LAKE MARY, Fla. — With temperatures starting to warm back up in Central Florida, snakes are starting to become more and more visible.

For one Seminole County, couple a snake got a little too close.

  • 3-foot-long cottonmouth found in Lake Mary family's yard
  • Trapper says we can expect to see more snakes on the move now
  • Trapped snakes are turned over to Discovery Reptile Center

Sandi Brubaker’s husband was greeted by an unwanted visitor in the driveway Tuesday. A water moccasin, also known as a cottonmouth, that was a little over 3 feet long.

"I typically don’t get frightened by snakes, but that being said, we have not seen many in our yard," Sandi explained. "My kids play in the yard a lot, especially when they have friends over, so it is definitely a concern."

Sandi placed a call to professional wildlife removal expert Bob Cross, who has been capturing wildlife in Central Florida for decades. Cross and the Brubakers captured the snake, and were able to remove it from their yard with no one getting hurt.

“I was a little worried that the snake was going to come out unexpectedly and get one of us," Sandi said. "We all kept our distance and communicated well and thankfully Bob was able to retrieve it.”

According to Cross, with winter now behind us in Central Florida, you may start to see snakes more often than you’d like.

“Now that the weather is warming up, and the temperatures are rising to the 80s, and we are coming into the spring early, the snakes' metabolism is starting to pick up and they are on the move, looking for food,” Bob Cross said.

Also, if you are going to do yard work, pay close attention, because you’ll be working where they like to rest.

“They don’t want to lay out in the sun. They don’t want to lay out in the grass. They don’t want to lay in the drive way. They want to be in the shade under the bushes," Cross explained.

Cross said he does not kill the venomous snakes he catches. Instead, he donates them to the Discovery Reptile Center in DeLand, where he hopes the anti-venom they can make from the captured snakes can one day save the life of someone who is bitten.

If you see a venomous snake in your yard, here are 5 things to remember:

  1. Do not try to move or relocate them yourself.
  2. Call a professional wildlife removal expert.
  3. Snakes like to be in cool places like; shade, bushes, in the garage, or near water.
  4. If you are bitten, call 9-1-1 or get to the hospital immediately.
  5. If you are bitten by a venomous snake, find out where the nearest hospital that carries anti-venom is and go there. Not all hospitals carry anti-venom.