Nearly 2 dozen rattlesnakes removed from Mesa garage

PHOENIX — When a Mesa resident called for help to remove what he thought was three rattlesnakes from his garage, no one could have foreseen what would happen next.

Twenty rattlesnakes made up of five adults and 15 babies were found nestled in the corner of a garage within the home, according to Rattlesnake Solutions snake handler Marissa Mink, who responded to the call on Tuesday.

In a video recorded by Mink, the homeowner is heard saying he knew rattlesnakes had been in the corner for some time, but he tried waiting them out. Mink said they appeared to have entered the home through a hole located at the bottom of the garage door.

Mink used tongs to recover the western diamondbacks and place them into containers so she could relocate the snakes.

She also noted that the birth of the babies was likely the reason why the rattlesnakes didn’t leave sooner.

Due to the amount of snakeskin found at the home, there could have been more rattlesnakes that already left, Mink said.

The rattlesnakes were taken to a large desert area, where Mink discovered one of the five adults was still pregnant.

It was the most rattlesnakes recovered in a single call for the snake handler.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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