See a rattlesnake? Call a firefighter

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Maricopa firefighters have been busy catching rattlesnakes this spring.

“The fire department does do rattlesnake removal,” Fire Chief Wade Brannon said Friday. Two of his firefighters were doing just that Thursday evening on West Sunland Drive by Pima Butte Elementary School.

“March and early April is our busy time of year,” Brannon said, adding his crews have been removing about one to two rattlesnakes weekly from yards the past month. “The majority of the calls are from homes near open fields and open washes.”

According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum website fewer than 1 percent of the people bitten in the U.S. by venomous snakes die. But that’s no reason to get friendly with snakes.

Desert Museum experts warn members of the public not to attempt to capture or kill a snake, and to remember rattlesnakes do not always rattle or coil before they strike.

Rattlesnakes can be active during the day in spring and fall and active at night during the warmest months.

The museum offers a how-to on the best equipment and method for removing snakes on its website, but If you see a rattlesnake moving through your yard as it migrates after its winter slumber, Brannon said to call 911.

More information on rattlesnakes is available on the Arizona Game and Fish Department website.