oliver2-44 9,739 #1 Posted October 18, 2022 (edited) After lunch I painted several doorframes upstairs with Brushing Lacquer. My wife thought the smell was getting strong downstairs. I finished about 3pm. When I came downstairs I saw she had opened the front door for ventilation, so I closed it and went to the shop to clean my brush and did a few other things. Thankfully my wife had left. When I came back in the house I immediately saw a 2-3 ft snake on the floor between the open kitchen living room area. I’m fairly sure it is a non poisonous rat snake. I grabbed a walking staff from a nearby rack. The snake sensing me slithered under the cabinet toe space. I was shocked to see it found a small opening at the top of the cabinet corner toe board and crawled in. Now wanting to destroy the cabinet. I Googled and found a “Snake Removal Specialist” in my area. He’s on a call and will be here in an hour or 2. I m quietly sitting here with my staff and shovel making sure it doesn’t come out and try to go elsewhere. I briefly thought about spraying gasoline - gassing under the counter like they do to rattle snake dens, but decided maybe the snake guy had a better trick. My wife is deathly afraid of snakes and will not be sleeping in this house until it’s removed. So what would you be doing? Edited October 18, 2022 by oliver2-44 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Freightliner Guy 1,327 #2 Posted October 18, 2022 I would just burn the house down Snakes in our house ain’t uncommon mostly because my little brother brought a dead snake inside the house man that thing stunk so bad but what I would do is use a stick to lift it up and CHUCK THE DARN THING IN THE RIVER. Anyways hopefully that danger noodle gets removed and you guys can sleep again Kollin 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,718 #3 Posted October 18, 2022 Rat snakes and Garter snakes are great for the environment. They eat varmints like mice and rats. When I lived in Wisconsin, my brother and I would carry them in our pocket...we were like 5 or 6 years old old. Our Aunt Florence would freak out, but we loved the reaction. Now days, I do not like snakes like I used to, but they are more my friends then rats building nest in my horses. 4 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #4 Posted October 18, 2022 Go to your local craft shop and get a medium sized straw hand woven basket with a lid. Get some ham or other type of luncheon meat… Place the basket in the kitchen floor with the lid off. You will also need a finger flute and a burgundy colored bath towel… Wrap the towel around your head in the shape of a turbin… Sit in the floor cross-legged and play the finger flute . After the snake comes out and crawls in the basket, put the lid on it and remove basket from house… Take the ham or luncheon meat and make a sandwich… Keep the doors closed… 2 1 14 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,718 #5 Posted October 18, 2022 You did know that they taste like chicken??? 1 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,718 #6 Posted October 18, 2022 I am finding it good to laugh again...tonight. Thanks guys...we need more of this. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,438 #7 Posted October 18, 2022 1 hour ago, oliver2-44 said: So what would you be doing? Looking around outside for more snakes to bring in?? 39 minutes ago, stevasaurus said: Rat snakes and Garter snakes are great for the environment. They eat varmints like mice and rats Thank you for posting that. There's way too much negativity toward a creature that does incredible amounts of good for us. 5 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,739 #8 Posted October 19, 2022 Well the good news is the snake pest guy has found it under the cabinet using my plumbing endoscope camera. The good in that is it confirms its not somewhere else in the house. He says it is a yellow bellied water snake, non poisonous. we used a hole saw and drilled a hole from inside the dishwasher area and a hole from the refrigerator area. The hard part is he's trying to grab it with a long grabber and the snake keeps moving from one end of the cabinet base to the other. 40 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: There's way too much negativity toward a creature that does incredible amounts of good for us. With time we will prevail. @ebinmaine I have no problem with snakes that stay outside in their environment I would say the house is my wife's environment. She would hurt someone if that snake came out and surprised her, and most likely it would be me!.. 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimSraj 429 #9 Posted October 19, 2022 Thank you Horse Newbie! I got a great chuckle reading you prescribed method of removal. 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,739 #10 Posted October 19, 2022 3 hours ago, Horse Newbie said: After the snake comes out and crawls........ Keep the doors closed… Well the snake got agitated at the guy poking it with the grabber and decided to quickly crawl out out on its own. The poor "Snake Specialist" guy was laying on the floor working the grabber and camera and really had to scramble out of the way! My wife was at the far end of the kitchen and I think she jumped over the couch to get on top of it. The snake guy had his snake tool and I had a shovel and we kept the snake back and forth in the center of the kitchen until he could pin it down. He carried it to a cage in his vehicle to relocate it. It actually was a non poisonous diamond back water snake. I know it didn't happen without a picture. So here's one from my cell phone endoscope camera with the snake in the corner under the kitchen cabinet behind the toe space.. That endoscope thing has paid for itself several times! sorry pic is upside down and I'm to tired to fit it. PS, through this whole thing I kept my cool and left the shotgun locked up. I didn't want to have to remodel the whole kitchen due to gun shot holes! 3 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,438 #11 Posted October 19, 2022 Glad to hear you folks got the snake out safely without having to move or remodel. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #13 Posted October 19, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, oliver2-44 said: The poor "Snake Specialist" guy was laying on the floor working the grabber and camera and really had to scramble out of the way He’s a “Specialist”… wonder why he felt like he needed to scramble to get out of its way ?… if he knew it was non-poisonous… Edited October 19, 2022 by Horse Newbie 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sergeant 291 #14 Posted October 19, 2022 13 hours ago, stevasaurus said: Rat snakes and Garter snakes are great for the environment. They eat varmints like mice and rats. When I lived in Wisconsin, my brother and I would carry them in our pocket...we were like 5 or 6 years old old. Our Aunt Florence would freak out, but we loved the reaction. Now days, I do not like snakes like I used to, but they are more my friends then rats building nest in my horses. Another Arliss from Old Yeller Like Myself . Never allowed to have them as Pets But I occasionally had a snake or Two In My Pocket Just to scare my older Brother . We usually had Blue Racers in the Garage after the river flooded the House which the flooding was an annual occurrence 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 6,998 #15 Posted October 19, 2022 Blue racers are neat. They are a good looking snake and you can play chase you, chase me with them. One of the other engineers I worked with did not like snakes one little bit. One day he was in my office and one of the production guys showed up with a Starrett box. He handed it to Lou and asked what that gage was for. Lou opens the box to find a dead garter snake in it. Lou was up and out of the chair he was sitting in and clear of my office before that box hit the floor! 