April 13th – Well, from my recent sojourn back home many of my friends have already heard much about Mr. and Mrs. Snake — we believe from our pictures and contact they are both black racers — who live peacefully in the attic above our master bedroom. Mr. Snake is about 5 feet long and his beloved about 4 feet. The Snakes, or more accurately their ancestors, have been habitants of the attic for a very long time. (Apparently, when snakes are born one or two will remain in that location to carry on the family tradition, a sentiment I can appreciate but perhaps not enjoy in this case.)
I remember, not too fondly if truth be told, knowing that the attic — with its short attic door across from the bed where I stayed during my summer visits — was a scary place even when I was less than 6. We avoided even walking on that side of our upstairs bedroom. Still, I didn’t actually expect to see two lying about peacefully on the plywood floor when we peeked in the attic the first few days after we moved in. But there they were in all their glory.
I probably would not have thought further about trying to remove them either had it not been for the squirrels. The Animal Control Solutions expert who came to the house told us they could get rid of the snakes as well as the squirrels and it seemed the logical thing to do. Certainly friends and family with whom we have shared the pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Snake agree wholeheartedly with the plan to remove them. Apparently, the idea of having large snakes moving around in the house while they visit was unappealing to most.
In fact, black racer snakes are pretty easygoing house guests. They sleep at night and are barely audible — not entirely though — as they slither awake in the morning. They are excellent mouse trappers, leaving only a small pile of pink dust where once there was a gnawing little rodent. My sister even asked if we could bring her our snakes when we trapped them.
Yet so far, it’s Mr. and Mrs. Snake 1 or 2 and Animal Control 0. Not their fault, of course. Pretty hard to close up all the holes on a 82 year old stone house which hasn’t been tuck pointed or occupied for 8+ years. When the new metal trim pieces went up around roof, replacing the wooden trim, The Snakes persisted in finding a slightly lower entry point. Now they make more racket when they come in and out — they need access to water every day — but seem otherwise unfazed by the changes.
Good news is we haven’t seen any mice in that end of the house —upstairs or down. We’ll keep you posted on progress.
