I’m burning my house down

[Moonhawk]

in case you can’t see it, that is a rattlesnake. More knowledgeable posters can correct me, but a western diamondback rattlesnake. 

where is he coming from, you might ask. 

from under my couch, would be the answer. 

yes, btw, the same couch that my little one was sleeping on. 

my son just happened to get up to get some water and he saw it go out of the hallway and into the living room. he sounded the alarm. i came around the corner just in time to see the last foot of it go under the couch.

and, what is there to do but run into the room, grab her up and carry her out? shoes be damned, her foot and hand were hanging off the side. 

got her out and onto the kitchen table, called 911. we are rural and there was an bus breakdown on the highway so no one could come immediately even tho we are 2 minutes from the fire station. so we went around the long way outside, opened the front door, and watched to make sure he didn’t try to go into another room. after about 10 minutes he went for freedom (pictured).  as soon as he was completely out of the room we closed the door.

it’s raining so he didn’t go out out, and we think he’s hiding under the couch on the patio. Police guy came but can’t do much if he’s under the couch, only if he’s easy access. will have to call animal control tomorrow morning and they can investigate if he’s still bumming a room off us. 

our house is also a scorpion sanctuary (arizona bark scorpions, the type that can walk on walls and dangerously poisonous). i’m higher-sensitive to them and was stung just last week, making a total of 5 times in 3 years. my other son had one ON HIS NECK this evening but brushed it off and didn’t get stung — he didn’t know what it was til it was on the ground. it is crazy good luck he was not stung, i cannot describe how trigger happy these things are.

once the rain is done, i’m done. just torch it. 

[Katy]

Eeek! Better the patio than the living room. 

[Kassia]

oh my gosh, what a nightmare.  I can't even imagine.  Glad everyone is okay with the rattler AND the scorpion.  Hope they get the snake out ASAP.  

[Carol in Cal.]

[Deleted by moderator for language, but she's not saying it was unjustified.]

[Melissa in Australia]

 

Just think of the story you have to tell now. We have a huge amount of venomous snake stories 

My brother had a tiger snake in his bathroom last summer. In case you don't know not only are they in the top 10 deadliest snakes in the world but they are also aggressive. He completely dismantled the bathroom, including removing vanity etc and couldn't find it. He then sealed up the bathroom completely  including taping under the door etc. and waited till the next day, and there it was, sitting in the middle of the room.  My guess is it must have gone down the toilet to hide while he was searching for it. 

 

Another one I was shifting compost from one very large compost bin to the other. I was standing in the compost bin. It is very large. I was wearing shorts. I accidently speared a red belly black snake right through. It was stuck on the fork. I was holding the other end. I sort  of held it as far away as I could  and yelled and yelled until dh came. We had to dispatch it because if how badly injured it was. While waiting for dh to come I discovered that they really can spit venom. It isn't a wives tale at all. 

[DawnM]

Nope, nope, nope!  

[MEmama]

Yikes! I'm glad everyone was safe.

I grew up in rattler and scorpion country (more benign scorpions than what you're talking about though--those sound like a nightmare). We'd get snakes on the patio but I don't think actually in the house. 
 

Can you ask wildlife control to recommend someone who can do a survey of the exterior of your house to find out how they are getting in? Like an extermination company? That's a dangerous situation you have going on. 😞 

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Fuck.

Really, the only correct response, lol

[Ginevra]

Wow, that’s terrifying! 
 

I’m amazed you can call 911 about a snake. They won’t do that here. Even animal control will not come to address wild animals. You have to hire pest removal or call one of your brave friends. 

[Melissa in Australia]

Here people would probably to call a snake catcher . emergency  don't do snakes unless it is because someone was bitten

[Pawz4me]

23 minutes ago, Ginevra said:

 

I’m amazed you can call 911 about a snake. They won’t do that here. Even animal control will not come to address wild animals. You have to hire pest removal or call one of your brave friends. 

Same here. I think you'd get a very stern lecture if you called 911 about wildlife, unless (maybe) it was attacking a human. Animal control wouldn't respond, either. Around here you'd need to call a wildlife removal person or company.

[Scarlett]

That is terrifying and I am not particularly terrified of snakes.  Was this at night?  How did it get in?

[Momto6inIN]

This is why I live in Indiana 😳😳😳

[LifeLovePassion]

Remind me where I don't want to move to. I may also need additional reminders during the loooooooong MN winters. 

