OGDEN — This time of year is the one of the most common times to see rattlesnakes out and about, but one Ogden neighborhood has had its fair share of sightings already this week.
Solomon Critchlow was spending his Sunday jumping on his family's trampoline when he caught a glimpse of a rattler.
"i saw it halfway under the deck right over here," he recalled. "I jumped back and yelled snake!"
Because of where the snake was located underneath the windowsill, Solomon's mother, Harmony, knew they wouldn't be able to get the snake on their own.
"The DWR guy said to call him if the snake came back out. The snake came back out, I called the guy he came back and nabbed the snake," said Harmony.
It wasn't the Critchlow's or the neighborhood's first encounter with a rattlesnake.
"We have had a couple of rattlesnakes in our old yard when we lived a few houses up the street," Harmony said. "My cat actually got bit two years ago in our other yard. Our neighbors two houses up had a rattlesnake up in their driveway 3 or 4 days ago."
The Division of Wildlife Resources says it's not uncommon for people to see rattlesnakes in their yards in neighborhoods near the Utah foothills
"The most common areas you'll find rattlesnakes are some of these higher elevations, rocky slope type of areas," explained Faith Heaton Jolley with the DWR.
Jolley's advice to homeowners is to reduce places in yards that can provide rattlesnakes with shelter.
"That can include rock piles, wood piles, really heavy brush, maybe junk piles, another thing people don't think about is backyard chickens," she said.
Those who do see a rattlesnake in their yard should call professionals or a local DWR like Critchlow.
"Some people think if you see a rattlesnake you need to kill it, but that's the opposite of the truth," Jolley said. "They are protected, it could be a Class B misdemeanor if you kill a rattlesnake."
As more people and wildlife are out during the summer months, the DWR encourages everyone to review wildlife safety tips at Wild Aware Utah.
