Have you ever found a snake in your house? (Jacksonville: cabinet, living)

[stevep]

When I lived in an apartment in Virginia (on the 5th floor), my roommate was getting ready to take a shower and had one foot in the tub, when he looked down and saw a snake in the tub staring back at him. Needless to say, my roommate quickly left (ran) out of the bathroom. The maintenance person came and caught it, but nobody could figure out how a snake could end up on the 5th floor in a tub. A couple of days later, someone living on the 7th floor mentioned losing their pet snake.... we guess the snake got loose and started traveling thru the plumbing pipes and ended up in our tub..... so don't forget to look before stepping!!!

[Bluw]

I keep snakes, so I have plenty. I have found several extras from time to time. About 5 years ago I found about a dozen or so baby garters in the basement. I left them alone and they moved on to greener pastures so to speak. Also found a 4 ft black snake in my living room. I did have to put him outside because our new dog was so scared.

[mawipafl]

An alternative to moth balls is peppermint oil - works great for mice and lizards, too. Originally I bought the oil online, but I found the peppermint extract found in the spice section of a grocery store works just as well. Mix the extract with water (no particular formula I've discovered) and put into a spray bottle and just spray around doorways and bushes etc. The only con is that it doesn't last as long as moth balls or flakes and the process needs to be repeated every once in a while. However, not a big deal - I keep a peppermint/water bottle by my sliding door and just grab it when I see fit.

[titaniummd]

Moth balls is a great idea. Thanks.

You know, though, when I walk my dog in front of the neighbor's yard, I smell the moth balls. So, I don't know if the moth balls were already in place when he discovered the snakes.

[Keith-n-Jax]

Yes a corn snake I think not sure it was red,black and yellow,dont remember how the bands were. You all know that saying,,it was in the dresser draw, we killed it, but I had trouble sleeping for a while!

[1908WAGY]

Yuck!

[wb3690]

yikes! this post makes me squeamish..........

I hope my husband is home if I ever encounter this problem!! No snakes in hawaii.......

[Keith-n-Jax]

I was station in Hawaii,, and yes no snakes there!! yet!!

[Highlands/PVBeach]

I've lived in Jacksonville or Ponte Vedra all of my 56 years and have NEVER had a snake in the house! Thank God!

I have only seen one Garter Snake in the yard of our old house in Ortega Forest when our son was little. It about scared me to death. It lifted itself up like a cobra and looked like it was going to strike. Lucky for me, my yard man was there and I got him to kill it. If it was that aggressive, I didn't want it around my four year old.

I have not seen one since we moved to the beach, but we bought a house in Highlands, NC for a vacation home and I saw a large black snake on the porch. I stepped right over it! It was stretched out right along the threshold of the sliding door. I didn't see it. We didn't kill it. It evidently eats poisonous snakes and kills mice, etc. Believe me, I looked it up after I went around the house to get back inside. I also found out that you can shoot water at them or make vibrations to get them to move. They can't hear, but hear through vibrations, so they feel you come rather than hear you come.

Of course if it was poisonous, I would do NONE of the above, but just call the local snake guy to move it or kill it. We just gave this one time to move on and he did.

I absolutely believe in that Biblical antipathy between man and snakes! Don't want to share my house with them, that is for sure.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Highlands/PVBeach

I've lived in Jacksonville or Ponte Vedra all of my 56 years and have NEVER had a snake in the house! Thank God!

I have only seen one Garter Snake in the yard of our old house in Ortega Forest when our son was little. It about scared me to death. It lifted itself up like a cobra and looked like it was going to strike. Lucky for me, my yard man was there and I got him to kill it. If it was that aggressive, I didn't want it around my four year old.

I have not seen one since we moved to the beach, but we bought a house in Highlands, NC for a vacation home and I saw a large black snake on the porch. I stepped right over it! It was stretched out right along the threshold of the sliding door. I didn't see it. We didn't kill it. It evidently eats poisonous snakes and kills mice, etc. Believe me, I looked it up after I went around the house to get back inside. I also found out that you can shoot water at them or make vibrations to get them to move. They can't hear, but hear through vibrations, so they feel you come rather than hear you come.

Of course if it was poisonous, I would do NONE of the above, but just call the local snake guy to move it or kill it. We just gave this one time to move on and he did.

I absolutely believe in that Biblical antipathy between man and snakes! Don't want to share my house with them, that is for sure.

That's a good practice, stomping around a bit if you thinks snakes are present. I do that when walking through certain areas of the woods, such as around a lot of fallen trees/logs where I think snakes might be. I do a a bit of stomping to give fair warning to the snakes that I'm coming through so we don't suprise each other .

I realize you may have been joking about the bible reference to snakes. The serpent is merely symbolic in Abrahamic religions (as well as many other religions), I hope no one takes the myths literally...snakes are good !