Slyapich has a gift for gab that matches his talent for trapping snakes. It’s one of the few short answers he gives. “Nope,” he answers after tossing a pillow cushion aside. The first question Slyapich often gets from people is, “Have you ever been bit?” Anywhere people can find contentment in the outdoors is a perfect place for a snake. He even pulls seat cushions off the lounge chairs. So, after he is finished beating the bushes, Slyapich heads to the backyard to look under the patio furniture. In other words, they like our comfortable backyards, patios, and homes as much as we do. Snakes, which regulate their body temperature by moving around, prefer the same environment humans enjoy-not too hot, not too cold. “And we are there,” Slyapich said after he takes a reading. Snakes prefer a temperature of 80 degrees. Bo holds out a temperature gun and aims it toward the ground. It’s a good day to go tromping around for rattlesnakes. The venom is a hemotoxin that can damage tissue and the circulatory system. If not treated quickly, Rattlesnake bites can be fatal. He politely explains to the homeowner how he may have to destroy some of the landscaping. Slyapich starts whacking wildly at the bushes with one of his grabbers. So, I gotta tromp around,” he tells the homeowner. Slyapich meets his client, a man, on his front lawn. Slyapich also carries tools of the trade, various “grabbers,” an essential for dispatching deadly vipers. He just hasn’t had time to release them into the wild yet. Some are empty, some filled with live rattlers and other snake species from the previous day’s haul. A homeowner spied a serpent near their garden hose. “We are going to Agoura Hills,” Slyapich said as he steers his bright red pickup truck onto the Ventura Freeway. Frightened homeowners call Slyapich to the rescue. In these conditions, momma rattlers birthed a bumper crop of babies that, now in adulthood, have slithered off the hot, dry hillsides onto cozy pool decks, lush lawns and patios. He said the invasion is because there was an abnormally wet winter two seasons ago. Professional snake wrangler Bo Slyapich is busier than ever. There are a number of steps homeowners can take to protect their property from a rattlesnake invasion.The rattlesnake population is burgeoning-and the “season” has lengthened-due to climate change.He has never been bit, despite wrangling thousands of snakes in his lifetime.Bo Slyapich is on call to rescue LA residents-including the rich and famous-from rattlesnakes.
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