Night driving is the single most productive way to find snakes in the southwestern deserts, and can also be effective in the South and Southeast. It involves driving slowly on lightly traveled (usually paved) roads that traverse through good habitat after the sun has set, and watching for snakes laying on or crossing the road, illuminated in the glare of the headlights. The reason that this method is so effective in the desert is because most of the snakes are nocturnal, due to extremely hot temperatures much of the year. Another reason for night driving's effectiveness is that snakes often find the warm heat retaining surface of the road appealing and lay flat on the asphalt absorbing the warmth.
As I mentioned earlier, snakes are very selective about when they move. Many factors play a role and if just one factor is off you may not find snakes. I have found most snakes to be most active when temperatures are between about seventy and eighty degrees. Humidity also plays a huge role. If it is too dry snakes typically won't move. An oncoming storm which raises the humidity and decreases the barometric pressure will often result in a large amount of snake activity. Some of the best nights are a day or two after a large rainfall, when the air is still humid. Windy nights associated with low pressure systems are best. This is why night driving is most effective during and after the monsoon season for southwestern deserts. The moon also plays a large role in activity. A full moon can greatly decrease snake activity, as can wind. However, there are exceptions to these rules. Sometimes snakes can be out in abundance during a full moon or on a hot, dry night. That's the way it goes with night driving; it's hard to tell exactly what makes snakes move some nights and be completely absent others, however, usually one can make a fairly educated guess. In certain areas when all the conditions are right, it's possible to see thirty or forty snakes of ten to fifteen different species, in just a few hours.
One piece of equipment that has been a lifesaver to me when night driving is a portable temperature and humidity gauge which can be cheaply purchased at an electronics store. By simply taking note of the temperature, humidity, and moon phase I am usually fairly accurate in my assessment as to whether snakes will be out that night.
You will also definitely want a good pair of snake tongs, which can be used to quickly move venomous species off the road so that they don't get hit by oncoming traffic.
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