I've seen a few farm cats that would take on and kill some pretty big rattle snakes that were much larger that the cats.

cats can kill snakes due to speed and stamina. Most snakes can't attack too many times before tiring, and they get slower and slower (and some tire quickly). With mongooses and meerkats, its speed and experience and too many attacks coming from different directions. I'll bet with a small mongoose pack even coyotes would learn to leave them alone, although they'd need some underground protection. I was 10 feet from a 15-20 member strong mongoose pack in Zimbabwe many years ago, they didn't consider me even a small threat they just went about looking for bugs and things to eat.

Most all snakes are ambush predators, once the surprise is over they will almost always retreat, didn't you guys see that online video of that rabbit attacking the snake that retreated up a tree?

At the risk of sounding stupid what is a snake fence? Here in Florida we have big rattlers and they can lift their head almost two thirds of their body length. All they have to do is hook their head on the top and they are over. The fence would have to be slick as porcelain to prevent them from crawling up. One thing that does work is balls of bird netting small mesh which they crawl in and eventually get stuck. A big rattler would never get stuck since his head is a big as a man's fist and he would just go over it. I can't imagine anything being sticky enough to hold a snake. Unless you cut into the gut when you sliced the snake I'd say he is alive and pissed. Good luck.

Snake fencing is basically 3' high hardware cloth. We sink it into the ground. It will keep out nearly all of our California snakes.

Fortunately rattlers no longer live in my neighborhood (not enough prey). Less than ten miles from here they are plentiful. The few snakes I have seen at my house are black snakes and eastern hognose snakes. The hardware cloth would not stop many snakes that live in the Eastern US. Glad it works for you.

I wouldn't kill it. Crotalus and Sistrurus are very nice species.

This is one caught here in SC last summer about 50 miles from me. They said it was over 10 ft.

Okay, the very loud thumping sound you have all hear is me fainting and hitting the floor. That looks like something out of a bad B horror movie. OMG. My snake wasn't that big, but for rattlers, it was large. Our particular variety of rattlesnake - Southern Pacific rattlesnake - is one of the larger varieties, but no where NEAR that size. I estimate mine was about 5 to 6', and about 3 to 31/3" in diameter. With a very long rattle, so it was pretty mature. That would be a deal-breaker for me, moving to SC!! EEK.

The one on the picture is a large specimen indeed. Never seen them so big. Must be one of a kind. The funny part is people here actually buy these snakes on conventions :d

It is a Eastern Diamondback. They are probably one of the largest rattlers.

Not uncommon at all to have them that large or larger down here.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/15ftrattler.asp#photo

That was the size of the rattler in my yard, mrtexas, just like what you were holding in the photo (you were a very cut kid btw!). it was that big around. Now, I have seen many, many rattlers. We've killed several on our property. But, I have never seen one this large ever and certainly never gottn this close! It was intimidating, and that I was inches from it was what really got me. And you're right about kids feeling invincible, I really remember feeling like superman myself at that age Amazing story.

LOL, I guess there are advantages to living in Seattle - everything thinks it too cold including poisonous snakes/scorpions/spiders, etc.

I was in the Peace Corps many years ago in Lesotho a mountainous Southern African nation - also cold (in winter), and one of only 2 African countries that didn't have malaria (too cold for malaria mosquitos). While in Lesotho I only saw small juvenile cobras (3 feet long thin as pencil) but black adders did exist.