Warmer weather brings snakes out

The days are getting longer and warmer and it might be a good time to start thinking about snakes. Yikes!

Our slithering friends will be warming up and soon out on their quest for food and friendship. Prevention is the name of the game if you want to have the best chance of avoiding some unfriendly encounters.

Snakes love tall grass and weeds so keeping these trimmed (or removed) and less enticing for hiding is a great start. Store lumber and wood piles at least 2 feet off the ground and keep compost and mulch piles away from any structures.

Take measures to keep mice and insect populations low along with removing bird seed, berries and nuts that have fallen from trees to eliminate a food source for their food sources. Seal up cracks and holes in the foundation of any buildings and install screens on chimney, vents and other places snakes can enter.

There are many snake repellents on the market and home remedies people employ to repel snakes although experts seem to believe they are ineffective. Tools for "urging" them to relocate can be kept on hand: traps, brooms, pool skimmers and they have been known to move quickly away from a steady stream of water from the hose.

Animal control will assist in relocating our venomous friends when they venture too close.

Now, let's see what's been happening around town.

Feb. 11. Civil: A man comes into the station wanting to know how to collect replacement costs for his glasses after a neighbor hit them with a garden hose at 7:24 a.m. in the 1000 block of Arizona St.

Animal: The neighbor calls after hours of listening to a dog in the garage next door at 10:24 p.m. in the 400 block of Aaron Way.

Thought for the day: The dog-watching favor will be reconsidered next time and the dog moved inside for now.

Feb. 12. Animal: The caller wants the neighbors to stop being so neighborly and removing their dogs from their yard for safekeeping at 5:45 a.m. in the 700 block of Capri Drive.

Suspicious: A person has gotten locked in the bathroom and can't get out. The officer is able to free the person, who appears to be very intoxicated at 11:39 a.m. in the 900 block of Utah Street.

Thought for the day: The "neighborly" neighbor is served with a trespass warning a little later in the day as a furtherance of boundaries.

Feb. 13. Noise: A call comes in complaining of drilling and sawing, but the neighbor explains they are just trying to get the garage door open at 12:21 a.m. in the 500 block of Avenue M.

Suspicious: The caller reports a man in a yellow safety vest with a white mask sporting a black mustache at 8:45 a.m. in the 1000 block of Nevada Highway.

Thought for the day: I can't tell you the last time I had to use a saw to get my garage door open.

Feb. 14. DUI: Field sobriety tests and a blood draw turn a fun night into an expensive experience at 1:34 a.m. in the area of Lake Mountain Drive and Greenway Lane.

Suspicious: Police counsel a person about crawling inside the donation bin and removing donated items. This is committing theft and is prosecutable at 11:43 a.m. in the 800 block of Buchanan Boulevard.

Thought for the day: Donated items belong to the agency they have been given to.

Feb. 15. Collision: Officers receive a report of a vehicle that burst out of the desert and hit the caller's truck at 12:14 a.m. in the 100 block of Wyoming Street.

Suspicious: The caller finds an unregistered black Mercedes parked with the driver sleeping and the passenger appears to be doing something on a phone at 6:36 a.m. in the area of Royal Birkdale Drive and Buchanan Boulevard.

Thought for the day: Perhaps Boulder City wasn't the best place to drive with an unregistered vehicle, suspended driver's license and an unlicensed passenger?

Feb. 16. Collision: Officers receive a report that a vehicle just hit a brick wall and fled the scene at 4:09 a.m. in the area of Sandra Drive and Shirley Lane.

Suspicious: The caller is concerned that a floor mat is outside a young girl's bedroom window and she has been going in and out at 11:11 a.m. in the 800 block of Avenue B.

Thought for the day: I guess it's easier to let the kid go in and out the window than call the landlord to fix the broken door.

Feb. 17. Theft: The caller states her son finally admitted to having his bike taken a week earlier when he forgot to lock it up at 3:15 p.m. in the 600 block at Avenue M.

Suspicious: The caller says her neighbor's garage door has been open all day and she knows he is not home. However, when he gets home he also is surprised and wants officers to check the residence at 7:27 p.m. in the 100 block of Lighthouse Drive.

Thought for the day: Mom is happy to have the bike back but undecided if she'll torture the son and have him do chores to earn the cost of replacement as a lesson.

Call of the week: Collision: A member of a motorcycle "club" crashes his bike in the parking lot and heads inside for a meal. Now that's hungry at 12:37 p.m. on Feb. 12 in the 1600 block of Nevada Highway.

Tina Ransom is a dispatcher with Boulder City Police Department. She is coordinator of the Boulder City Citizen's Academy.