Researchers discover hidden key to successfully hunting down Florida's invading snakes: 'Significantly increase removal efficiency'

Burmese pythons have taken over the Florida Everglades in just a few decades, but there is hope that the invasive species can be pulled back. A new study reveals how that might be done.

Published in Scientific Reports, the analysis of python removal data identified the optimal conditions and locations for increased removals, SciTechDaily reported.

"Their findings revealed regions where a small number of contractors were capturing a disproportionately high number of pythons, suggesting that deploying more contractors in these areas could significantly increase removal efficiency," the outlet stated.

The scientists from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences collaborated with contractors and the South Florida Water Management District Python Elimination Program, determining that warm temperatures improved python capture surveys, especially when they took place late at night and during the wet season.

The places where more pythons could be removed are the western edge of the Big Cypress National Preserve by the Tamiami Trail and Palm Beach County Stormwater Treatment Area 3/4.

The researchers recommended concentrating contractors — who are paid hourly by the state — in these areas from May to October as well as from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. and having them use aquatic vehicles. "A drop in barometric pressure from the previous day increases the likelihood of successful surveys," SciTechDaily added. On the other hand, nighttime surveys were less successful if the mean daily air temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

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The Sunshine State is so fed up with the creatures that it holds competitions in which people are rewarded for capturing and humanely killing them. In September, Ronald Kiger of Marion County won $10,000 in one of these events, having taken out 20 pythons over 10 days.

Since 2000, more than 22,000 of the reptiles have been eliminated from the state, though it's possible that their population numbers in the hundreds of thousands. This has devastated native wildlife, as raccoons and opossums declined by 99% from 2003 to 2011. Bobcats declined by 87.5%, while marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes "effectively disappeared," according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Burmese pythons, native to Southeast Asia, have no predators in Florida. They can live over 20 years, and females lay up to 100 eggs each year. They were introduced via the live pet trade and proliferated after Hurricane Andrew destroyed a breeding facility in 1992, per History.

To fight off the generalist eaters, the state is counting on everyone from a real estate agent-turned-python hunter to an eyeless dog nicknamed Helen Killer.