains.
A few feet later, I found this Western Diamondback Rattlesnake heading back into the wash after likely doing the same thing!
I recommended that the property management cut the brush between the community and the wash as much as possible, with emphasis on the community trash area, as the brush cover makes it safer for wildlife like rattlesnakes to venture closer to the community.
The rattlesnake was released away from the community in a pile of brush under a tree, following our standard relocation protocol.
For more information on our Property Inspection service: https://rattlesnakesolutions.com/keep-snakes-away/rattlesnake-prevention.php
Another rattlesnake fence project completed, with some precision work from Brent, Mark and Michael. This patio is now a lot less stressful in the summer for the homeowners.
