Under the Hood: 2025 Brings Another Active Rattlesnake Season to Napa County
By Tim Carl
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The Spotlight
Welcome to Under the Hood, our exclusive Saturday series for Napa Valley Features paid subscribers. Today we explore why 2025 is shaping up to be one of the busiest rattlesnake seasons Napa County has seen in years.
We’re also diving into the latest data from our readers’ polls and providing insights from our economic dashboard, covering local Napa Valley, U.S. and global markets.
In addition, we feature "What We Are Reading," a section with a handpicked quotes from recent articles that provides a variety of viewpoints on issues important to our community and beyond.
“What We Are Reading” quotes of the day:
“Through targeted staffing and smart resource deployment, we’re strengthening Napa County’s resilience and readiness.” – from Anne Cottrell, in "Napa strikes US$64.6 million fire protection deal," The Drinks Business.
"The WAA [Water Availability Analysis] needs to be updated to provide accurate information so that potential impacts to groundwater and public trust resources can be properly evaluated." – from Planning, Building & Environmental Services staff presentation, in "Board of Supervisors presentation during vote to remand Castello di Amorosa’s expansion project to the Planning Commission," June 24, 2025.
"Your drinking water met all U.S. EPA and SWRCB [State Water Resources Control Board] standards in 2024." – from City of Napa Water Division, in "CCR 2024 Web Ready Version," City of Napa.
"Michael Galyen would consistently avoid signing a written promissory note after payment had been received." – from court documents, in "2 restaurants tied to Napa restaurateur close amid lawsuits, financial turmoil," The Press Democrat.
“Closing the entirety of its operations” – from Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing, in "Francis Ford Coppola Winery owner shutters production facility in latest Wine Country closure," San Francisco Chronicle.
Tre Posti (Sapango Inc.) in St. Helena officially filed a permanent closure notice with California’s WARN program, resulting in 130 job cuts at its location at 641 Main St, before indicating plans to reopen under a new company name the following day — with the number of former employees to be recalled still unknown. Source: California Employment Development Department WARN database
Advanced Pressure Technology filed a WARN notice for a permanent layoff of 88 employees at its Napa facility, effective July 26, 2025. (Source: California Employment Development Department WARN database).
“…sadly it keeps happening.” – from Mark Warren, in “Microsoft are reportedly laying off staff yet again, with ‘substantial cuts’ at Xbox,” Rock Paper Shotgun.
"The ebb in confidence reported by the Conference Board on Tuesday was across all age cohorts and nearly all income groups. It was also across the political spectrum, with the largest decline among Republicans." – from Reuters, in "US consumer confidence weakens on job market worries," June 24, 2025.
"While builder incentives may prevent a steep decline in new home sales, we see no real upside for sales in the months ahead given our forecast for mortgage rates to remain elevated and the labor market to soften," – from Nancy Vanden Houten, in "US home sales fall more than expected in May," Yahoo Finance.
“What is being proposed now will hurt businesses, and it will risk significant job loss.” – from Lisa Jacobson, in "Inside a Last-Ditch Battle to Save (or Kill) Clean-Energy Tax Credits," The New York Times.
“The 33‑year‑old’s upset win in New York signals a potential shift in city politics — and maybe beyond.” – from “8 Top Democrats on Zohran Mamdani’s Win and the Future of Big City Politics,” Politico
“When your cells are low on energy, AMPK kicks in to help them cope. And our results show that caffeine helps flip that switch.” – from Dr. Charalampos Rallis, in "Caffeine Gives Cells an Energy Boost Against Aging," Neuroscience News.
2025 Brings Another Active Rattlesnake Season to Napa County
By Tim Carl
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — At first glance, it's the truck — fire-red, spotless and emblazoned with “Rattlesnake” across the side in bold white letters. Then it’s the hat — a white cowboy classic, pulled low against the glare. By the time Len Ramirez steps out with his snake-hook pointing skyward, most people aren’t sure whether to take a picture or take a step back.
I’ve known and worked with Ramirez for nearly 20 years — photographing him in the field, following him into backyards, vineyards and wildland edges, and even calling him for help when I managed a vineyard and needed snakes safely removed. Whether handling a solo rattler or educating a nervous homeowner, he strikes the same balance: part educator, part showman, always in control.
“It’s been one of the busiest starts to the season I can remember — and it’s only June,” Ramirez said, pausing beside his truck on a rural road in Napa County. “The calls started coming in early this year.”
Ramirez has worked with rattlesnakes for more than 35 years. As the founder of Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal, he operates one of California’s only licensed, bonded and insured snake-removal services. On call from February through October, he responds to homes, vineyards, fire stations, public parks — anywhere a rattlesnake isn’t supposed to be. He estimates he relocates more than 1,200 snakes each year.
His reputation is built not just on experience, but on how he handles his work: calm, methodical and always humane. “I don’t kill them. I move them,” he said. “They have a role out here.”
Ramirez’s fascination with snakes began as a teenager in the East Bay hills. His family lived in Cupertino. His mother wrote fiction. His father taught biology at De Anza College. By the time he was in high school, Ramirez was keeping a five-foot boa constrictor as a pet and watching episodes of “Wild Kingdom.” In 1985, he famously evacuated that same boa — wrapped around his neck — while escaping a fast-moving brush fire on his mountain bike.
He smiles at the memory. “That’s when I realized, yeah, this is probably what I’m meant to do.”
He spent years juggling careers: part-time reptile wrangler, part-time tennis pro. Eventually, the snake work won out. Since then, he’s been featured on National Geographic, Animal Planet and in more local news pieces than he can remember.
Why So Many Snakes This Year?
This year’s surge follows a familiar pattern. A wet winter fed a boom in plant growth, which fed a boom in rodents, which led to more rattlesnakes.
“We started cool, then warm, then cold again,” he said. “But now the heat’s here — and so are the snakes.”
Ramirez gets calls from across California, but Napa Valley is one of his busiest zones.
“It’s ideal habitat,” he said. “Oak woodlands, vineyards, backyards — lots of edge zones, lots of cover.”
Rattlesnakes are ectothermic. They regulate body temperature using external sources. When the weather shifts quickly from cool to warm, they become highly active, especially in transition areas where sun meets shade.