Hot Weather Brings Out More Snakes

Thousand Oaks resident Jennifer Moreno walked onto her back porch last week to find her 5-year-old son playing with a new friend--a four-foot-long rattlesnake.

“It was all coiled up and ready to strike,” Moreno said about the venomous snake that was sitting an arm’s distance away from her son.

“I told him to back away very slowly, then rushed him into the house,” Moreno said. “My next door neighbor came over and chopped its head off with a shovel.”

The number of snake calls reported in Ventura County has more than doubled in recent weeks as the reptiles seek shelter in residential areas from the unseasonably hot weather, animal control officers reported.

“We usually get about one or two calls a week, but now we’re getting about 15,” said Mia Frost, chief of operations at the county’s Animal Regulation Department in Camarillo. “I expect there’s going to be even more in the next couple of weeks.”

The snake season, which usually begins in May, started a little early this year because of the heat, Frost said. “They stay put when it’s cold, but they move around more in the summer looking for cooler places to sleep, “ she said.

Most snake reports are coming from residences located on the outskirts of cities, at the base of hills or near large fields, Frost said, but some snakes are being spotted in the heart of cities as well.

There are more snakes hatching this time of year, she said, and baby rattlers are just as venomous but have less distinct markings than adult ones. People should not reach into dark crevices or corners and hikers especially should watch where they are stepping, she warned.

In addition to rattlesnakes, which is the only poisonous snake found in Ventura County, animal control officers have picked up king and gopher snakes from garages, back porches and other areas.

“If you hear a rattle, you’re better off calling us,” Animal Control Officer Pat Bryan said. “We know how to handle the situation and we are equipped to do it.”

Wearing thick leather gloves and knee-high boots to protect against snake bites, Bryan uses a three-foot “snake pole” to grab the rattler’s head from behind. He carries the snake away from people and decapitates it with a shovel.

While it’s up to the individual officer whether to destroy a snake or relocate it, Bryan immediately kills any rattlers that he encounters. Nonpoisonous snakes are relocated away from residential areas. “It’s not like they’re an endangered species,” he said. “They multiply like rabbits this time of year, and one less snake means one less bite.”