Cliff Cline moved into his home on East 33rd Street last fall.
This spring he noticed the vegetation behind his backyard fence growing at an alarming rate.
It was soon after when he began spotting snakes on a regular basis in his backyard. His concern began to grow as quickly as the weeds.
"I got a granddaughter that likes to play back here in the backyard and I don't even safe with her," he said. "I have two small poodles."
Cline said he's killed at least three snakes in recent days and believes they're all coming from the unkempt weeds behind his fence -- property owned by Kansas City Southern.
"We can't let our yards be this way or the city of Independence will get on us," he said. "But yet the railroad is getting a free pass on this and I don't understand that."
Cline said he and his neighbors have complained to the railroad company several times to no avail.
"I even told them if they would come in and just clear it out one time, that I would actually pay for the sod, the grass seed, whatever," he said.
41 Action News asked Kansas City Southern if they have plans to remove the weeds.
They sent us a statement saying they have spoken with a concerned neighbor and that they have already sprayed the area.
"Representatives of The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) recently spoke with the neighbor concerned about snakes in her yard. KCSR also sprayed the area to address the vegetation and will recheck the area to determine the effectiveness of the vegetation control spraying and whether additional spraying is required in the weeks ahead."
Cline hopes that whatever the plan is, it works fast.
"It's kind of sad that we can't even let our kids play in our own backyards for fear of being snake bitten," he said.
A snake expert from the Kansas City Zoo confirmed the pictured snakes are Western Rat Snakes, also known as black snakes, and a garter snake.
Both are common statewide, non venomous and beneficial to the environment, according to the Kansas City Zoo.
They also told 41 Action News that prime snake habitat is overgrown weeded areas, anywhere there is high rodent food source.