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sergeant 291 #16 Posted October 19, 2022 Back In 1981 Was going through OSUT One station Unit Training for Infantry, we were doing react to In-direct fire is a swampy area anyways when I got down I was face to face with a Cooper-head Maybe 3-inches off My Nose Just Ignored me and went on into the swamp I though I was going to get bit because the Guy Next to me Panicked and Ran Back into the Swamp 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #17 Posted October 19, 2022 1 hour ago, sergeant said: face with a Cooper-head 1 hour ago, sergeant said: Just Ignored me 1 hour ago, sergeant said: I though I was going to get bit Copperheads are not really quick to bite… especially the adults… The biggest reason they are the most common biters reported in the US is their wide range of habitats, and the fact that they can stand to be in urban areas more than other snakes… 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,438 #18 Posted October 19, 2022 43 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said: Copperheads are not really quick to bite… especially the adults… The biggest reason they are the most common biters reported in the US is their wide range of habitats, and the fact that they can stand to be in urban areas more than other snakes… Don't forget about the fact that the humans are becoming more and more oblivious to their surroundings. Just like the old adage that some people should never pick up a tool, or that so-and-so don't know the working end of a screwdriver, there are people that should not be in outdoor wild areas without assistance or guidance. I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way. It could be the environment that you're accustomed to. A perfect example is this: Up here in the Northeast you NEVER step on a log in the forest because there's a better than fair chance that it could be rotted and you'll slip and break your ankle or something else. On the other hand if you're in a dry arid country such as much of the South you ALWAYS step on that log because there's a better than fair chance that if you step down on the other side of it there may be something waiting there to bite your ankle. Purchasing hiking boots doesn't make you a hiker any more than purchasing cowboy boots makes you a cowboy. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davem1111 2,030 #19 Posted October 19, 2022 4 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: Don't forget about the fact that the humans are becoming more and more oblivious to their surroundings. Just like the old adage that some people should never pick up a tool, or that so-and-so don't know the working end of a screwdriver, there are people that should not be in outdoor wild areas without assistance or guidance. I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way. It could be the environment that you're accustomed to. A perfect example is this: Up here in the Northeast you NEVER step on a log in the forest because there's a better than fair chance that it could be rotted and you'll slip and break your ankle or something else. On the other hand if you're in a dry arid country such as much of the South you ALWAYS step on that log because there's a better than fair chance that if you step down on the other side of it there may be something waiting there to bite your ankle. Purchasing hiking boots doesn't make you a hiker any more than purchasing cowboy boots makes you a cowboy. Well said. And there are places where you need to frequently look UP because things may drop down from above to bite you. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,438 #20 Posted October 19, 2022 6 minutes ago, davem1111 said: Well said. And there are places where you need to frequently look UP because things may drop down from above to bite you. Yes! And I would never even THINK of that... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldWorkHorse 3,045 #21 Posted October 19, 2022 29 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: purchasing cowboy boots makes you a cowboy. Aw-shucks, now I gotta return my cowboy hat & and I was just beginnin to like it. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,438 #22 Posted October 19, 2022 8 minutes ago, OldWorkHorse said: Aw-shucks, now I gotta return my cowboy hat & and I was just beginnin to like it. 🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sergeant 291 #23 Posted October 20, 2022 17 hours ago, Horse Newbie said: Copperheads are not really quick to bite… especially the adults… The biggest reason they are the most common biters reported in the US is their wide range of habitats, and the fact that they can stand to be in urban areas more than other snakes… I wouldn't Call Fort Benning exactly Urban 9 Years Later I was a Drill Sergeant There. I had a few Recruits get bit myself 284 square Miles of the Back woods Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #24 Posted October 20, 2022 10 hours ago, sergeant said: I wouldn't Call Fort Benning exactly Urban 9 Years Later I was a Drill Sergeant There. I had a few Recruits get bit myself 284 square Miles of the Back woods Yes @sergeant… that’s what I was saying. Copperheads are definitely in the woods… they are also fairly common in city environments… Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sergeant 291 #25 Posted October 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Horse Newbie said: Yes @sergeant… that’s what I was saying. Copperheads are definitely in the woods… they are also fairly common in city environments… Down in the Carolina's Yes they're More common in Urban areas. The southern 1/3rd of Illinois Has Copper Heads. We do Have the Massasauga & Timber Rattlesnakes, which are Not very common here is Northeastern, Illinois anymore. Though I did Have a Pet Massasauga as a child for about a week Until Mom found out, and we Had to contact the wildlife center and return it to it Habitat which they're Not even found there anymore In the Morton Arboretum. I had enough encounters with Venomous snakes from one end of this earth to the Other. Malaysian Tracking school was the worst encounter, We Had some Australian soldiers In the school with us and one thought it was fun to keep a Baby Cobra In his ammo pouch (and take it out and Play with it) I don't think any of us slept for 3 night In a row until we made him let it go in the Jungle with a threat of Bodily Harm if He didn't. That's when I realized England didn't send it Prisoners to Population Australia, England sent there Insane people to Populate Australia 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
