Experts share ways to avoid unwanted visitors during snake season

Averie Klonowski
·2 min read
5

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – It’s the time of year for Texans to meet unwanted scaly visitors on their doorsteps. Texas A&M University experts explained that snake season runs from mid to late Spring.

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“Right now, we’re in the heat of the breeding season for a lot of snakes here in East Texas,” Shawn McCreight, Critter Control wildlife removal expert, said.

Experts shared that East Texas has about 45 snake species, and only a few pose harm.

“Coral snake, the rattlesnake, the cottonmouth, and the copperhead,” said McCreight.

Dr. Toby Hibbitts, a Texas A&M researcher and scientist with the Natural Resources Institute and curator of amphibians and reptiles at the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collection at the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology weighed in on the matter. He explained that, while many home remedies shared on social media are not backed by studies, there are steps you can take right now to prevent unwanted serpentine guests.

“Just make it as less inviting for snakes as possible so, keep it really clean, keep it really manicured,” Hibbitts said.

Keeping snakes away can be as simple as keeping your grass cut at a short length.

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“To prevent them on your property you want to keep debris, piles of logs, sticks, brush, you want to keep that really cleaned up,” said McCreight.

Experts recommend avoiding places that rodents would be drawn to, which in turn attracts predators.

“If there are places with low hanging vegetation, or ground cover, or that sort of thing that snakes can either get under,” said Hibbitts.

If you do run into a snake, don’t bother it, and do not try to catch it.

“The best thing to do is to just leave it alone, observe it until it leaves,” McCreight said.

It’s all about being aware as these reptiles are out and about.

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