Recent research suggests a potential link between rattlesnake bite frequency and weather patterns, particularly periods of drought and precipitation, as observed in California, and heavy snowpacks that occur in other states such as Utah and Colorado. One of the reasons that rattlesnake activity can increase in any given year is food availability. The more precipitation, the more food — especially rodents, key prey for snakes. Typically you would see an uptick in snake encounters delayed a season or two as more vegetation gives way to larger rodent populations, but not always. Greater abundance of food would also lead to activity such as mate searching among rattlesnakes, potentially making them more visible.
While spiders and snakes commonly top lists of the creatures people fear most, both are valuable natural mechanisms that regulate bug and rodent populations. Rattlesnakes help maintain a balance. Beyond regulating rodent populations, rattlesnakes help regulate the diseases rodents sometimes carry, including Lyme disease, by consuming both the rodents and the ticks living on the rodents. In Arizona, for example, there are 13 species of rattlesnakes, but in the Phoenix metropolitan area there's six species which you can run into.
If you have accidentally come within biting range while hiking, hunting, or simply clearing brush on your property, you likely know that rattlesnakes rarely bite without provocation since you are still here to tell the tale! But that’s just the thing — while most people would never purposely provoke a snake, it is easy to accidentally startle them but stepping too close because you didn't see it. Or by accidentally moving a log or rock wall under which they are hiding.
Sometimes you will hear a rattle as a warning you are too close, but not always. The rattle, a series of hollow interlocked segments at the tip of the tail, is used to warn potential predators or to distract prey. While most rattlesnakes are known for their rattles, not all rattlesnakes have rattles, and some species may have lost theirs entirely or are in the process of doing so. The loss of rattles could be due to various factors, including the snake's environment, prey type, or even the presence of other predators. It’s interesting to note that you cannot determine a rattlesnake's age based solely on the number of rattle segments, as rattlesnakes shed their skin and add a new segment each time, not annually, and they can also lose segments. Whether the pit viper has rattles or not, and does or does not use them, take the scouting motto to heart: “Be Prepared.” It’s better to be safe than sorry when in snake country in the desert or woods, so help protect your lower legs by wearing snake gaiters.
With more people out on the trails, the likelihood of running into a rattlesnake increases. After all, perfect weather for us is also the perfect weather for rattlesnakes. If a rattlesnake bites you, call 911 or get to the nearest medical facility quickly to get anti-venom. The worst thing you can do is listen to old myths about rattlesnake bites. Don't pour whiskey on it, don't pour alcohol on it. Do not tourniquet the wound or try to suck out the venom. A snake bite will land you in the hospital for over a day, and pain symptoms from a bite could last for months. Death, while rare, is a very real concern.
As far as predicting the number of rattlesnake bites, officials lack definitive data tying weather to incidents, but it makes a good common sense hypothesis for why we would see an increase in rattlesnake activity following years with “extra” precipitation in the form of rain and snow.
