So there's a small black snake loose in my house right now and I don't know where it is. I had it trapped under some tupperware while I decided what to do, but the ground wasn't even because it was on the carpet threshold thing and I looked away for like a minute and it must have escaped out the little hole now it's gone.

Is there something I can spray that will kill it?

7/31/2012 1:59:54 PM

Also I'm really worried that my dogs are gonna encounter it and get bitten.

7/31/2012 2:00:48 PM

As far as I know, black snakes are basically harmless. Your dogs may get bitten, but it shouldnt hurt them.

7/31/2012 2:03:40 PM

How big are your dogs? And unless it's venomous (which doesn't sound like the case here), the bite won't do much to them (most likely). If anything, it could let you know where the snake is

[Edited on July 31, 2012 at 2:04 PM. Reason : .]

7/31/2012 2:03:48 PM

the dogs will probably do a better job killing it than you will

7/31/2012 2:04:22 PM

RUNNNNNNNNNN

GTFO!!!!!!! BURN THE HOUSE DOWN, BLACK SNAKES WILL KILL EVERYONE.

you could call animal control

7/31/2012 2:05:02 PM

Yeah from researching black snakes before after seeing them around, I'm pretty sure they're not venomous but what if they get a bite and it gets infected? I mean I'd notice that way before it would become life threatening, right?

They are both kinda small...one is like 23 pounds and one is 17 pounds.

^Pretty sure animal control around here is useless...you have to leave a message on their website and they'll get around to it when they get around to it.

[Edited on July 31, 2012 at 2:06 PM. Reason : s]

7/31/2012 2:05:43 PM

There's a sex joke somewhere in this thread... But I can't seem to find it. Halp

7/31/2012 2:06:06 PM

you need

7/31/2012 2:06:27 PM

Is it a thin black snake with a narrow head? Not a big arrowheaded thing?

If it is, you're ok, it's a black snake and non-venomous. Just get it in a bucket again like you did before and slide a clipboard or something sturdy under it, flip it all over and carry it outside then dump it out and stomp the shit out of it. J/k you can call someone and they will come and get it if you don't want to be bothered at all.

7/31/2012 2:06:52 PM

Yeah the head was thin I believe. It was doing some weird thing shaking its tail at me...is that normal?

I'm hoping it's just gonna go back to wherever it came from and not make any more appearances now that he knows I'm here.

7/31/2012 2:09:23 PM

it probably shakes its tail to make the impression of a rattle, of course itd normally be on a forest floor

7/31/2012 2:10:37 PM

Quote :

"the dogs will probably do a better job killing it than you will"

7/31/2012 2:11:06 PM

I don't know about that. One of them would try to play with it and the other would probably just ignore it.

7/31/2012 2:12:00 PM

many rat snakes will shake their tails to intimidate you

my corn snakes did it all the time

there is a 95% chance this snake is harmless...even if it bites you or one of the dogs, it likely won't draw blood and if it does, they'll be tiny pinpricks

in any case, he's more scared of you than you are of him

7/31/2012 2:13:07 PM

^^ Sounds like two good options for what you should do with it, too.

7/31/2012 2:14:03 PM

catch it and release it in the woods far from your house. please don't kill the little snakey

7/31/2012 2:14:12 PM

So let's talk about that other 5%.

[Edited on July 31, 2012 at 2:14 PM. Reason : Look people my intentions were never to kill it, I just want it out of my house.]

[Edited on July 31, 2012 at 2:15 PM. Reason : okay well at least not until I failed to catch it]

7/31/2012 2:14:17 PM

I HATE THESE MOTHER FUCKIN' SNAKES IN THE HOUSE!!!

(feel free to post the snakes on a plane gif lol)

7/31/2012 2:14:53 PM

Quote :

"So let's talk about that other 5%."

you said it was small and "black" doesn't always mean black when you're scared of it and trying to catch it under tupperware

it could have been just "dark" and as such, could be any number of other species...but even then, the odds are largely in favor of it being a nonvenomous snake

so overall, it's 99.5% nonvenomous and comparatively harmless

7/31/2012 2:17:59 PM

all I remember about poisonous snakes is if red touches yellow you're a dead fellow

I am very helpful in this thread

7/31/2012 2:21:01 PM

for all poisonous snakes eh



[Edited on July 31, 2012 at 2:23 PM. Reason : lets not get started on poisonous v.s venomous]

7/31/2012 2:21:59 PM

1. Get a flute
2. Play flute
3. ???
4. Worry about snake later

7/31/2012 2:24:10 PM

i thought they played pipes not flutes

7/31/2012 2:24:45 PM

flutes are for rats

7/31/2012 2:25:34 PM

Quote :

"lets not get started on poisonous v.s venomous"

7/31/2012 2:37:12 PM

Man I need to take a shower but I'm scared it's gonna get into the tub with me.

