Snakes in Boise area? (Nampa, Meridian: dangerous, garage, rattlesnakes)

[maui08]

Originally Posted by boisefan88

I've seen rattlers in quite a few places around Boise - mostly in the foothills, the desert, but at times at a bit higher elevation - but never in the city.

I think I've seen maybe a few bullsnakes and garden snakes in the city itself, but not often. You do see quite a few snakes by the river, though.

Boisefan88, how long have you lived in Boise and what part of Boise do you live? I have chatted on here with many from Boise and none of them seem to share your experiences. Is it that you live more in the country or do a lot of traveling to the desert areas? What is life really like in regards to the snakes/bugs/spiders, etc in the concrete jungle of Boise? We are not much for getting out and hiking through forests, etc where the crazy stuff lives! We tend to stick around home, enjoy eating out, catching a movie, watching our kids play sports and shopping every now and then. Is there going to be rattlesnakes in the mall? Spiders crawling around the restaurant floors? -I'm just trying to get a feeling for where you are actually seeing these things you do. Here in Hawaii, we have HUGE cane spiders. But you don't see them unless you climb into the forests. We also have scorpions but again, they stay in the woodsy areas. Wild boars too but they don't come out of the woods. I realize Boise and the surrounding areas are wilderness for the most part but I personally am more concerned with what's actually in the city limits itself not out in the boonies. Thanks for any light you can shed on this. Mahalo

[boisefan88]

I've lived here all of my life, which happens to be more decades than I care to count.

People's experiences will differ. Perhaps they've never seen snakes - doesn't mean they're not here. Yes, as I've repeatedly said, snakes will mostly be in the desert, foothills, mountains, and some along the river. I live in the city and have never seen a "real" snake near my home, but I know people that have.

As for the bugs, as we've said, they're not bad. Yeah, we have bees, but they've really dwindled in the past five years. This is a weird regional phenomenon - who knows if they'll recover. Mosquitos are here but nothing compared to many places. Spiders are here and you'll see a good many of them, unless you spray vigilantly. I've seen black widows, hobos, and brown recluse on a regular basis, as well as other innocuous spiders, many times even this year. But then again, I don't spray.

No snakes in the mall or businesses, and probably no spiders there either. As I've maintained, they're here but it's probably no big deal.

[boiseguy]

I've never seen ANY snakes in and around the city... in the foothills and around horshoebend I would suspect there's rattle snakes, I've never come across one, but I don't go off hiking in the hills much...
If you live anywhere rural, you'll run into rattle snakes in the summer, it's only a matter of time I'm sure... luckily though rattle snakes give plenty of warning when you get too close, usually before you ever see them...

[Lacerta]

I've lived on the Boise Bench for 31 years (read: all my life). I've never seen a snake in town. Ever.

You just aren't likely to see one at the mall, or in long developed areas of the inner parts of town. You may, however see some around the outskirts, and in the foothill developments and subdivisions.

My little sister does stream testing all around SW Idaho, and she's seen several rattlers, along with a myriad of other critters.

Snakes just aren't an issue in town, as long as you stay out of the foothills. Spiders on the other hand, are my nemesis. I have just a touch of the icky's with spiders, not really a phobia, I just don't want them in my house or office. We do get some big bad spiders. Not like South America big, but big enough to "ick" me out. The ones boisefan mentioned are all venomous. You aren't going to see them swarming around restaurant floors, but you might spot an occasional one. I seem to get one black widow in my garage pretty much every year.

[DESERTRYDER]

Melissa I am just guessing that you posted your intentions in the wrong thread.
Start at the Boise area in city Data and click on New Thread and post there.


Good luck with your political ambitions.

[grace07]

In the two years I lived in Boise, I only saw a snake once. It was a young rattler in the foothills just beyond the North End. From that time, I did avoid walking in the heat of the day.

[Wurzig]

Originally Posted by boi2socal

I live in Hollywood. But visit Boise regularly as this is where my family is and where I grew up. My most sincere apologies for the confusion.

Thank you.

I can tell by the number of posts you make that Boise is in your blood!

[Wurzig]

I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to post....well, except for Melissa, who seems to be a bit confused....

We have snakes in CA, including rattle snakes..... My former house was right above a man-made lake and one almost killed my dog...it really upset me at the time. Not only did we love our dog, but our daughter, a toddler at the time, was always with her in the yard, so it could have been our daughter instead. I also had a snake and scorpion in the garage, too, and nearly had heart failure, even though it was a 'good snake'. The house was a typical house with a lawn that was mown every week, nice flowerbeds......so it can happen anywhere.

I live in the hills, (7 minutes from the former house), near the ocean, but there are sometimes snakes here, too. I've had a couple of 'good' ones, but I called animal control immediately and had them hauled away. S. CA is basically a desert that we have made 'green', but there are still plenty of foothills here that turn brown during the summer. This is what I see around the Boise area....foothills that turn brown, so I had a feeling that there might be quite

[Wurzig]

oops.....fat fingers today.

I had a feeling that there might be quite a few rattle snakes around Boise because of the dry hills...(but I don't think you will find them in malls, Maui)....And I thought there might be other non-poisonous varieties, especially since there are so many homes near ponds, rivers, etc.

If I remember correctly, snakes can strike 1.5 times their body length....

Not that I will be buying one if I ever get to Boise, but I think horses can kill snakes. Does anybody know if cats can? Cats are fast and like to pounce....they can catch rabbits.....so I was wondering about snakes.....

Also, being a CA girl, I can only compare the higher altitudes in Idaho with places like Tahoe, Yosemite and Mammoth....I have never seen snakes in these areas, just bears. So, boisefan88, are you saying that snakes can be found in areas such as Bogus Mountain? (I have a brochure on Bogus, but it doesn't list the altitude, so I don't know if it is as high as the CA areas that I mentioned).

Once again, thanks to all.

[DrummerBoy]

Most of the snakes we have around here are either in the foothills, or, for some reason, circulating around that tall domed building downtown called the Capitol.