NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) - A wildlife removal expert captured a monster rattle snake beneath a home near the old Six Flags in New Orleans East.
Ryan Cook, who operates Gulf Coast Wildlife removal, said he got the call to after homeowners spotted the canebrake rattlesnake earlier this week.
“This thing gets out from underneath the deck and it's pretty much the biggest rattlesnake, the biggest snake I've seen in Louisiana. Anything over 5 feet with a rattlesnake is considered a monster. This one was 5 foot 8 inches and has 13 rattles on it, so it's been around a good long time,” Cook said.
Cook said it’s not the first time he’s heard of rattlesnakes in the area.
“I've been hearing of a lot more rattlesnake activity in the New Orleans East area. I believe especially around the Six Flags area because it's so overgrown. No one's really doing anything to knock the numbers down, so you're starting to see more and more of these guys showing up in residential neighborhoods,” Cook said.
Cook said as the summer months heat up, there’s a chance for more snake sightings, so homeowners should take special care to make sure their yards don’t have a reptilian welcome mat.
“Try and keep the yard clean, keep a bunch of debris and stuff out of the yard, keep yards cut, don't have ice chests and different things laying around the yard where these guys can get under and turn it into a home,” Cook said.
Copyright 2017 WVUE. All rights reserved.
