Pasadena Health Officials Offer Rattlesnake Safety Tips

The Pasadena Public Health Department is reminding residents how to stay safe around rattlesnakes. 

If you come across a rattlesnake, the department advises staying at least 10 feet away and walking around it or changing routes, according to a public advisory shared on the city’s social media accounts. Pets should be kept on a six-foot leash or shorter and not allowed to wander. If a snake turns up in the yard, the department says a garden hose can be used to spray it from a safe distance to encourage it to move along. 

For a snake that is acting threateningly or appears sick or injured, residents can text Pasadena Humane at (626) 344-1129. An officer may be able to help move a snake away from an entryway or high-traffic area, the advisory notes, but Pasadena Humane does not relocate snakes off a property.

To make a yard less inviting, the department recommends keeping grass cut short, removing wood and leaf piles, picking up fallen fruit, securing trash cans, clearing bird feeders and keeping pet food indoors. 

Residents are also advised to seal gaps around the home’s perimeter and to swap mulch and large rock for smaller gravel or river rock. 

A rattlesnake-proof fence should stand at least three feet tall with the bottom buried at least three inches, with no gaps and a surface snakes cannot climb. Vegetation growing against fencing should be cut back. 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has jurisdiction over all wildlife in the state, including rattlesnakes. More information is available at wildlife.ca.gov/Living-With-Wildlife.