Rattlesnakes

I was surprised when I learned that there's a specific population of rattlesnakes in Ringwood...just after buying our house...in Ringwood. I have the highest respect for the animal but they scare the living sould out of me! The thing is the house doesn't have a basement but a rather shallow crawl space which I have to enter every time the electric, plumbing or A/C need servicing. So far I've only encounter cave crickets (which freak me out a big deal) but finding a rattlesnake in a crawl space where I can barely roll around would take it up a notch in terms of extreme experiences. I kind of feel not so bad about the ridiculous population of squirrels and chipmunks as well as the occasional deer mouse as they would not be so bold with a rattlesnake out and about...I hope!
 
Monkey Soup said:
There’s no reason to kill one of these, they’re amongst the most mild-mannered rattlesnakes in NA. You really need to antagonize when to get it into defensive mode. I see them in Ringwood quite often, just watch out because they blend in perfectly with the leaf litter.

Reason ticks are at an all-time high is because of the deer. The abundance of hawks, owls, foxes, and coyotes have been doing a good job with the smaller vermin. The deer though are dropping ticks off right in our yards.
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so if my little trail dog is with me and he runs past this guy would he attack or what??
 
jerzey111 said:
so if my little trail dog is with me and he runs past this guy would he attack or what??
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They typically send a warning with a rattle that you are too close and will strike if they feel threatened. I was riding from the lookout on yellow to the top of white last July and almost ran over this timber rattler. It gave me a warning which definitely startled me. I steered clear and let it go it’s way.
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phillychris498 said:
Thanks for letting me know, i’ll complete the form provided on that website once I’m home. I didn’t realize they’re endangered, but given this is my first encounter of one in over 5 years of New Jersey mountain biking it makes sense. Really a beautiful animal.
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I saw a 6’ timber rattler out at Hawk Mountain a few years back. We reported it to the visitor center and it went in file.
 
Juggernaut said:
Whoa, that’s s big one! @capedoc is that a water moccasin?
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I cant see it well enough to ID. If it's New Jersey or north of here than no, it's not a water moccasin (cottonmouth). They are not native to this area. Water Moccasins are only found from Virginia to the south, and throughout the Mississippi River Basin. It's most likely a northern water snake.
 
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