Snake Problems? Here Is What To Do And What Not To Do

BIRMINGHAM, AL - For the last few summers, the number of snake sightings in residential neighborhoods throughout Birmingham has seemed to have increased exponentially. While one may not be too surprised to find a snake in the woods, or in a lake, sightings in people's backyards and driveways have become more common in Birmingham. While many people can tell you a story about finding a snake in the yard, not quite as many can tell you what to do when you find a snake, and how to prevent more snakes from entering your property.

Chivon Morse, who is the wildlife curator for Ruffner Mountain Park in Birmingham, said while snakes can be startling, simply killing the snake one might find in the yard might not be the best action. She said all snakes can bite, though not all will, and often don't unless they feel threatened. "'Aggressive' is also a word we don't use often, but we will say that snakes can be 'aggressively defensive.' If you aren't close enough to bite, then you won't get bitten."

She said typically in the Birmingham area, only four types of venomous snakes can be found: the timber rattlesnake, pigmy rattlesnake, cottonmouth (or water moccasin) and copperhead. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Patch morning newsletter.)

"All snakes, venomous and non-venomous alike, play a vital role in a healthy ecosystem," Morse said. "They do an amazing job in helping keeping the rodent population down, which is extremely helpful especially in urban environments. Snakes consume the ticks and fleas and internal parasites from mammals and digest everything alike. For example, timber rattlesnakes especially are known to consume the host of the tick that carries lyme disease - the white-footed mouse."

Morse said determining which snakes are "dangerous" and which are not is a touchy subject with reptile educators, because there are no absolutes in nature. "I can tell you that venomous snakes have 'cat-eye' pupils, but that is only for North American pit vipers," Morse said. "The coral snake, found in south Alabama, is venomous and has round pupils, and I have seen the timber rattler in my collection at Ruffner go from slit pupils to round pupils on occasion. There are always exceptions to the rule, and a lot of us feel uncomfortable telling people how to identify venomous snakes - because if there is an exception to the rule, we could potentially put someone in danger. I think it's best to be familiar with local snakes in general using a good guide book."

Either way, Morse said the best advice she can give is to leave snakes alone. "Or, if they are in your yard and you have dogs or kids or whatever, standing a good distance away and giving them a squirt with the water hose to encourage them along their way seems to work alright," She said. "There are reptile handlers out there that can safely relocate venomous snakes, but it's not something I want to explain to someone without experience. Same goes for killing the snakes - to kill something you put yourself in proximity to get bit. There are incidences of people trying to shoot snakes and end up shooting themselves or a nearby person - especially if they shoot at the ground and the bullet ricochets." She added that if there is a real concern, Animal Control or a pest removal service might be the best bet.

She said there are ways to prevent snakes from coming into your property. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of dead snakes," she said. She noted three easy methods for snake prevention:

• Keep grass cut short. Snakes like to hide, and will not cross open and exposed areas if they can help it.
• Properly store outdoor equipment, tools, and playthings, and check thoroughly before using. Snakes like to hide. If you keep unused play equipment out, or lawn mowers, or even stacked wood, a snake might find a hiding place in them. Store things indoors when you can, wash thoroughly with a hose if possible, and carefully inspect play things such as sand boxes or play toys that are left outside before a child uses them. A clean and open area with no place to hide is not a favorite haunt of snakes.
• Keep food opportunities down. Snakes go where the food is. If you have a snake in your attic, it's probably because you have something they can eat up there. Calling pest control companies to help take care of rodent and squirrel issues in your house will also naturally keep snakes away. Avoid leaving pet food outdoors. Pet food attracts rodents, which then attracts snakes. Clean up underneath bird feeders for the same reason. *A warning though - avoid the use of rodent poison as much as possible. They don't always kill the rodents right away, and other predators, like snakes, hawks, owls, eagles, cats and etc, might eat them. To wildlife this is usually fatal.

Though Ruffner does not remove/retrieve/relocate snakes, Morse said they can identify them for people if they send an email with a picture of it. "A lot of the time what is deemed a dangerous snake is actually a harmless non-venomous snake,"She said. "But we encourage people not to handle any snake, just in case."

Photo: David McNew/Getty Images