Peter,
Could be a black rat snake or given the white spots a king snake. Either
way it is harmless, except that it could startle you. The snake went in the
basement for a reason and will probably move on unless it has no way out. I
have both kinds around my house, under the deck and surely at times in the
crawl space. I doubt you will see it except by accident and I really doubt
you can search it out. Take heart and be glad you don't have the problem
reported in the Dallas Morning News that some condo owners had.......

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/wfaa...ler.853f4.html

dennis
anderson, sc
"Peter" wrote in message
...

My friend watched a "snake" wander down into my basement...
evidentally it was in
the attached garage and when the house door was open, snake came in and
went into
basement. Location is suburban Maryland.... we're had a lot of rain
here in the past
few days, I think the snake came in looking for a new home.

From the description it sound like a black snake .... all black with a
few white spots
on the face. size is undetermined....she thinks it was gigantic.... I'm
assuming
probably about 3 -4 feet.

Don't want to hurt him, just want him out of the basement. No problem
with
picking him up and relocating him, just gotta find him first.


But, I can't locate the snake in the basement and before tearing
everything apart
(lot's of everything in this basement), is there a simple method for
dislodging the
snake, without permanently injuring it ?? i.e. would spraying
disinfectant under
the shelving units and behind the boards make this snake decide to move
and be
located?? Are they sensitive to vibration ( I can turn on a sound
system).

I really don't want to go through the place box by box and am looking
for an
easy to way flush him out into the open. Would a pet store mouse in a
plastic
box attract the snake??


Thanks for your suggestions ????