Rattlesnake traps are funnel-style devices that let a snake crawl in but make it difficult to crawl back out. They’re used by wildlife professionals, researchers, and homeowners dealing with rattlesnakes on their property. While traps can capture a snake that’s already nearby, they work best as part of a broader approach that includes exclusion fencing and habitat cleanup to keep rattlesnakes from showing up in the first place.
How Funnel Traps Work
The most common rattlesnake trap uses a simple funnel-and-cylinder design. A tube, typically around 8 inches in diameter and 18 inches long, is made from aluminum window screening or hardware cloth rolled into a cylinder. A cone-shaped funnel made of fiberglass screening fits inside one end, with the wide opening (about 9 inches) facing outward and the narrow end (roughly 1¾ inches) pointing into the trap’s interior. The snake pushes through the narrow opening to enter, but the funnel’s shape makes it very difficult to find the exit from inside.
Commercial versions of this trap are available in plastic or galvanized steel, often with a one-way door instead of a fabric funnel. Some use bait compartments that hold live or dead mice to attract snakes, while others rely purely on placement along a snake’s travel route. DIY versions built from window screening are inexpensive and effective, though they’re less durable than commercial options.
To empty a funnel trap, you evert (flip inside out) the fiberglass funnel and shake the contents into a container. With a rattlesnake inside, this step requires extreme caution, proper tools, and ideally professional help.
Where to Place a Trap
Placement matters more than the trap itself. Rattlesnakes travel along edges: walls, fences, foundation lines, rock borders, and landscaping features. They rarely cross wide open spaces if they can avoid it. Setting a trap flush against a wall or fence line, with the funnel opening aligned to intercept a snake moving along that edge, dramatically increases your chances of a capture.
Drift fencing, a low barrier of hardware cloth or sheet metal staked into the ground, can funnel snakes toward the trap entrance. A short section of drift fence angled outward from a wall creates a “V” that guides a traveling snake directly into the funnel. Without drift fencing or strategic wall placement, a snake can easily pass right by a trap without entering it.
Shade is also important. Rattlesnakes avoid prolonged sun exposure and are more active at dawn, dusk, and nighttime during hot months. Placing traps in shaded areas near cover (woodpiles, shrubs, storage sheds) increases the likelihood a snake will investigate. Check traps at least once daily, ideally in the morning. A trapped snake left in direct sun can overheat and die, and prolonged confinement stresses the animal unnecessarily.
Glue Traps: A Common Alternative
Glue board traps are the other widely available option. These are flat boards coated with strong adhesive, placed inside a box or along a wall. A snake that slithers across the board gets stuck. They’re sold at most hardware stores and are simple to deploy, but they come with serious downsides. A rattlesnake stuck to a glue board is agitated, still venomous, and difficult to release safely. Vegetable oil can dissolve the adhesive, but pouring oil on a live rattlesnake while it strikes at you is not a task for amateurs. Glue traps also catch unintended animals: lizards, small birds, and non-venomous snakes that are actually beneficial for pest control.
Handling a Trapped Rattlesnake
A rattlesnake in a trap is still fully capable of striking and envenomating. If you’re not experienced with venomous reptiles, the safest option is to call a local wildlife removal service. Many pest control companies and some fire departments offer rattlesnake removal.
For those who do handle the situation themselves, 42-inch snake tongs are the recommended tool. Shorter tongs don’t provide enough distance from the strike zone. The snake should be transferred into a secure container: a double-lidded wooden box with a latch, or at minimum a tall trash can with a tight-fitting lid. Check all equipment before opening the trap. A latch that doesn’t close fully or a lid that pops off can turn a controlled situation dangerous in seconds.
Staying calm is genuinely part of the protocol, not just general advice. Wildlife professionals at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum emphasize that you need the right mental state as much as the right equipment. Rushed or panicked movements cause mistakes, and mistakes with rattlesnakes have serious medical consequences.
Relocation and Legal Considerations
Trapping a rattlesnake is only half the problem. What you do with it afterward depends on where you live. Most states regulate the possession and collection of wild reptiles. In North Carolina, for example, possessing timber rattlesnakes, Carolina pygmy rattlesnakes, or eastern coral snakes without a permit is illegal regardless of how many you have. Other reptiles require a captivity license if you hold five or more. Rules vary significantly by state, and some species carry federal protections.
If relocation is legal in your area, release the snake at least a mile from your property in suitable habitat, away from other homes. Relocated rattlesnakes sometimes struggle to survive in unfamiliar territory, so releasing them in appropriate habitat (rocky areas with rodent populations and cover) gives them the best chance. Some states prohibit relocation entirely and require you to call a licensed wildlife control operator.
Why Exclusion Fencing Works Better Long-Term
Traps are reactive. They catch a snake that’s already on your property. Exclusion fencing prevents snakes from getting there in the first place, and wildlife professionals consider it the most effective long-term solution when combined with keeping a clean, rodent-free yard.
Rattlesnakes can’t climb smooth, vertical surfaces. A properly installed snake fence made of fine steel mesh or sheet metal, buried a few inches into the ground and standing at least 36 inches high, will block their entry. The critical detail is that the entire perimeter must be sealed. Rattlesnake removal records show it’s common to find snakes inside yards that already have fencing installed, almost always because gates weren’t properly secured. Rattlesnakes follow walls and frequently enter through side gates and courtyard openings that were overlooked during installation.
Habitat modification reinforces fencing. Rattlesnakes come to properties because they find food (rodents), water, and shelter. Removing woodpiles, sealing gaps under sheds, trimming vegetation away from the house, and controlling rodent populations all make your yard less attractive. A property with no food and no hiding spots gives a rattlesnake no reason to linger, even if it does slip past a fence.