EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE (Scottsdale, Arizona) 16 August 06 Rattlesnakes not unusual during monsoon (Mike Sakal)
Few things terrify like the sound of a rattlesnake’s tail or a glimpse of its venom-dripping fangs. And in the Sonoran Desert, it’s not unusual for a healthy, 4-foot western diamondback to slither into your backyard looking for a tasty rodent to eat.
This time of year in Scottsdale, it happens several times a day.
In just the last two weeks, the Scottsdale Fire Department has removed 70 snakes from residential areas, mostly rattlesnakes and harmless bull snakes, said Deputy Chief Garret Olson.
Snake activity increases in the spring, slows down during the hot summer months and goes back up during the humid monsoon, Olson said.
The city’s fire department, now in its second year, is still gaining experience dealing with the potentially dangerous critters. Since Jan. 1, Scottsdale firefighters have responded to nearly 1,000 emergency snake removal calls.
“It’s a cyclical thing,” Olson said. “Snake activity is a seasonal event. They lay low when it’s hot, and get out more when it’s cooler. If anyone encounters a snake and they’re not sure whether it’s poisonous or harmless, stay away from it.”
A rattlesnake bite can be a traumatic experience, involving painful hours being monitored by doctors at a hospital and possible injections of antivenin.
Snakes actually face more danger from human beings than the other way around. Urban sprawl in the desert means houses in snake habitats, and the snake is worse off in most encounters with humans.
But tell that to a newcomer from Iowa who sees her first rattlesnake in the kitchen. That’s when it’s time for a snake removal call.
Olson said that when the fire department responds to a snake call, they relocate it to a nearby wash or field. If a snake is relocated more than a mile from where it was found, it’ll die. Once a snake is removed from an area by a person, it won’t return to that area, Olson said.
The fire department’s responses have caused the Phoenix Herpetological Society’s hot line calls for snakes to decline, said Jerry Feldner, hot line coordinator for the society.
“The fire department is taking a lot of the calls we used to take,” Feldner said. Feldner also was quick to note that snakes are good for the environment and help keep the rodent population down. Last year, the herpetological society responded to 498 calls throughout the Valley to remove rattlesnakes and has been removing 60 to 70 snakes a month this summer, Feldner said.
Rattlesnakes not unusual during monsoon