Hurricane Harvey: Houston Floods Dredge Up Alligators, Snakes, Fire Ants

MEYERLAND, TX — As if swamped homes and automobiles, streets that have become rushing rivers and the potential of up to 50 inches of rain over the next week aren’t nightmarish enough for Texans along the Hurricane Harvey-battered Gulf Coast, the storm is dredging up some creatures — alligators, snakes and fire ants, to name a few — they would rather remain hidden in the city’s bayous.

But these reptiles and insects are just like humans and are trying to survive an unprecedented flood event by crawling, slithering and, in the case of the fire ants, forming a living flotilla to reach higher ground. Houston emergency officials warned residents to stay out of the rising swamp because of the potentially deadly hazards lurking unseen in the dirty water.

It’s going to get worse in Houston before it gets better. National Weather Service forecasters say the flood waters that have trapped residents on rooftops and killed at least five are “beyond anything” recorded in history. (For updates on Tropical Storm Harvey and other news around Meyerland, sign up for the Meyerland Patch newsletter and real-time news alerts. To subscribe for another Texas Patch newsletter, find your Patch here.)

Top 5 Most Devastating Hurricanes To Hit The U.S.

The Houston Gator Squad, a nonprofit group that removes nuisance alligators from places they shouldn’t be, made its first Harvey-related alligator retrieval Saturday in Meyerland but is gearing up for what is expected to be a busy week of alligator catching.

“Alligators that show up on your property during flooding and heavy rain are not seeking you out for food or trying to be aggressive,” the nonprofit wrote in a Facebook post. “They are trying to deal with the weather like the rest of us.”

See Also: Hurricane Harvey: Houston Flooding Kills 5, ‘Beyond Anything’ In History

The alligator found in a driveway in Meyerland was a 5-foot male that will likely be relocated to an alligator farm south of Houston, Christy Kroboth of the Gator Squad told the Houston Chronicle. The Fox News affiliate in Houston posted video of the errant alligator capture on video.

Fire ants cling together and form a living flotilla to survive floods, according to the Texas Cooperative Extension Service. Once the fire ants — which are impossible to drown — make it to dry ground or a tree, rock or other dry object, they leave the water. Floating fire ant colonies can include as many as 500,000 fire ants.

Fire ant bites are closer to stings, and a single sting can produce symptoms of anaphylaxis in just a few minutes among people who are allergic to their venom.

The storm is also dredging up snakes in the greater Houston area, where about 34 species are found, according to the Houston Zoo. Of those snakes, six species are venomous, including three species of rattlesnakes, the Texas coral snake, the southern copperhead and the western cottonmouth, better known as a water moccasin.

When it comes to alligators, though, the stories about how prolific they are in the flood waters may be worse than the creature’s bite.

While the threat of alligators is real, Kroboth says people are unnecessarily stirring up panic. On Facebook, she said photos circulating on social media are not only old photos but also copyright infringements.

And in some cases, the intruder isn’t an alligator at all. Texas wildlife officials referred Kroboth after getting a call from a frantic resident who reported an alligator at the door. It was only a small lizard, though. Kroboth, who joked later with wildlife officials about the case of mistaken identification, once found an opossum after answering a call about an alligator with a “long tail and sharp teeth.”

Florida is better known for alligators, but Texas has about 400,000 of the reptiles, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife. They live mainly in wetland habitats in east Texas and only grow to about 6 feet long.

Below, like Meyerland Patch on Facebook.

File photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images News/Getty Images