SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It’s rattlesnake season, and local experts say they're seeing the Southern Pacific rattlesnake all over San Diego County.
Pat Brady and Mike Kellington with Rattlesnake Rescue just pulled one from a home in Poway. Kellington said it's one of the more irritable local species, but even then, he said they're unlikely to bite humans.
"Rattlesnakes have no aggression in them at all," Kellington said. "They want to freeze, flee, or hide, and then they will fight as a last resort.”
Kellington said rattlesnakes are the only venomous snakes in San Diego County, and all of them have a similar triangle-shaped head.
“If you're not paying attention and you put your hand somewhere you're not looking, that's where the bites are going to happen,” Kellington said.
If you spot one, Kellington recommends staying at least 10 feet away and moving all pets or kids indoors. There are plenty of local wranglers, including Rattlesnake Rescue, who come free of charge to remove it.
“I always ask people to stay with it as long as you can because if it moves and gets away and can’t be found, I leave and it stays,” Brady said.
Rattlesnake Rescue had 44 calls for snake removals this year, moving them away from homes into safer woodsy areas nearby. They see an uptick in encounters during the hotter months from March to October.
“We care about these creatures, we care about the environment, we also care about people, and our whole program is to mitigate the human snake conflict,” Kellington said.
The pair protecting humans and reptiles, as more rattlesnakes pop up throughout the county.