[Spryte]

Burn. It. Down.

[sassenach]

Where do you live?

Maybe your house needs to be sealed up better? Would diatomaceous earth help with the scorpions? You need a professional. 

[City Mouse]

Last summer we had a baby one in the laundry room, and that was bad enough. That was after finding a rather large one curled up on the back porch. We now keep a weapon loaded with snake shot in the laundry room (only adults in the household). 
 

 

[mmasc]

All of this story is horrifying. I’m so sorry it happened! My only advice (if you haven’t tried this already) is to use sticky traps for the scorpions. Along the baseboards, in closets, near entryways, etc. My in-laws have scorpions and this has worked the best. I have no advice on rattlesnakes. 😢

[lorilou]

NOPE! I agree - BURN IT DOWN!

[knitgrl]

Come to Western NY! It's economically depressed, but neither the weather nor the wildlife will kill you.

[Halftime Hope]

I still have matchete marks on my kitchen tile, because there was no way in H*** the snake, not even a dangerous one, was going to go under my kitchen cabinets.  Yes, ma'am, that's where he was going, into a small crevice up under the toe kick. I will not live with a snake in my kitchen, trying to decide when it wants to come out.

[fraidycat]

Hooollllly FaaaaaaaaaaaaaaCk! NO!! I mean, Yes - burn it down. Burn it all the way down!

This us why I live where the air hurts my face in the winter time. It is 100% worth it.

 

[mommyoffive]

My gosh that is terrifying.  What state do you live in?  I can't even imagine how scary that would be and how you could go to sleep after that.  And scorpions too?   I would be out.

[Annie G]

That would freak me out forever. For real, I’m not sure I could get over it and I’d constantly be looking for snakes. 
 

[mom2scouts]

9 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

[Deleted by moderator for language, but she's not saying it was unjustified.]

In her defense, we don't have the proper emojis for this post.

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

I still have matchete marks on my kitchen tile, because there was no way in H*** the snake, not even a dangerous one, was going to go under my kitchen cabinets.  Yes, ma'am, that's where he was going, into a small crevice up under the toe kick. I will not live with a snake in my kitchen, trying to decide when it wants to come out.

You go, girl! That's what matchetes are for. Now if you turned around and used the machete to cut up your pineapple right afterwards, I'd write a folk song in your honour. 😅

"Hope, the woman they call Hope" - to the tune of "Jayne, the man they call Jayne" (Firefly).

Edited July 14, 2023 by wintermom

[Moonhawk]

6 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Same here. I think you'd get a very stern lecture if you called 911 about wildlife, unless (maybe) it was attacking a human. Animal control wouldn't respond, either. Around here you'd need to call a wildlife removal person or company.

Our 911 is tied to animal control, and they are equipped for snakes, didn't realize that wasn't normal. Last night when I was talking to dispatch about the snake's eventual meandering to the porch, he said if it's still on the property they can/will come out to remove it. 

4 hours ago, Scarlett said:

That is terrifying and I am not particularly terrified of snakes.  Was this at night?  How did it get in?

It was at night. WE DON'T KNOW HOW HE GOT IN. Which is the worst part of all of this to me, lol. 

Because of a centipede incident the first week we moved in, we are pretty particular about leaving doors open except to go in/out, but sometimes for groceries so long as there's a steady stream of in/out the door stays open. Last grocery trip like this was Sunday.

Three theories: I was on the porch last night for 2 minutes (standing where the snake is in the photo) while on the phone with roadside assistance (I had a flat tire last night, also). I had the screen door to the outside closed but the main door open behind me for the breeze to come through. The theory is while I was on the phone, the snake had already been on the patio for a while and then just slipped in by me without my seeing him, and explored the house for an hour. For this to happen he literally could not have been more than 3" away from me, and I'm vigilant about moving things (see: scorpion sanctuary for explanation) and I don't stand still when I'm on the phone, so idk. 

Second theory is that there is a big hole somewhere, maybe in the hall closet, and he came in that way. That door has a gap underneath it that he could get through to the hallway.

Third theory is he came in through an open door on another day and has been tooling around the house for a while. (!!!)

3 hours ago, sassenach said:

Where do you live?

Maybe your house needs to be sealed up better? Would diatomaceous earth help with the scorpions? You need a professional. 

Arizona.

This house is a 1910's miner's shack that had weekend warrior reno's in the 70's. This house is not built to code or best practices under any definition, lol. There is no way to seal it more, without demo'ing sections. 