7/31/2012 2:42:00 PM

they like warm places...so take a cold shower

7/31/2012 2:44:24 PM

go to http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_nc/snakes/snakes.html

there are pictures of adults & babies of all the different snakes found in NC. only the snakes listed in families elapidae & viperidae are venomous.

7/31/2012 3:38:13 PM

OH GOD OH SHIT IT BY YOUR FOOT RIGHT NOW

7/31/2012 3:46:37 PM

^^yeah I use that site all the time when I see snakes around. This one is probably a black racer, but I'm not sure. It could also be a rat snake.


^Nice try, but for one your grammar sucks. And also I'm in bed and am afraid to get up so there's that.

7/31/2012 3:56:13 PM

Tell me about timber rattlesnakes. What can I expect when I move to the mountains? Are they particularly aggressive? I don't have an aversion to snakes by default, but I would like to know how they'll react if discovered.

7/31/2012 4:06:54 PM

I am assuming you are running your A/C, so the snake is not going to be very happy out in the open. It has most likely sought a spot curled up under/next to something that gives off heat (electronics, dryer, stove, fridge).

Do you know how the snake got into the house?

7/31/2012 4:46:10 PM

I have no idea.

7/31/2012 5:42:29 PM

probably had a key

7/31/2012 5:43:57 PM

You have to be careful with snakes, they know to look under the mat for the spare

7/31/2012 5:47:23 PM

Damn, even I didn't know we had one under there.

7/31/2012 5:54:07 PM

Don't worry, I did.

Nice panties, btw

7/31/2012 5:55:37 PM

Joke's on you. I'm not wearing any.

7/31/2012 6:04:20 PM

I was talking about your panty drawer

you might want to consider getting rid of those stained pink ones

7/31/2012 6:05:40 PM

But those are lucky.

7/31/2012 6:06:30 PM

if you say so

they look pretty unlucky to me

[Edited on July 31, 2012 at 6:08 PM. Reason : a]

7/31/2012 6:08:06 PM

Nah those are the ones I was wearing when I finally got your mom in bed. As for the stains - use your imagination.

7/31/2012 6:17:10 PM

Chances are the snake is either a black rat snake (Scotophis alleghaniensis, Pantherophis obsoletus, or Elaphe obsoletus, depending on how up-to-date your source for information is with taxonomy) or a racer (Coluber constrictor). Both species are common and look superficially similar, and as has been covered by now, both are non-venomous. My guess is that it is a black rat snake, as they're typically the culprits in such cases of being found in a house. If you lost track of it, it could be a while before you see it again. I can't really suggest a method to trap it that wouldn't involve bringing in some sort of prey item to bait the trap with. I doubt you're interested in bringing mice/rats/squirrels just to catch a snake. That said, snakes in general are notorious for finding good hiding spots and remaining undetected while indoors. If you're gonna go looking for it, it's probably under something. Some places I'd suggest looking: inside the couch, under/inside appliances like the fridge, or if you've got something laying on the floor, it'll possibly be under it.

To keep it from hiding and to try to get it to come out, you might try keeping rooms fairly dark. Try to keep listening for the sound of stuff moving in little bits. I know it's gonna thrill you, but black rat snakes are accomplished climbers, so it's not necessarily going to be on the ground. You can try to turn up your AC the keep your place extra cold, and provide some possible warm spots (perhaps a light near the ground in a way that it won't burn your place down). Check those spots often. If you decide to try to let the snake live, but want to avoid being bitten (but I assure you, the anticipation of a bite is worse than the bite itself), try putting on an oven mitt or something insulated if you reach for it. If you're calm and don't piss the snake off, there's a good chance you could pick it up without it trying to bite...but if your pet(s) have fucked with it, it's much less likely that it won't be defensive once you encounter it again.

It's not gonna kill you. The chances of it inflicting a bite that leads to infection (on you or your pet(s)) are minimal...unless your place is a shithole and you wouldn't even consider walking around the place without shoes on. The teeth, while sharp, are very short and don't do much of anything in terms of damage. The primary role of the tiny teeth are to grasp prey, not cause infection.

7/31/2012 8:05:15 PM

Holy shit, umop-apisdn was more helpful in that one post than I've been in my entire life

7/31/2012 8:08:42 PM

You should let me come to your place to find it.

7/31/2012 8:10:51 PM

7/31/2012 9:09:45 PM

samuel l jackson is such a fuckin joke

7/31/2012 11:43:51 PM

Quote :

"If you're gonna go looking for it, it's probably under something. Some places I'd suggest looking: inside the couch"

its not gonna be in your couch when you, petrified, flip up the cushions and jump backwards

it will however be in the couch when you're sitting on it, while having temporarily forgotten for a few minutes that there is a snake in your house, subdued by the Olympics or something else

that is when it will crawl inside your butthole

7/31/2012 11:48:26 PM

Quote :

"So there's a small black snake loose in my house right now"

I stopped reading after this.

8/1/2012 12:51:31 AM