LUBBOCK, Texas — As the temperatures start getting into those high 80s and 90s, people are not the only ones going to be out and about. The City of Lubbock Animal Services (LAS) told EverythingLubbock.com snake season is here, and it came a bit earlier than expected.
According to the Texas Health and Human Services most snakes in Texas are not venomous and on average 1 to 2 people in Texas die each year from a venomous snake bite. Luckily for the Michie family their visitor was not venomous, but the fear of it being so close to them was unsettling.
Flora Michie said, “the initial reactions that you would normally have when you see a snake is to be afraid of the unknown of what it is.”
The Michie family said they were in the process of moving homes, when she walked into her West Lubbock home garage on Saturday, and saw something move.
According to Flora, “I had gone out there Saturday morning early to turn off the garage light for the outside. And as I was approaching the door and was going to move some stuff around, I looked down and I saw it was kind of going underneath the lawnmower or part of the body was underneath the lawnmower. And the other part was out, and I was like, ‘that’s a snake.’”
The family quickly called LAS to help. Steven Greene, the director of LAS said snake season is here and they are expecting more calls.
Greene said, “They’ll be sunning themselves trying to get that body temperature back up and they get active. They haven’t eaten for a while. So they’re going to be out looking for rodents and whatever they can find to eat.”
Greene added they see different snakes here on the South Plains.
“There is a variety of snakes that are natural here in Lubbock,” Greene said. “We do see different varieties all the time. We have seen pockets of areas here in town where there are some rattlesnakes.”
And Greene said the best way to avoid attracting snakes near one’s property, is to, “Make sure you don’t have any rodent infestation. Try to keep track of your property. And if you notice a den or you notice a hole in the ground, you can have somebody come out and investigate that.”
