Spring woman helps neighborhood by catching and releasing snakes after floods

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The recent floods have affected a lot of wildlife, temporarily displacing them from their natural habitat. From armadillos to snakes, homeowners say these critters are getting a little too close to home. But one woman in Spring is making a name for herself by rescuing them, one reptile at a time.

Dustin Wenzel was a bit surprised after discovering an unwanted visitor in his garage.

"I was just trying to come out and get some stuff this morning, and saw a 5, 6 foot snake in there" Wenzel told us.

So he reached out to "The Snake Lady," Riki Treadway.

Wenzel said "I thought I'd call her. She's the snake expert around here. She's well known for it too."

Within minutes, Treadway located this non-venomous rat snake hiding behind the children's Radio Flyer red wagon.

I was captured, to be released back into its natural habit.

"I started doing this about a year ago," Riki Treadway explained.

This isn't something anyone can do. Treadway has the knowledge and proper licensing from the state of Texas, which allows her to catch, transport and release these animals back into the wild. She says it's been a busy week.

"With all the flooding that we had recently, this area over here was under water just a day ago" Treadway said. "And even water snakes need to get to dryer ground because they don't live in the water. So they're going to want to go up toward the houses that aren't covered in water."

Treadway encourages everyone to call an expert if you find a snake on your property. She says not to handle it yourself, especially if you're not sure if it's venomous or not. It's a service she's happy to provide.

Treadway said, "It's a completely free service. I've never requested any payment for anything. I never expect donations. They are accepted just because it does get expensive, if I have to take the hour long drive further south to pick up snakes, I also have to pay for my own licensing because you can't just pick up a snake and take it somewhere."

As for Wenzel, he's happy he made the right call.

"So much more easier than I would have done it. Would have taken about 20 minutes just to figure out what to do," Wenzel said.