I agree though -- a professional pyrotechnic!

3 hours ago, mmasc said:

All of this story is horrifying. I’m so sorry it happened! My only advice (if you haven’t tried this already) is to use sticky traps for the scorpions. Along the baseboards, in closets, near entryways, etc. My in-laws have scorpions and this has worked the best. I have no advice on rattlesnakes. 😢

Yes! Sticky traps for the win! They definitely help against scorpions and other visitors. Now I just need to put them apparently EVERYWHERE for snakes too, and buy the kids stilts, lol. 

---

Overall, we are exceptionally lucky with how this played out. All of my luck for the year is probably used up on this. 

• if son had come out a little earlier, he might have scared the snake and been bit or attracted it to his room.
• If he came out even just 5-10 seconds later, he wouldn't have seen the snake, or he would have called out too late for me to see what type it was and where it went.
• the hallway, where he saw it leave and go into the room is dark even during the day,  with brown carpet, he's lucky to have seen it, period.
• if he didn't see it, we would have left the door closed, so it would've been trapped inside with us without us knowing.
• Occasionally the baby falls off the couch when sleeping. Or I get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. If we scared him or he was on the move in the room during those times, even if he rattled first, and even if I heard the rattle, I wouldn't have thought "there's a rattle snake", my brain would go to a kid's toy or something else. It literally would not have occurred to me to assume it was an actual snake inside the room.
• if we did happen upon him in the middle of the night and not get bit immediately, the panic would have been much much worse, and we may not have been able act as rationally. 
• OR HE WOULD STILL BE CHILLING OUT IN THE HOUSE WITH THE KIDS RIGHT NOW.

So yes, exceptionally lucky night for us and I'm grateful that it went as well as it did!

[Halftime Hope]

4 hours ago, wintermom said:

You go, girl! That's what matchetes are for. Now if you turned around and used the machete to cut up your pineapple right afterwards, I'd write a folk song in your honour. 😅

"Hope, the woman they call Hope" - to the tune of "Jayne, the man they call Jayne" (Firefly).

It's a good thing snakes can't sing, or it would be different tune. 

You would not have believed the grief from people in this area: "That's a rat snake; it's one of the good ones; you shouldn't have killed it."  I don't kill small snakes in the mulchey places outdoors, especially not in the winter, but no snakes in my house. Ever.

[Halftime Hope]

16 hours ago, Moonhawk said:

in case you can’t see it, that is a rattlesnake. More knowledgeable posters can correct me, but a western diamondback rattlesnake. 

where is he coming from, you might ask. 

from under my couch, would be the answer. 

yes, btw, the same couch that my little one was sleeping on. 

my son just happened to get up to get some water and he saw it go out of the hallway and into the living room. he sounded the alarm. i came around the corner just in time to see the last foot of it go under the couch.

and, what is there to do but run into the room, grab her up and carry her out? shoes be damned, her foot and hand were hanging off the side. 

got her out and onto the kitchen table, called 911. we are rural and there was an bus breakdown on the highway so no one could come immediately even tho we are 2 minutes from the fire station. so we went around the long way outside, opened the front door, and watched to make sure he didn’t try to go into another room. after about 10 minutes he went for freedom (pictured).  as soon as he was completely out of the room we closed the door.

it’s raining so he didn’t go out out, and we think he’s hiding under the couch on the patio. Police guy came but can’t do much if he’s under the couch, only if he’s easy access. will have to call animal control tomorrow morning and they can investigate if he’s still bumming a room off us. 

our house is also a scorpion sanctuary (arizona bark scorpions, the type that can walk on walls and dangerously poisonous). i’m higher-sensitive to them and was stung just last week, making a total of 5 times in 3 years. my other son had one ON HIS NECK this evening but brushed it off and didn’t get stung — he didn’t know what it was til it was on the ground. it is crazy good luck he was not stung, i cannot describe how trigger happy these things are.

once the rain is done, i’m done. just torch it. 

I hope you get some good answers on how to protect your family. Eesh!

[Shoeless]

Dang...I don't think I'd ever sleep again after that. 

Scorpions are bad this year. I think we've killed 8 of them in the house so far. The pets are great at alerting us. These are just the ouchie, brown scorpions, tho, not the black, venomous ones. 

[Terabith]

I’m pro snake but yeah, with a rattler, I would be abandoning ship.  Condolences. 

