The mystery surrounding whether a venomous snake is lurking through a Geneva family’s backyard has neighbors wondering when they can return to strolling through their yards with a peace of mind.
Rumors that the large snake spotted twice near a Revere House Lane home could be a venomous cottonmouth began circulating early Wednesday. A group of about five construction workers tending to the roof of the house spotted the snake in the yard, describing it as large, dark and having a bright white mouth, said Brad Lundsteen, owner of Suburban Wildlife Control.
For Lundsteen, the consistent description of the bright white mouth is what he found most alarming.
“Cottonmouths are the only ones that have a big, bright white mouth,” he said. “That’s what’s bugging me a bit.”
But the snake could just as easily be a large water snake, he said. Cottonmouths are typically found in the southeastern region of the U.S., from southern Virginia to Florida to eastern Texas, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park’s website.
The bite of a cottonmouth, which is considered a pit viper, can be severe or fatal. Bites are uncommon, though, as cottonmouths are not considered to be aggressive creatures, according to the National Zoo.
It’s also likely that the snake could be a former pet. Lundsteen said there are at least a dozen instances each year in which a pet owner will release a snake, such as a boa constrictor, into the wild. It’s also possible that the snake was transported from a southern state to Illinois by crawling into the hood of a car and then slithering out, he said.
Lundsteen spent most of Wednesday setting up a live snake trap between the yards of the houses where the snake was spotted. The trap is nestled at the bottom of two hills, a likely spot onto which the snake might slither. The snake would then glide along a small fence and into the trap, he said.
Snakes tend to prefer heat, so they’ll either slither along the foundation of a house or bask in the sun. With Wednesday’s overcast skies, Lundsteen said it’s unlikely the snake will come out.
He advises those living in the neighborhood to be cautious.
“I would still be cautious. It could be a snake that was transported, or a venomous pet that got scared or was let go, and all of a sudden it’s here in the wild,” he said. “Right now, we don’t know what it is.”
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