VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (WIAT) — As the weather warms up, people might start noticing more snakes out and about, especially copperheads and rat snakes in central Alabama.
“I would say early to mid-April until October/early November is about when you’re most likely to see a snake in Alabama,” Mark Hay, cofounder of Alabama Snake Removers, said.
Alabama Snake Removers said there are about 50 species of snakes that can be found across the state. In the Mountain Brook/Vestavia Hills area, copperheads and rat snakes are likely to be found, whereas down south near Foley and Mobile, coral snakes are more common. Some people say they’ve had personal run-ins with snakes before.
“I was at the dog park near the Piggly Wiggly and I saw a snake, I think it was a copperhead snake, and I got pretty close to it,” Vestavia Hills resident Robert Dillard said. “When I realized what it was, that it was a snake, I moved away as fast as possible.”
Alabama Snake Removers say if you run into a snake, leaving it alone is the best course of action.
“Nobody has ever been bitten by walking away from a snake,” Hay said. “If you start to intervene, if you feel like you need to catch the snake or dispatch the snake, unalive the snake, you’re putting yourself that much closer to the problem, if you consider snakes problems.”
Alabama Snake Removers said there are multiple ways to tell if a snake is venomous or not. For example, some venomous snakes have triangle shaped heads or cat-like eyes but those are not fool-proof signs. Alabama Snake Removers say snakes’ eyes can dilate and some non-venomous snakes can change their head shape to look like a triangle. If you find yourself bitten by a snake, Alabama Snake Removers say it’s in your best interest not to tourniquet the bite.
“Your body has a lot of antibodies and white blood cells and it’ll work at fighting off the venom once you’re, immediately once you’re bitten,” Hay said. “You need to be calm, no tourniquet, no ice, and come and get to the hospital.”
“For me, personally, I know they say there’s good snakes and bad snakes but I treat them all as bad and so that way, I guess I just kind of stay away from them,” Vestavia Hills resident Cliff Austin said. “I’m not terrified of them but I just stay away.”
Alabama Snake Removers say with a little education of snakes, it’s possible to alleviate the intense fear some people have.
“Whether they love them or not, people can move on from being terrified and can go out and enjoy the outdoors,” Hay said.
Alabama Snake Removers say there’s no guaranteed way to prevent snakes from coming in your yard but by keeping bushes and trees trimmed and fallen leaves off the ground, it reduces the chance snakes will make a home at your house.
