Quote Originally Posted by mainbutter View Post
Sure you can. The degree to which you "relocate" a snake doesn't need to even be big, but the further away you move a snake, the less likely you are to encounter that specific snake anytime soon.

I often relocate snakes off a path I'm walking on, if I can't get around the snake. Usually a quick prod with a stick does the trick. I would relocate snakes that got in my pool, especially if I was about to take a swim.

I also relocate(read: rescue) turtles all the time, dumb things just walk right into the middle of the road. When I lived in Louisiana, I had the experience saving a hatchling alligator snapper from an almost certainly squishy death.

I understand that you probably meant that relocating snakes doesn't do too much in the long run for reducing the likelihood of venomous snakes winding up in your yard, but if I saw that I had a big copperhead in my back yard, I wouldn't be out mowing until I moved it somewhere that kept both myself and the snake relatively safe.
what i meant was that you can't relocate a snake and expect it to live, or the other populations to not be adversely affected. genetic diversity, locations of hibernacula, number of prey, overlapping ranges, etc etc are all potential killers to entire populations of snakes. transporting a snake from one geographic area to another is NOT a good idea.... you might disagree, but i challenge you to find a wildlife biologist to back you up.
moving them off a trail or out of yard is obviously fine... not what i was referring to at all.