Wolf, Sonoma County Reptile Rescue director, stated that he found a rattlesnake under the Santa Rosa mountainside home. He then found another one. He crawled under the house and grabbed two buckets. Then he put on safety gloves and returned to his home. He crawled on his stomach, knees, and hands, tipping over 200 small stones.

Wolf stated Friday that he kept finding snakes for almost four hours. "I thought it was worthwhile, but it was not pleasant. You run into dirt and spider webs, and it smells awful and musty, and you get on your stomach and dirty. It was work.

The work was worth it. When he visited the Mayacamas Mountains home on Oct. 2, he used a 24-inch (60 cm) snake pole to remove 22 adult rattlesnakes as well as 59 babies. He returned two more times and found 11 more snakes. He also found a dead cat, and a dead possum.

He said that all the snakes were Northern Pacific rattlesnakes. This snake is the only one of its kind in Northern California.

Wolf has been rescuing snakes since 1982 and has been bit 13 times. He has responded to 17 county calls about snakes living under homes and has seen many snakes in one location in the wild, but never in a home.

He stated that he releases rattlesnakes into the wild when they are requested by ranchers for pest control.

Wolf stated that Wolf plans to return to his house before the end the month to check if there are any snakes.

He said, "We know that it's a densite already because of the babies and the number of females we found,"

Rattlesnakes hibernate between October and April. They look for warm places to hide and rocks to hide under, and they return year after year to the same spot. Wolf stated that the homeowners did not remove any rocks during construction, which made it an attractive spot for the reptiles.

He said that the snakes found the house to provide protection, but also the shelter from the cold winter.