If you're thinking to yourself, haven't I read her complaining about snakes before? Why yes, yes you have. A few months after buying this house I found a PILE OF SNAKES in my backyard....I grew up here in the Hudson Valley, and in my 18 years of living in Fishkill, never saw a snake with my own eyes.  Fast forward to being a homeowner and moving literally less than two miles away from my childhood home, down the street into Wappingers, and now I feel like i'm living on a different planet with all the wildlife, snakes specifically. How's this for an adventure?

I Found A Snake IN My Basement

I noticed a small leak from the hose connected to the front of my house so I decided to run into the basement to turn off the water.  I hate my unfinished basement (I had cave crickets down there early in the summer) and try to avoid going down, but I was on a mission to turn off the water and be back and safe on the main level in under a minute.  When I got to the bottom step I noticed some water on the floor so I went to step up on a bucket to turn the water off, and something moved, in what appeared to be a slither, underneath some boxes.

I screamed.  I jumped off the bucket.  I don't think my feet made contact with the floor or any of the steps and before I knew it I was upstairs, out the front door, and in the driveway.

What other animal would be SLITHERING other than a snake?

It's just my daughter and I in the house, so naturally I started sending out SOS messages to anyone who might help.  Neighbors, friends who are more well versed than I with wildlife, even my dad who said 'good luck with that Val.'

My wonderful neighbor from across the street showed up at the front door equipped with an empty bucket with lid, broom, dustpan and gloves, and off we went into the trenches to investigate.  What did we find? Well what did she find while I was standing on the stairs with my hood up and socks tucked into my pants?  A small, but alive, gartner snake, stuck to a strip of old tape on a giant moving box.  While I watched from a distance, my fearless neighbor attempted to get it off the box and into the bucket, but realized that it was attached to the tape fairly well, so up the stairs, into the hallway, and out the front door went the box, and the snake.  She even brought it into her backyard to a wooded area and managed to pull it from the tape and off it slithered while I watched from standing on top of a bench in her backyard.

V.Turco
V.Turco
loading...

Homeowner Help - What Do I Need To Do To Prevent This From Happening Again?

Adulting is a struggle for me, i'm not handy, i'm scared of bugs (and snakes obviously) and I have to call in professionals to do just about everything. So advice from the group, do I need to do anything to prevent any other snakes from taking up occupancy in my basement? The bigger question, how the hell did it get in the house in the first place? The basement has no exterior entry, just 2 small windows but they are (or appear to be) sealed properly.

We did check and see if he was slithering solo or hanging with friends, and the brief inspection yielded no additional snakes, but i'm still never going downstairs again and quite frankly I'm not sure if i'll be able to fall asleep tonight knowing that was living in my home.

Have you ever found a snake INSIDE your house? What did you do? What should I do next?

How about some happier animal news?

Wappingers Animal Rescue Saves 20 Pups from Flooded Puerto Rico

Hurricane Fiona has left many Puerto Rico-based animal rescues flooded and overcrowded. CARE of DC in Wappingers Falls stepped up to help find 20 pups their forever homes.

A Look Inside Catskill Animal Sanctuary

Catskill Animal Sanctuary Fundraiser 2022 (Saugerties, NY)

More From WZAD-WCZX The Wolf