One of my earliest memories is the memory of seeing my mother take a shovel and kill a rattlesnake in the middle of our living room floor. You have to keep your doors closed at all times in southern New Mexico to keep the rattlesnakes and wetbacks out, and, of course, I got blamed for leaving the front door open.
Beautiful country.
Never saw a rattler there. But they have them.
We killed them often here in TX where I grew up. Family has farmed here since 1889.
As the families moved from the farms to town, the wildlife (including rattlers) re-inhabited the pastures.
We are in the process of remodeling my grandparents home at the farm. Must move back to prevent the theft that has become so prevalent since the oil price collapse. They are outsiders and recent groups that have moved in with the oil boom, now bust has given them an excuse to steal from the locals. Some of them have found it is a dangerous place to steal things. Lead follows in some cases.