PHOENIX — Rachel Caruso just got back to her Ahwatukee home from the grocery when she got a terrifying surprise.
She left the garage door open for about an hour after bringing the groceries in. She closed the garage just before going to bed not knowing a visitor had made its way in.
Let’s just say she didn’t need coffee to wake up the next morning.
“Paying attention to my phone, walking out to the garage, took two steps out and heard the rattle and there was a rattlesnake directly at my feet,” said Rachel Caruso.
She had nearly stepped on the large rattlesnake. Rachel caught the encounter on phone video. The snake is coiled up rattling in a self-defense manner.
As the temperatures warm up, the snakes come out.
Russ Johnson with the Phoenix Herpetological Society says this time of year he can receive more than a dozen calls a day about snakes at homes.
“The snake crosses along the side of the house and comes to where the garage door is and goes in and doesn’t know the difference between in and out,” Russ Johnson said. “If a rattlesnake is rattling, all you need to do is take one step back and you’re out of trouble.”
One of Rachel’s neighbors was able to sweep the snake out of the garage with a long broom.
“The thing was gigantic,” said Caruso.
Rachel Caruso loves watching wild animals outside the backyard and has respect for their habitat.
“We’re lucky. We have to respect their boundaries,” said Caruso.
Caruso says she’ll keep an extra eye open and listen for the rattle that could be just around the corner.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.