"Snake master" checks out ditch near Columbia neighborhood
Source: WIS-TV, Maggie Alexander
August 10, 2006 - A snake expert went down into a ditch by a snake-wary neighborhood to find out more about the creatures.
Steve Bennett is snake hunting. He hopes to find the creatures frightening residents in the area, which is near Piney Grove Road. He assures WIS' Maggie Alexander, "
They're more afraid of you than you are of them."
Earlier this week, the WIS cameras caught snakes slithering through the murky water after a heavy rain. People living on Newnham Drive in Columbia say the snakes are everywhere, even moving into their backyards. Roger Lorick told us, "
I came out one day, one was real aggressive and I had to kill him."
Some call Bennett the "
snake master." He's worked at the Department of Natural Resources for 26 years. He says the snakes WIS saw are non-venemous Midlands water snakes, "
The problem with these animals - they live in water, murky, muddy area and their patterns are often obscured by algae, mud, silt. It's difficult if you're not an expert at it." Bennett says these snakes can still bite. That's why these people want them out.
Bennett thinks cleaning up the ditch may help the problem, "
It looks pretty lush right now. If it were nothing but concrete, it would be less inviting to them." In the meantime, Bennett says neighbors should leave the snakes alone.
"Snake master" checks out ditch near Columbia neighborhood (Follow-Up)
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