Hi Andrew,
I'm no herp expert, but I have some friends who are always out in the woods,
and they always wear tall boots. At least rattlers make a noise, water
moccasins do not. I know a lady in Carrollwood here, and her backyard is
infested with pygmy rattlers. She is careful, and has never been bit.
The "why didn't you kill it" mentality makes me cringe.
Scott