There aren’t a lot of people who would be happy to find an unwanted snake in their home or yard, but there is an Alabama group that would be happy to help remove it.

Frankie Ferguson and Mark Hay founded Alabama Snake Removers, a volunteer organization that helps relocate all species of snakes throughout the state, in 2013. Ferguson said their motivation for offering the service was pretty simple — they wanted to stop snakes from being killed.

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“I was already getting calls before we started Alabama Snake Removers,” said Ferguson. “So me and Mark [Hay] decided we’d try to keep people from killing the snakes and help people relocate them instead because most of them are harmless.”

Ferguson said since the group, which has around eight volunteers spread throughout the state and more than 11,000 followers on Facebook, was created, they’ve helped remove and relocate hundreds of snakes, with the Dekay’s Brown Snake and Gray Rat Snake being the most common.

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While many people acquire a fear of snakes from an early age, Ferguson and Hay have loved them since they were young, and Ferguson said they’re committed to helping snakes, and the people who fear them in the process.

“Mark and I have had a passion for snakes ever since we were kids,” said Ferguson. “We became friends around 12, and we were catching snakes and keeping snakes then. I’ve caught thousands, and I’ve never seen one that just wanted to attack you. There are just a lot of folklore associated with them here in Alabama that’s not true.”

That said, not all of the calls received by the organization are for harmless snakes. Snake removal is a dangerous job, which is why Ferguson said volunteers must have experience with snakes and understand proper snake handling prior to responding to calls, especially since volunteers might not know what kind of snake — or how many — they’re dealing with until they arrive.

“Last year, Mark [Hay] did a removal where there was a child’s play area and they saw a snake,” said Ferguson. “It turned out there was five or six copperheads all around the area. [The caller] didn’t see but one at the time, so sometimes we get into more than we think we are.”

That said, Ferguson feels that regardless of what kind of snake it is, it’s important to understand that they all serve a purpose and in the majority of cases, relocation is the better option.

“The biggest misconception with snakes is that they’re all bad and the only good one is a dead one,” said Ferguson. “They’re very beneficial to the eco-system. They’re a large eliminator of ticks, fleas and diseases that rodents can carry, and there’s a lot of medical benefits. They’re not just here as a nuisance.”

So if you find yourself in the presence of a snake, and would rather not be, you can reach out to Alabama Snake Removers for assistance. Ferguson said the best way to make contact is by sending a message to their Facebook page. In most cases, all the organization charges for the service is a small relocation fee to cover the price of gas for the volunteer.