Wildlife Tails - Feb 2007 Issue

Early one morning, many years ago, I was asleep having the most wonderful dream. I dreamed that I was lying in a sail boat, just bobbing along on the rippling waves. My eyes were closed at first, and I could see the bright sunlight through my eyelids. I opened my eyes and looked up at the sails waving in the breeze. And then, much to my surprise, a rope fell from the sails and landed on my face.

I began waking up because I could really feel that rope on my face. My eyes were still closed when the rope began moving and, of course, I had to open them to see this rope that was moving across my head. Much to my surprise the rope was not the white rope of my dream; it was dark, rather brown. And, it felt very cold. I completely opened my eyes only to come nose-to-nose with a snake. He raised his head up, ready to strike, and began to rattle his tail against my pillowcase. I went nuts!

No Game Plan!
As you can imagine, I was not prepared for a snake in my bedroom, let alone one that was sharing my pillow with me. I jumped out of bed and began my Edith-Bunker-Oh-My-Gosh-There’s-A-Snake-In-My-Bed Dance. I like snakes. Really, I do. But, this particular snake and I were not meant to be sharing space in my bed. I ran screaming from my bedroom. I found myself in the kitchen jumping around like I was on fire. After spending quite some time dancing about the kitchen, it occurred to me that there was still a snake in my bedroom and I had to remove it…somehow. I was not equipped back in those days with all the handy tools I have now. I had no snake hook, no heavy gloves and most importantly, no knowledge. I was clueless as to how to capture and remove the snake. I had no idea, back then, of what I might be dealing with. And, the darned snake was acting like a rattlesnake! I tried to form a snake removal plan. Uh-huh.

While I was putting on bib-overalls, sweatshirt and (you’re gonna like this), knee-high mud boots, that snake was trying to make his way out of my bedroom. He was attempting to exit through my mini-blinds, trying, I figured out later, to go out the way he came in. I should have let him! You see, it was my fault that he was able to get into my bedroom. I’d been doing a building project the day before and bumped the window glass with a 2x4x8 piece of wood. A tiny little corner of the glass broke, and I determined that I’d fix it later. Right outside that window were my bird feeders, and I’m betting that snake had been out there hunting the mice that were most assuredly eating spilled bird seed. I always wondered if the snake was following a mouse into my home.

Now I Know!
It took me a very long time to get that snake out of my house (I’m too embarrassed to say exactly how long), and had I known better, I would have let that snake continue on his own way. But, I didn’t. Now I know that no matter what species of snake you might find in the house, you can use a towel (the old out-of-sight-out-of-mind trick), a broom (or, a putter if you’re a golfer), a bucket, and a whole lot of quick moves to get the snake into the bucket so it can be transported back outside where it belongs. Drop the towel over the snake and sweep it all into a bucket. If the bucket doesn’t have a lid, place something solid over it and secure it. You can then relocate the snake safely. If you feel you have a venomous snake in your home, don’t mess with it! Even if you know it’s a harmless species, if you are uncomfortable with snakes in any capacity, then don’t take any chances! Instead call the DFW Wildlife Coalition hotline at 972-234-WILD. They can assist you in finding an experienced rehabilitator or service that can humanely remove and release the snake outside where it belongs.

Quite a while after my morning encounter I discovered that my sneaky snake was a Texas rat snake. Texas rat snakes are notorious gluttons that are so adept at climbing, that I once watched one climb a brick wall to get at a nest of Barn Swallows (I’m not going to tell you if the snake got to eat those birds. However, I am a birder…big time, as my son would say. You can come up with your own answer). All snakes are an important part of nature’s food web. They help keep populations of mice and rats in check which is extremely beneficial to humans. And, snakes don’t carry disease the way that mice and rats do.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Cates

Who’s Afraid of Whom?
Snakes, just like so many other animals, consider us to be predators. We’re just big, scary, hungry animals to them. When I first moved to Texas I was told unbelievable stories about how the venomous snakes here go out of their way to try to bite humans. I heard stories about Copperheads leaping out from behind logs trying to bite hunters, Cottonmouths jumping into boats trying to get a bite into fisher-people, and rattlesnakes chasing hikers down the trail. Hogwash! Snakes know we’re not food and don’t want to expend their energy messing with us. Snakes will strike if they feel threatened. What else are they going to do? Kick? Most snakes just try to get away from us. Or, they remain still and hope that we’ll go away. Sure, every once in a while we’re going to run into a snake with attitude, but even if it’s a venomous snake and it should happen to bite, about 40% of the time those bites are “dry-bites”; they’ve got no venom in them.

Words of Advice
There are some things that you can do to avoid a negative encounter with a snake:

Should you find yourself ankle to snout with a snake, just stop, make no sudden moves, check the area behind you for obstacles, and very slowly back away from the snake. Remember, we’re the animals with the big, smart brains! Once we understand that snakes are really no threat to us, we can appreciate their beauty and their place in the world. So, remember, the next time you see a snake and get the “willies,” that snake is your friend and it provides a very useful service to mankind. I gotta tell you, I’d rather have a rat snake on my pillow than mice in my Cheerios.

Wildlife Questions? Wildlife Conflict?

Call the DFW Wildlife Coalition Hotline --- 972-234-WILD