A rattlesnake under the fence in Cloverdale in July. (Image: Jim the neighbor)

You know you’re on edge when a flag ruffling in the wind behind you makes you jump and the dog who loves spending her day under the bed startles you with movement.

Snakes. That’s what led to my jumpiness. I really, really, really dislike them.

I encountered two rattlers in less than 24 hours while dog sitting for friends in Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County this month. Both are dead. One thanks to a neighbor, the other at the hands of firefighters.

Luckily, neighbor Jim came over to warn me about the snake that was calling part of my yard (where his head was) and part of the next door neighbor’s yard (where his rattle was) home. He was a biggie. (Not really sure if it was a boy or girl snake; not sure how to figure out gender on these slithering critters.)

I’ve only seen a picture of him. That was enough.

Jim said the neighbor didn’t want it killed, but would call someone to come get it. He pushed it over to my side, then closed up the hole. At this point I thought he lived next door and it was his wife who wouldn’t kill the unwanted guest.

Jim patrols the yard while the neighbors are out of town and the dog sitter is wussy. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

I’m sure my eyes got really big when he said the snake was fully in my yard. I was so stunned I couldn’t say WTF! So, I said I guess it’s my problem now and I need to call someone.

Then he said he could kill it if I wanted him to. Please do so. Then I asked what he’d do with it. He said put it in the trash. I said I could not handle that because I wouldn’t be able to take the trash out the next day or put anything in it. He just looked at me. I said, I’m serious! He said he could throw it over the fence into the open space. I said great because then some other critter could eat it.

I heard the shovel on the rocks. Jim showed it to me before he tossed it over the back fence. It seemed smaller than the picture. That’s something that rattled, pun intended, me and Jim. We both knew there were more snakes.

This big guy had me on edge because he was still out there. Were those friends, kids, other relatives who were exterminated?

Jim came over the next morning to patrol the back yard. There was another one, even smaller than the first dead one. He slithered along the fence line before going to the neighbor’s.

The neighbor was able to get a hold of the fire department. They killed it. They also propped up the shed on my side, but didn’t find any more unwanted guests.

I was so spooked I asked Jim to take the garbage cans to the street. I was worried a snake would be under the bins. He smiled and said not a problem.

Molly, the dog, is used to being able to run free in the back yard. We’ve sat out there together. She gets up about 6 a.m. and is let out back to do her business before getting a walk a little later. Once the snakes made their presence known I was up at that hour in my PJs taking her out front on a leash to pee.

I realize snakes don’t just stay in one yard and that it/they could travel to the front. Trust me, I was gingerly walking to the street with eyes darting everywhere.

It was paved trails from then on. Even then we saw a small dead snake on the pavement. I was too skittish to enjoy all the open space that is easy to get to without getting in a vehicle. Good thing I had several days of exploration with Molly as my guide before the snakes came calling.

Neighbor Jim, left, and Northern Sonoma County Fire crew members search for snakes in Cloverdale. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The guess is the snakes are in these yards because of rodents that are feasting on the neighbor’s garden.

I tried to get a hold of Sonoma County Animal Control to no avail. I also left a message with the city of Cloverdale. Several hours later someone with the police department called. She suggested spreading coffee grounds around the yard. So I looked up that technique.

“Coffee grounds are toxic to many insects while the bitter scent repels rodents, which are both main food sources for snakes. Keeping the food source out of the garden is a great way to keep the predator out of the garden,” according to BackYardBoss.net. “While there is still scientific research to be done, it also seems that either the overwhelming scent of the grounds or the rough texture on a snake’s skin repels the slithery creatures from a garden. Snakes travel everywhere on their bodies, but coffee grounds have a rough, unusual texture that is unnatural to snakes, meaning they will want to get out of there ASAP.”

I’ll let my friends decide how they want to prevent intrusions from snakes.

One of the firefighters said it’s possible the big one is hunkered down in a hole. That’s not comforting. How many more are with him? And where is the hole?

I know rattlesnakes are pretty much everywhere in California—not just oak and grassy areas. They even call Tahoe home now. California has nearly 50 native snake species, including seven types of rattlesnakes.

I live in rattlesnake country—not just when I’m dog sitting. In fact the hospital in Oroville ran out of anti-snake venom in June after a man visiting the area was bitten twice by a rattlesnake. He needed 40 vials of antivenom during an 11-day hospital stay, according to news reports.

Reports this spring were that this was going to be a bad year for rattlesnakes because it warmed up so early. Usually there is one fatal rattlesnake bite a year in California. By April there had already been three. They occurred in Mendocino, Orange and Ventura counties.

I know this experience is going to have me a little paranoid for a time. Ideally, I’m just hyper-aware vs. scared. We’ll see.