Snakes Roam Oliver Courts Building In Richmond, Virginia:
Can You Imagine Sitting In Court And To See A Snake At Your Feet?
According to the News & Messenger Serving Prince William, Manassas & Manassas Park, Virginia, reported by Joe Macenka (Media General News Media), the Oliver Hill Courts Building is structurally sound, equipped with metal detectors and patrolled by a large contingent of armed Richmond sheriff’s deputies; even though, it is deemed safe and secure, it was invaded by snakes.
Did you know, these measures were not enough to prevent these unwanted visitors from gaining access to this structure. In the past month, four snakes have been found inside the courthouse…a first from a structure that opened in July 1996 in Shockoe Valley, near the Richmond City Jail and just northeast of the city’s main downtown business district.
Trish Muller, the chief operations officer for the courts building, which houses Richmond’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, indicated that a representative of a pest control company had made several visits to Oliver Hill since the first snake was discovered in the building. Muller stated, this is a juvenile court, that has small kids in the building, and if a snake is not poisonous or harmless, she doesn’t want a child to possibly play with it.
The four snakes were small, and there were no indications they were poisonous. Deputies killed two in the hallways, and a third, was found under a vending machine by a night janitor who also killed the snake. A fourth snake was captured in a glue cardboard trap, which was set out by Critter Control, a Richmond company , who was hired to search for snakes.
The snake caught in the glue trap near the buildings rear doors was an 16 to 18 inches long and Keith Copi, owner of the Critter Control company, released the snake from the trap with some oil, and he took it to his home and released it.
Copi indicated, a combination of factors probably led the snakes into the building because Oliver Hill sets near wooded tracts and in a low-lying area; also, heavy rains could have prompted the snakes to seek a higher, drier habitat. He also indicated, it’s a seasonal thing, it happens every year. Copi also indicated, the building is an extremely, extremely, tightly built building, but snakes don’t need much space at all to come inside.
Copi also indicated, they have placed nearly two dozen glue boards through out Oliver Hill’s five courtrooms, even though there were none found in these areas. The Critter Control company also went to the rear of the property to apply Snake-A-Way, a granular repellant that relies in part on sulfur to drive away snakes.
Muller also indicated, an e-mail was sent out to all courthouse employees to tell them about the snakes and the pest controls efforts. She also told them the snakes were not poisonous. She also indicated, we do not want anyone to be surprised by anything, we want them to get the correct facts straight from the chief operations officer for the courts building.