Heat Causing Critters To Come Indoors

The summer's record heat is bringing more than just high temperatures to the Triangle.

It's bringing more snakes out of the ground as they search for relief from the heat.

"We get more snake calls as it heats up, usually people call us because the snakes are in the home," Critter Control operator Bob Jankowski said.

Jankowski says he was called to track down a venomous copperhead snake spotted outside a Cary home Wednesday night.

"They were having relatives come for the weekend, small children, pets and they were obviously afraid that one of their grandkids could be bitten, or the pets," he said.

Jankowski says he has received a lot of calls about the slithery reptiles recently.

"We are in our peak snake season. We usually get anywhere from four to eight snake calls a day right now," he said.

With record heat, Jankowski says they're looking for shade and water inside homes.

"They enter through the crawl space and come up through holes in the floor, or somebody leaves the door open. They're looking for a cool [place to] stabilize their body temperature," he said.

Not all snakes are venomous. In fact, the copperhead found in Cary is the only venomous snake Jankowski says you'll typically find in the Triangle.

"The important thing to remember is that snakes can disappear very quickly. So when people see snakes, we tell them to stand five to 10 feet from the snake and the snake will freeze," he said.

He says it is a way to make sure the snake stays put until it can be removed and to stay safe.

"When treated properly, they're not dangerous. You just don't want to step on them and you don't want to handle them," Jankowski said.

Credits: CARY (WTVD)