Midwest Gloves 40"L Heavy-Duty Snake Handling Tongs, Blue, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, 2.25" Wide Grip, 40"L

I was quite skeptical of the design when I saw this initially. However, after reading reviews here and on other websites, I figured I should try this out.The body is lightweight and quite durable. The grips are very responsive and take very little effort. The tongs are rubber coated with a wide flat design, giving the user and a snake a comfortable experience for humane handling. I used this even to pick up things that were hard to reach or even things I didn't want to touch with my bare hands, such as frogs and mice.I have this handy around the garden and pool for those times when I need this the most.Look no further, this is as good as it gets.Highly recommend.

I got this to mount on my kayak both to remove unwanted snakes and to catch those I wanted to keep. In that role it's functioned admirably but I use it more often just around the yard to remove rattlesnakes from my domicile. They grow up to 6' long hereabouts and this length works fine for them.

Highly recommended for desert dwellers.We have long lived in snake territory in California, New Mexico, and Arizona. We always used various spontaneous tools to remove them from areas too close to our habitations (shovels, brooms, long sticks, and my husband's quick hands.) When we moved to rural Arizona I researched snake tongs as a safer tool for us to move the ubiquitous rattlesnakes without injuring them. Gentle Giant tongs were well-reviewed at the time. However, I thought they were awfully expensive and so I didn't buy.Well, last month I spotted the first big rattler of this spring, sunning next to the front door after an obvious recent rat-meal. My husband tried to pick him up with a rake and a broom I had at hand, but this critter was a twisty, drapey four feet of non-cooperation. He finally got the snake where he could pick it up behind the head and carried it out over the hill. That did it for me: between fear of him being struck and dismay over the possibility of harming a very beneficial (if inconvenient) animal, it was time to order tongs.The Gentle Giant tongs are quite functional. Construction is pretty strong. The gripping mechanism operates smoothly. The wide top jaw looks like it would clutch the snake firmly but spread out the force a bit. I got the 40-inch length (the farther from the snake, the better, I say) but my husband thinks the shorter tong would be better, because extending the weight out that far means he has to reach down the shaft anyway to steady the whole thing in action.So day before yesterday, sure enough, Rattlesnake #2 poked his head up in the same spot. This time the tongs came out, the snake was summarily "tonged" and exported over the hill with far less drama and -- I hope -- zero trauma. This was a good purchase.