Snake Season In Alabama: What To Know

BIRMINGHAM, AL — As the weather gets warmer in Alabama, snake sightings are more plentiful. And while they are not cuddly or cute, snakes are vital to Alabama's ecosystem despite the stigma people may have about them.

Around this time each year, Birmingham area residents report on social media a snake sighting around their homes, usually with the question, "What kind of snake is this? Is it poisonous?"

Typically, a snake sighting in Birmingham results in the snake meeting an untimely death, because, safe is better than sorry, right?

According to Dan Self, Zoological Manager of Reptiles at the Birmingham Zoo, snake encounters do not have to end in the death of the snake or an injury to the person who spots the snake.

"There are a lot of 'tricks' or 'hacks' that people do and suggest, to differentiate dangerous snakes from harmless ones, but most of those 'tricks' are subjective, inaccurate, or require getting up-close to the animal," Self told Patch. "The best way to recognize a venomous snake is to become familiar with which species of venomous snakes are found in the area."

Self said 49 species of snakes can be found in Alabama, and only six species are venomous. Of those six, only four are found in the Birmingham area. "In comparison, there are 62 species of native mammals vs. 93 species of reptiles," Self added.

Copperheads, cottonmouths (water moccasin), pigmy rattlesnakes (also known as ground rattlers), and timber rattlesnakes (canebrake rattler) are all venomous snakes that can be found in the Birmingham area, Self said.

So, what should you do if you see a snake?

"Educate yourself and your children first, and if you encounter a snake, leave it alone," Self said. "You are much more likely to be bitten trying to kill or capture a snake. Studies show that over half of all snake bites in the United States result from people bothering the snake. If you find one on your property and are truly concerned, call a professional wildlife removal service."

The fact is that all snakes, venomous and non-venomous alike, play a vital role in a healthy ecosystem, namely 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.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a guide on how to identify different kinds of snakes.

Also, Ruffner Mountain in Birmingham has these suggestions in regard to 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.