Local snake expert Joseph Banashek has tagged nearly four times the number of Mojave Green rattlesnakes so far this season than he tracked throughout all of last year.
Banashek counted 17 rattlesnakes in 2009. With the generous rainfall and bounty of insects and lizards last season, he’d found 36 along a stretch of road in Adelanto by this May. As of late June, that count has risen to 61.
Banashek has also noted 11 non-venemous snakes this year.
Law enforcement and Animal Control officials have responded to several calls from residents where snakes have been reported near or even inside homes in the last month. However, Banashek said most bites occur when people try to pick snakes up rather than from accidental encounters.
With that in mind, residents may want to remember these safety tips: Snakes will not usually bite unless cornered, handled or stepped on, so it is best to alert snakes to your presence in an area by making noise, causing them to move or make sound and reveal their location. One should also retreat quickly and quietly from a snake to avoid making it feel threatened.