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 ????

Don't be silly. Call animal control and let a professional take care of it.


"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 ????

When I saw what looked like a young rattlesnake slither into my downstairs
familyroom, in a house with three young children, I called animal control,
after I threw a full basket of laundry at it, and they said, 'good luck'. I
called the police, they said, 'good luck'.

I called my neighbor, she said, 'OH, MY GAWD!'
I felt better.
I sent the children to my neighbor and she sent her husband to the house armed
with a golf club.
We searched the laundry, we searched the familyroom. The snake was nowhere to
be found.

I called my husband home from work, he up ended every piece of furniture, moved
bookshelves, duct taped doors closed, went through every toy bucket. No snake.

Sent the family beagle into the room, she sniffed, ate up stray animal
crackers, chewed a sock. No snake.

I called a snake fancier's club in town. They suggested a damp piece of burlap
on the floor during the night and then approach with caution the next morning.
No snake.

I went to the pet store, bought a sacrificial gerbil, put it in a glass
aquarium, trained the video camera on it, filmed the poor thing all night. No
snake. Gave the gerbil to the kid down the street.

Where the dang thing went we've never found out, no snake, no shed snake skin,
no dried up snake corpse. The children are all teenagers now and one of them
has his punk rock band practice in that familyroom. I think I can safely
declare that the snake is gone.

Good luck!






kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

Ka30P wrote:

When I saw what looked like a young rattlesnake slither into my downstairs
familyroom, in a house with three young children, I called animal control,
after I threw a full basket of laundry at it, and they said, 'good luck'. I
called the police, they said, 'good luck'.

I called my neighbor, she said, 'OH, MY GAWD!'
I felt better.
I sent the children to my neighbor and she sent her husband to the house armed
with a golf club.
We searched the laundry, we searched the familyroom. The snake was nowhere to
be found.

I called my husband home from work, he up ended every piece of furniture, moved
bookshelves, duct taped doors closed, went through every toy bucket. No snake.

Sent the family beagle into the room, she sniffed, ate up stray animal
crackers, chewed a sock. No snake.

I called a snake fancier's club in town. They suggested a damp piece of burlap
on the floor during the night and then approach with caution the next morning.
No snake.

I went to the pet store, bought a sacrificial gerbil, put it in a glass
aquarium, trained the video camera on it, filmed the poor thing all night. No
snake. Gave the gerbil to the kid down the street.

Where the dang thing went we've never found out, no snake, no shed snake skin,
no dried up snake corpse. The children are all teenagers now and one of them
has his punk rock band practice in that familyroom. I think I can safely
declare that the snake is gone.

Good luck!






kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

LMAO--that is too funny!! as long as it isn't my house! LOL

amy

Peter said:

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).

When we had a snake get loose in the house, we eventually found it in the base
of the water heater (the warmest place it could find). It took just a little man-handling
to get him out from under there.

If your basement is typically cool, then look in the warmest spot. Or, maybe lure
it out by creating a basking spot.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 21:55:35 -0400, Peter wrote:


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 ????


So far no sign of the snake. I placed a container with a heating pad inside and
adjusted the temperature to cozy warm.

Interesting development..... on one of my trips to the basement, a mousetrap
caught a mouse ( field mice have been getting into the basement). And the
mousetrap was somehow knocked off the basement sill and landed several feet
away on the floor. Now I thought
that mousetraps killed mice instantly but evidentally that is not the case, as the mouse
was still alive in the trap....and was able to be removed and placed in a container where
he was busy cleaning himself up.

I'm not superstitious or spooky or anything.... but that mouse is an unbelievable
co-incidence.. The snake hunt begins late this afternoon......

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 14:37:38 -0400, Peter wrote:


So far no sign of the snake. I placed a container with a heating pad inside and
adjusted the temperature to cozy warm.

Interesting development..... on one of my trips to the basement, a mousetrap
caught a mouse ( field mice have been getting into the basement). And the
mousetrap was somehow knocked off the basement sill and landed several feet
away on the floor. Now I thought
that mousetraps killed mice instantly but evidentally that is not the case, as the mouse
was still alive in the trap....and was able to be removed and placed in a container where
he was busy cleaning himself up.

I'm not superstitious or spooky or anything.... but that mouse is an unbelievable
co-incidence.. The snake hunt begins late this afternoon......

