Using Pepper Spray or Bear Spray on Rattlesnakes, good idea or bad idea?

[Oklazona Bound]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

On my first trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, I was at one of the exhibits looking for the animal in an exhibit. I looked down and there was a six foot black snake running over my sneakers. I froze and fortunately, he kept a going.

If you are hiking a trail say at Madera or Sabino canyon, how likely are you to encounter a rattlesnake? Do you really need to wear those legginds just for hiking?

There are so many people usually in Sabino Canyon you rarely see them. I don't think there are rattlesnakes in Madera Canyon because of the elevation. I have never seen one.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Oklazona Bound

There are so many people usually in Sabino Canyon you rarely see them. I don't think there are rattlesnakes in Madera Canyon because of the elevation. I have never seen one.

In my time in Tucson we used to run at Sabino all the time. You would see rattlers on the road at Sabino early in the mornings in April/May when they were trying to warm up on the pavement. Usually not there during the day. They are mostly docile blacktails in the Catalinas.

Those friggin' Mohaves out at Saguaro west are out in mornings and evenings on the pavement that time of year and they AREN'T docile. Those guys will strike at you as you run by.

The only place I ever saw sidewinders is in the sand in the rivers or washes. They never came at us but they could sure scoot.

[Parnassia]

Just happened to spot this resurrected thread and thought the original question wasn't totally answered.

Spraying a snake with pepper or bear spray probably would have little to no effect on the snake. Snakes don't have eyelids, don't blink, but their eyeballs aren't just exposed to the world either. They are covered with clear protective scales that shed along with their skin. The spray wouldn't penetrate enough to disable their eyesight. Their nostrils and heat sensor pits are small and protected so very little spray might get to the inner mucous membranes. They don't have a soft wet nose like a mammal either so once again, not much if any effect. Snakes have little to no sense of hearing (mainly very low vibrational hearing) so the noise of the cannister deploying wouldn't startle them.

As for deploying pepper or bear spray on a live snake in your own house...stupidly bad idea! The oily capsaicin residue will stick to everything and anyone who touches it will be exposed to the pepper. You'd efficiently disable everyone who comes in the room.

[gemstone1]

Carry an extra water bottle that will spray a stream of water 6-8', that's all you need to send a rattlesnake on his way.

[Andrew in Minnesota]

Originally Posted by beenhereandthere

Didn't know where else to put this ?, but I suppose the state with the most kind of rattlesnakes is a place to start. I don't like to use guns, so just asking.

If you see a rattlesnake, simply don't approach it.

If you're within striking distance before you notice it, the last thing you want to do is further upset it (spoiler: it's already upset) but pumping irritating chemicals at it. And for God's sake, don't be firing a gun at a snake that's withing striking distance, which probably means firing a round into rocky ground no more than a few feet away from you - does anyone really need to have explained to them why that's a bad idea?

The rattlesnake doesn't want to strike. That's a move of last resort, an escalation that could have a bad outcone for Mr. Snake. Hence the rattle, which exists to convey a message along the lines of "Hi! You're upsetting me! Why don't you back off a bit? We'll both be a lot happier!".

[Ponderosa]

I used to hike with a handgun loaded so that the first two rounds were so-called snake shot - basically a mini-shotgun shell. Never used it though.