FGCU researchers want to help you with rattlesnake removal

Rattlesnakes are common in a lot of Florida neighborhoods, but when they come too close for comfort, getting rid of one could cost you hundreds.

The animal control team, a group of faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students at FGCU, relocate rattlesnakes in the area. While most of us are trying to avoid them, this team is seeking them out.

The distinctive rattle is a sound you don’t want to hear and it is a snake you don’t want to see, but Matt Metcalf with Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) studies and tracks diamondback rattlesnakes.

“Their breeding season actually runs from mid-October to March, April. So, they’re a lot more active throughout the next 6 or 7 months,” said Metcalf.

And very soon, if it’s a baby rattlesnake, Metcalf says you are more likely to come across it. “They don’t really know where they’re going so a lot of times they do end up in people’s driveways, or like in apartment complexes or run into human encounters that way.”

He along with the animal control team at FGCU study rattlesnakes.

Samantha Troast, a graduate student at FGCU said, “if we get calls about snakes we’ll come help and remove them to conservation areas.”

“We’re looking at how these organisms move across a landscape, what time of year are they moving into certain areas, are they utilizing our wetland areas, are they utilizing the upland areas. Lots of different things with that, we’re also doing some work with the genetics so we’re taking scale samples from the belly of the snake,” said Metcalf.

While most of us would run away if we saw one, this team would run towards it.

“We don’t understand, we just assume a lot about how these species behave but we don’t really know much. So, getting actual answers for what assumptions we have is really cool,” said Troast.

Over the last 50 years, Metcalf said there has been a decline in the rattlesnake population, so they would rather you call their team than take matters into your own hands. “Usually when that call comes in I’ll ask them to send me a photo just to confirm what it is. If it is a venomous snake, because there are health hazards that go along with that not only for people and their pets but also for the animal, we try to take the time to get out there and safely remove that animal.”

And they’ll do it free of charge.

“I would say we usually get a call once or twice maybe a week or every other week for rattlesnakes,” said Metcalf.

Metcalf and officials with the Florida Wildlife Commission told WINK News these snakes are not aggressive and will typically not bother you if you don’t bother them.

If you see a rattlesnake and want Metcalf and the animal control team to relocate it, you can send them an email at swflrattlesnakes@gmail.com. They ask that you make sure you include a picture of the snake in your email.