A black snake is the best rodent eliminator you will ever have. Forget
the snake hunt and leave him alone he is harmless. I had an
infestation of rats in my foundation plantings at a house I used to
own, and poison nor drowning their holes with the garden hose would
get rid of them. I told my cousin about my problem one day and he
jumped in his truck and said I'll be right back. I thought he was
either out of beer or had a hot date... but he came back with a six
foot long black snake about an hour later and stuck its head in a rat
hole... never saw another rat or the snake ever again.
I also remembered my dad put one it the barn feed bin once too for the
same reason.


Bad Bob

"Cook him till he's blue,
and smother him in onions."

In , on 06/07/04
at 09:55 PM, Peter said:

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.

Check this site: http://www.tswildlife.com/



Alan

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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 ????

On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 21:55:35 -0400, Peter wrote:


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 ????


Update: Took the basement apart... looked under shelves, behind dryer, washer
water heater, Turned couches and chairs over. Not a sign of the snake......

I don't mind that he/she/it is down there, however the basement is pretty cool
( 60's) and there's not that much to eat down there except for some occasional crickets,
and a stray field mouse. Not a good source of water either... I'd hate to see it
starve to death.

Now I know that there are a few exit holes going back to into the garage, but is it
possible that the snake can climb from a floor up to the top of the concrete blocks
and get out again ??

In the meantime, I have plans to clean up a lot of the areas and perhaps spray
some disinfectant to discourage the snake from taking up residence in the most
obvious and accessible areas where people go.

Thanks !!!

"Laura B." wrote in message
...
Peter wrote:

A trick snake pet owners use to catch loose snakes it to put out a heating
pad/stone under a basket for the snake to crawl into. Check the basket
everyday with something large and ready to put over the snake who will
coil until the warm spot. This might really work well in a basement where
the cold will annoy the snake.

I once had a pet California King snake that I kept in a large aquarium tank.
It got loose, snakes are excellent escape artists, and we didn't see it for
several weeks.

One morning I heard my wife scream, she found the King snake!

It had crawled into bed with her! VBG

'enry VIII

'enry VIII wrote:
"Laura B." wrote in message
...

Peter wrote:

A trick snake pet owners use to catch loose snakes it to put out a heating
pad/stone under a basket for the snake to crawl into. Check the basket
everyday with something large and ready to put over the snake who will
coil until the warm spot. This might really work well in a basement where
the cold will annoy the snake.


I once had a pet California King snake that I kept in a large aquarium tank.
It got loose, snakes are excellent escape artists, and we didn't see it for
several weeks.

One morning I heard my wife scream, she found the King snake!

It had crawled into bed with her! VBG

'enry VIII



Geez, did she divorce you?????

amy

"Amy D" wrote in message
...


'enry VIII wrote:
"Laura B." wrote in message
...

Peter wrote:

A trick snake pet owners use to catch loose snakes it to put out a
heating pad/stone under a basket for the snake to crawl into. Check the
basket everyday with something large and ready to put over the snake who
will coil until the warm spot. This might really work well in a basement
where the cold will annoy the snake.


I once had a pet California King snake that I kept in a large aquarium
tank. It got loose, snakes are excellent escape artists, and we didn't
see it for several weeks.

One morning I heard my wife scream, she found the King snake!

It had crawled into bed with her! VBG

'enry VIII

Geez, did she divorce you?????

No, she laughed about it later.

'enry VIII


amy

Day Three.... no sign of the snake...

I tore the basement somewhat apart but there are just too many boxes, books, magazines and
pieces of furniture to check out. I did check the floor, under all shelves and emptied
all cabinets. No snake.

Put a heating pad in a basket. No snake...

Put a picture of a female black snake wearing nylon mesh stockings next to basket. No
Snake. (maybe the snake is female and would prefer a chippendale snake picture.

PIcked up a CD titled "music to charm snakes by" (it's an import from the middle
east)... no snake...(but the plants started acting a little crazy.


Do snakes need water.... I guess they eat just live food..... perhaps cicada's ( Good
supply of them... If I catch a bunch of cicada's and they can't get back into the
ground...what happens??

Do cat's eat snakes ?? Do snakes eat cat's ??

Sorry to hear your no snake report.
Been there, done that ;-)

Do snakes need water....

Yes, they actually do.
Which is why I viewed the downstairs toilet with a wary eye for some time.




kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A