CAVE CREEK, Ariz. — Once the sun is up, it doesn't take long for the phone to start ringing at Rattlesnake Solutions. The catch and release snake removal company is busy all day every day.
"We were working in the yard and I looked down and saw a rattlesnake and ran for the hills," Carrie Olson of Cave Creek said.
This time of year, when the desert temperatures are cool before sunrise and then again at sunset, the snakes are on the prowl.
"It's the second time in a year. And we like to relocate them if we can," Olson said.
The Olson family lives in the 85331 zip code. That happens to be, according to Bryan Hughes of Rattlesnake Solutions, where the highest rate of rattlesnake encounters is in the U.S. "Lots of babies out there, lots of mother rattlesnakes out there, lots of male rattlesnakes looking for those mother rattlesnakes. so there is a ton of activity," Hughes said.
Hughes took the call to go to the Olson's home to remove a 3-foot-long western diamondback who had taken refuge in a lantana bush on the back porch.
Hughes says his company is receiving 30 snake removal calls a day.
"While we were doing this there were two other people running calls at opposite ends of town," Hughes said. "And I'm sure by the time I'm releasing this one I'm going to be getting called to my next one. And that's the pace it's going to be at all day."
In 2021, the Banner Poison and Drug Information Center reported it assisted with 80 rattlesnake bite cases in Maricopa County. Across the state, approximately 150 people are bitten by rattlesnakes each year. When Hughes and his team capture a snake, it's taken to a secluded area of the desert and released away from people and their pets.
Hughes expects rattlesnakes will be active through the second week of November. He says it's a good idea to keep your shoes on and if you're going outside, make sure you have a flashlight handy all the time and don't reach into places you can't see.
"It doesn't mean you have to be scared but be aware," Hughes said.