[Ausmumof3]

That’s a way to get the heart rate up!

agree, emergency wouldn’t come for that here, you’d have to call the snake catcher. Hope you managed to snake proof a bit.

[Shelydon]

A hoe works great for rattlers. Diatomaceous Earth for the scorpions. I hate scorpions. Hate them. 

[Elizabeth86]

13 hours ago, Scarlett said:

That is terrifying and I am not particularly terrified of snakes.  Was this at night?  How did it get in?

Same! I don’t mind them in general, but not venomous and in my house.

[wintermom]

6 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

It's a good thing snakes can't sing, or it would be different tune. 

You would not have believed the grief from people in this area: "That's a rat snake; it's one of the good ones; you shouldn't have killed it."  I don't kill small snakes in the mulchey places outdoors, especially not in the winter, but no snakes in my house. Ever.

You gotta defend your kitchen, of course! Rat snake sounds too close to rat. I'd have gone for it, too. Heck, I defended my kitchen from a wee mouse when we first moved in. I killed it with a snow shovel after trapping it and bringing it outside onto the driveway. We'd just moved into the house, and I was a little concerned that our new neighbours would think I was a crazy woman. 😅

[kbutton]

14 hours ago, City Mouse said:

Last summer we had a baby one in the laundry room, and that was bad enough. That was after finding a rather large one curled up on the back porch. We now keep a weapon loaded with snake shot in the laundry room (only adults in the household). 

I have heard the babies are worse because they can’t control how much venom they inject (high school science class cited here, lol). 

13 hours ago, knitgrl said:

Come to Western NY! It's economically depressed, but neither the weather nor the wildlife will kill you.

I take it that you are unaware that NY is habitat for two types of rattlers and copperheads? 

[popmom]

Do you own or rent? 

I would definitely hire someone to do some sort of audit. I mean if a snake and all those scorpions can get in, then you've also got an energy inefficient thing going on there. It seems like it would be a win/win to get someone out there to figure out where the chink in the armor is. 

The thing I'm thinking...You are in AZ in the hottest of hot part of summer. Snakes like warmth, but not being able to maintain an ideal body temp on their own...even snakes in AZ will seek out a cooler place to hang out in the summer. So if your home has chinks in the armor...yeah you gotta get a pro in there to figure this out. I have a high tolerance for coexisting with wildlife, but with small children involved—that’s not safe. 
 

I hope you’re okay and resting safely tonight. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by popmom

[Tree Frog]

On 7/14/2023 at 7:02 PM, Shelydon said:

A hoe works great for rattlers. Diatomaceous Earth for the scorpions. I hate scorpions. Hate them. 

Be aware if you cut it in half that it can still bite. 

22 hours ago, kbutton said:

I have heard the babies are worse because they can’t control how much venom they inject (high school science class cited here, lol). 

 

I love to see snakes, but not in my house and definitely not a rattler! When we moved in, we blocked all the weep holes with steel will to prevent scorpions from getting in, but your house may not have weep holes. 

I've been told that's an old wives' tale, that babies can regulate how much venom they use.

There's a National Snakebite Support page on FB with doctors and veterinarians who are experts in snakebites and offer assistance to anyone, human or pet, who received a venomous bite. 

[Dmmetler]

I know a good service if you're near Phoenix. They can also go through your property and try to remove snake attractants and do excluders. It's also a good idea to survey for rodents, because snakes go where there is something they need. Having said that, in July in AZ, that's likely to be respite from heat or water more than food. But for the poster who had a rat snake indoors...you probably have a food source for them as well, if not in your house than really close by, so it might be a good idea to check that out. 

 

And absolutely do NOT try swinging a hoe or machete at it! A rattlesnake can react far faster than a human, and trying to kill snakes is when most people get bitten. Leave it for the experts! 

 

Baby snakes have less venom, and no, it's not more potent than an adult snake-but also tend to bite first and ask questions later. In addition, rattlesnakes practice parental/group care, so presence of young rattlers really, really means that you need to get someone out to survey your property, because there's likely a den nearby. The "can't control the venom" comes from copperheads, where adult snakes often do a dry strike first for things they can't eat, in the hopes of driving away the threat and saving the venom for food, and larger animals do dry bites more than smaller ones...but rattlesnakes don't tend to do dry strikes. Their "I will bite you if I have to" is their rattle. 

 

 

[Kanin]

2 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

there's likely a den nearby

Oh em gee!