Philadelphia, guns, and crime

Howard Nemerov has this to say. With regards the previous post -- desert dwellers eradicate rattlers. Other reptiles are welcome (they tend to control the packrats, for one thing). Had to swerve to dodge a Gila Monster the other day (only the second one I’ve ever seen). Last week I killed a rattler -- INSIDE the house. UPDATE: the room he got into was a studio, where the door is often open, so he probably just slithered on in. No pics, since he was way behind some stuff, with only a bit of tail visible. I couldn’t whack him, nor open fire without destroying stuff I wanted, and probably leaving birdshot ricocheting all over. Force to improvise, I sprayed insecticide in and, when he stuck his head up, gave him a good shot. I then left because there is a limit to my indiscretion. Next day, no sign, figured he departed. Two days later noticed an unpleasant smell, and my nose led to me to the body. Uh... not a sight worth of photos.