Snakes, including a copperhead, corralled by officers in, near Huntersville homes
Huntersville Animal Services officers caught and removed snakes in and around two homes on the same day this week, including a venomous copperhead.
The juvenile copperhead was tangled in landscape netting typically used to keep animals from a flower bed, Officer Brittany McManus told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday. The snake was outside a home in the 15510 block of Hugh Torance Parkway, she said.
The home is in the Wynfield Forest community, Google Maps shows.
A resident called police about the snake, but did not report the kind it was, McManus said.
“So two officers used double bite gloves and tools to secure the head while having to very carefully cut the snake out of the netting,” McManus said in an email reply to questions from the Observer. “Officers then carefully secured the snake’s head to prevent any accidental bites while giving it a thorough field exam to ensure no obvious life-threatening injuries were sustained from the netting.”
The officers freed the snake from the netting and released it into dense woods, she said.
Snake found in drywall, secured in a bucket
The non-venomous rat snake was reportedly found in drywall during a home remodel in the 7000 block of Lullwater Cove, McManus said. That’s off Bud Henderson Road near McDowell Creek, according to Google Maps.
“It was secured using a bucket until an animal control officer could respond out,” she said. “It was safely secured and released to nearby woods after a quick field evaluation to ensure no obvious injuries were present.”
How to report a snake in your home
Officers typically don’t respond to wildlife calls unless the animals pose a threat to the public or are sick or injured, McManus said.
If you find a snake in your home, call 311 to have an officer safely remove it, she said.
“It is strongly recommended to keep an eye on the snake so that it can be easily located and removed,” McManus said. “If a snake is outside, leave it be. Give wildlife space to exist in its natural habitat.”
We want to encourage people to find ways to safely coexist with wildlife, and to expect the uptick in the spring and fall, due to baby season and mating season.”