U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2006–3062

April 2006

Reducing Rattlesnake-Human Conflicts

Printed on recycled paper

Figure 1. Adult western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). 

Arizona is home to 11 species of rattlesnakes. Since 1994, the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted research on the behavior 

and ecology of nuisance rattlesnakes in Arizona national park units. 

 Arizona is home to 11 species of rattlesnakes. As rapidly 

growing Arizona communities move into formerly undeveloped 

landscapes, encounters between people and rattlesnakes 

increase. As a result, the management of nuisance snakes, 

or snakes found in areas where people do not want them, is 

increasingly important. Since 1994, the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) has conducted research on the behavior and ecology of 

nuisance rattlesnake in Arizona national park units. A decade of 

research provides important insights into rattlesnake behavior 

that can be used by national parks and communities to reduce 

rattlesnake-human conflicts.

Research Findings

 The initial research effort examined the effects and 

effectiveness of relocating, or capturing and moving, 

nuisance snakes to different and sometimes distant locations 

at Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona. Snakes 

implanted with radio transmitters were tracked by USGS 

scientists and volunteers for more than two years. Relocated 

animals had higher mortality rates and different movement 

patterns and behavior than animals that were not relocated. 

In addition, more than half of the relocated snakes eventually 

returned to their original home locations. 

 Subsequent research in Arizona national parks found that 

many rattlesnakes used hibernation sites, including natural and 

built features, near visitor areas. In addition, many of these 

same snakes had summer ranges completely within or near 

visitor and housing areas. Despite the occurrence of the animals 

in developed areas, USGS biologists found that park staff and 

visitors seldom saw tracked rattlesnakes, including snakes that 

were occasionally located less than 5 m (16 ft) from heavily 

used trails. 

 Rattlesnakes may focus their activities in developed areas 

during the summer, the time when they are actively foraging, 

because these areas contain increased numbers of prey species 

and water, particularly during drought years. Increased 

abundance of prey species, including birds and rodents, may 

result from the presence of garbage, the feeding and watering 

of birds, and the creation of habitat in the form of lumber and 

brush piles, thick vegetation, and loose soil. 

 USGS research indicates that relocation is not an effective 

management tool for dealing with nuisance rattlesnakes and that 

removing individual nuisance snakes from sites that are rich in 

prey will not make these sites less attractive to other snakes. 

Figure 2. A USGS biologist works with volunteers to measure a 

rattlesnake at Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona. 
Research Implications

 In the human imagination, rattlesnakes loom as a 

dangerous and aggressive threat to people. In truth, USGS 

research and several other studies indicate that rattlesnakes 

seldom reveal their presence to people, even if approached 

closely. Rattlesnakes use procrypsis, or motionlessness 

combined with blending with the background environment, 

as their primary means of avoiding predators, including 

humans. It is also possible that rattlesnakes foraging for food 

near developed areas may be habituated to the presence of 

people and less likely to display defensive behavior. Similarly, 

rattlesnakes are unlikely to strike unless inadvertently stepped 

on or handled. For these reasons, the presence of snakes near 

visitor facilities does not constitute a public safety concern in 

and of itself. 

 Based on findings from the past decade, USGS rattlesnake 

research in Arizona offers some potentially more effective 

solutions for dealing with nuisance rattlesnakes than longdistance relocation. Reducing rattlesnake-human conflicts in 

developed areas can potentially result from making these areas 

less attractive to the small mammals and birds that rattlesnakes 

feed on during the summer foraging season. Controlling or 

removing garbage, bird feeding stations, and standing or 

dripping water will make a site less attractive to prey animals 

and their predators, including rattlesnakes. Other tactics for 

discouraging rodents include the removal of scrap piles, 

stacking wood and lumber off the ground, removing dense 

vegetation, and sealing off rodent access points to buildings. 

 If a snake does need to be removed for safety reasons, then 

the best solution is to move the snake a short distance, less than 

50 m (164 ft), to the nearest cover. A relocated snake should 

always be moved away from heavily used roads into habitat that 

is similar to that from which it was moved. 

 By removing attractants and treating rattlesnakes with 

respect, people can reduce or eliminate many concerns posed by 

this fascinating desert dweller. 

More Information

Nowak, E.M., 2005, Movement patterns and natural history of 

western diamond-backed rattlesnakes at Tuzigoot National 

Monument, Arizona in van Riper III, C., and Mattson, D.J., 

eds., The Colorado Plateau II: biophysical, socioeconomic, 

and cultural research: Tucson, Az., The University of Arizona 

Press, p. 253–274.

Nowak, E.M., Hare, T., and McNally, J., 2002, Management 

of “nuisance” vipers: effects of translocation on western 

diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox), in Schuett, 

G.W., Höggren, M., Douglas, M.E., and Greene, H.W., eds., 

Biology of the vipers: Eagle Mountain, Utah, Eagle Mountain 

Publishing, LC, p. 533–560.

Erika M. Nowak

U.S. Geological Survey

Southwest Biological Science Center

Colorado Plateau Research Station

2255 N. Gemini Drive

Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001

Tel.: 928-556-7466 (ext. 239)

E-mail: enowak@usgs.gov

 Arizona rattlesnake research is conducted by the Southwest 

Biological Science Center (SBSC) [http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov], 

which is one of the 17 science centers that are a part of the 

U.S. Geological Survey’s Biological Resources Discipline. To 

address the research needs of the large and biologically varied 

Southwestern United States, SBSC research is conducted by 

scientists working at four research stations, including Canyonlands 

Research Station (Moab, Utah), Colorado Plateau Research 

Station (Flagstaff, Arizona), Grand Canyon Monitoring and 

Research Center (Flagstaff, Arizona), and Sonoran Desert 

Research Station (Tucson, Arizona). The mission of the Biological 

Resources Discipline is to work with others to provide the scientific 

understanding and technologies needed to support the sound 

management and conservation of the Nation’s biological resources. 

Figure 3. A National Park Service ranger captures and prepares 

to move a rattlesnake from a trail at Montezuma Castle National 

Monument, Arizona. Research in Arizona national parks indicates 

that it may be possible to reduce rattlesnake-human conflicts in 

developed areas by making these areas less attractive to the 

small mammals and birds that rattlesnakes feed on during the 

foraging season.