Originally Posted By Dryer
I treat venomous snakes like loaded guns....getting bit can be fatal or at least very expensive and painful. NOT something to mess around with. So, if you must handle the thing, use a noose stick and keep that sucker away from you! Otherwise, pin the head securely, and grab the snake in your FIST, RIGHT BEHIND it's head,...NOT with thumb and a finger or two.
I had to relocate a 4.5' timber rattler from my campsite and it would have easily gotten free had I not had a white knuckles grip on it. Snakes are like fish, all mussel, and stronger than they look.
Disclaimer...you are at your own risk if you mess with snakes and my instructions are what works for me.


Are the rattlers in your neck of the woods aggressive? I'm surprized that you had to relocate it instead of it relocating on it's own. We have timber rattlers here too and I haven't came across one in the woods yet, but I know that if I keep backpacking/hiking long enough that I will eventually see one.

I have to admit that I'm quite afraid of the prospect of finding one sunny in the middle of a trail. (I could never imagine myself picking up a poisonous snake, but I greatly respect those who can. Especially when they are being relocated from a residential area to the forest!)