Spring Reappearance of Snakes Can Rattle Homeowners

Parents tempted to turn the backyard into an Easter egg hunting ground this weekend should be careful.

Nice weather, blooming flowers and budding trees aren’t the only things popping up this spring.

Snakes--both the venomous kind and their nonpoisonous brethren--are slithering back into yards, woodpiles and garages, much as they do every April.

“This is the time of year they’re waking up,” said Sandi Wells, spokeswoman for the Ventura County Fire Department, which fields 180 to 200 rattlesnake calls each year.

But don’t put too much stake in talk that El Nino is to blame for more snakes than usual, said county animal regulation officer Patrick Musone.

Sure there is more vegetation caused by heavy rains. But it takes the rodent and snake populations longer than one season to multiply in record numbers, Musone said.

Still, that doesn’t mean one should let little Johnny start sticking his hands in places where he can’t see them, colored egg or not.

“Nature has a way of sensing when food supplies are cut back, and when they are plentiful,” Musone said. “So there certainly aren’t going to be any fewer [snakes] out there.”

Southern Pacific rattlesnakes, the only venomous snake found in Ventura County and one of the most nonaggressive venomous snakes in the country, make their homes in the tall bushes along hillsides, canyons and barrancas. They eat rodents and are most active in the morning and evening.

The cold-blooded creatures spend much of the day basking in the sun or lurking beneath shady bushes and rocks, all part of a continuing effort to regulate body temperature.

But just because it is a sunny day doesn’t mean all the snakes are soaking in the rays on top of a warm rock. Some might get a little too warm and seek shade under a porch. Some might become thirsty and move toward a stream for a drink. Others might get hungry and wait in a woodpile for a mouse.

“In California on a sunny day, where can you expect to find snakes?” Musone asks. “Anywhere.”

Judy Lamothe, a park ranger at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said snakebites in the park are rare, but snakes are not.

She advises hikers who encounter rattlesnakes to avoid them, step around them or turn around and leave.

“People who disturb rattlesnakes seem to have the biggest problem,” she said. “People who provoke snakes have trouble with snakes.”

Though they have received several calls, so far this year, Ventura County fire officials report just one rattlesnake bite victim: a 21-month-old boy in the Lake Sherwood area who was bitten as he crawled across the family patio in January, a month when snakes traditionally are still hiding.

“It just shows that whenever it warms up, regardless of vegetation or the time of year, they’re going to be around,” Wells said.

The department has free brochures at all county fire stations that help residents identify venomous and nonpoisonous snakes.

Snake experts also recommend several ways of reducing the risk of encountering rattlers or attracting one into your back yard:

* Trim beneath bushes and trees, clearing a space of at least 1 to 2 feet from the ground; remove stacks of wood, junk or piles of plant trimmings to eliminate hiding places.

* Install rubber or wooden strips under garage doors and all entry doors to prevent snakes and the rodents they love to eat from coming indoors.

* Check the yard daily with a 6- to 8-foot pole by tapping or banging the ground ahead of you. Check the yard before letting kids play outdoors, and supervise them while they are out there. Pay heed to pets that behave as though they have spotted something.

* Leave nonvenomous snakes alone. They will help you rid your yard of rodents and keep the rattlesnakes from visiting your yard for food.

* Eliminate standing pools of water and repair leaky faucets.