Finding Snakes Inside Your House
Posted by Able_Perception4032@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 54 comments
Some guy was telling me how he found a snake in his home in North Dallas. Have you, or someone you know, found a snake inside a house before? If so, what kind of snake was it? Curious if this is common in DFW.
Royal-Position-6216@reddit
I found a dead garden snake inside my garage. About 8 inches long, pencil thin. I did have the door open since I was working out in there.
peachole@reddit
i saw snakes in the garage at my parents' house, but mind you they live right next to a lake
shaun3000@reddit
Once, many years ago, we came home from a long weekend to find a small garter snake coiled up on the top rack of our dishwasher. We’d had a cold snap and the best we can figure is this little guy was seeking warmth. No idea how it got into the dishwasher.
Able_Perception4032@reddit (OP)
Did you kill it?
shaun3000@reddit
NO!! I actually kept it. Got a terrrerium for it, fed it crickets, even got it a heating pad. It lived for a couple of years.
dfw-kim@reddit
Yes, a small garter snake.
calf2005@reddit
Yup, but it was small, non-venomous.
I find one or two young ones every spring in the flower beds when doing the spring cleanup.
eurydice1727@reddit
Yupp. A young RATTLE SNAKE. At my folks place, my mother was in the kitchen & initially thought we were ranking her until it started moving & rattling. She was terrified of course 😂
Still have zero clue how it just appeared and sought refuge in our house.
Able_Perception4032@reddit (OP)
Probably someone left the front door open for too long
Spirited-Sort7664@reddit
Yes. In east dallas. Rental. Once. Upstairs bathroom
CheriBlossomeKisse@reddit
I have not. I live on the third floor though.
DeepBluebirdAbyss@reddit
Not at home, but at work. It was a rat snake. The prettiest thing I've ever seen in person. Everyone was scared. I got it and a coworker relocated it. This is what sparked my live for snakes. I love learning and am hoping to learn how to handle them so I can start helping around my community.
aeroluv327@reddit
Yes, in my old townhouse (ground floor), I think there were 3 times that I found a little baby garter (I think?) snake. All three times he was in my bathroom, just hanging out under the bath mat. 🫠 I'm not particularly afraid of snakes but it's just not where you want to see one! Each time I managed to relocate it outside. No idea if it was the same one or not. And no idea how it kept getting in there! (One of my friends told me he was coming in through the toilet which is the most terrifying thing I could imagine.) Other than that, never had a snake in the house and I've lived in DFW my whole life.
Balancedmindset@reddit
Not a snake but a couple of small scorpions…far North Dallas bottom floor apartment about 7 years ago…haven’t lived on the bottom floor since.
Able_Perception4032@reddit (OP)
Did they sting you?
Roadrunnr61@reddit
I used to go to summer camp near Midlothian. We learned to check our shoes in the morning for scorpions or spiders - scorpions did get into the buildings - but they mostly stayed hidden. They will sting if you step on one. They seem to be more common south and west of the city.
Soggy-Bedroom-3673@reddit
There are plenty of them to the east as well. My parents have a house near cedar Creek lake and they get scorpions inside regularly. They must have gaps in their weather stripping or something, but those little dudes can flatten down super small.
Balancedmindset@reddit
No we found them near the front door after returning from a week’s long vacation. Had maintenance come & replace all the weatherstripping around every door and window at that point, and the place was only 4 years old. Then had pest control out to spray. I was on the lookout after that but never saw any others & was happy to move from there.
CuriousCamels@reddit
This reminds me of when I found a giant wolf spider in my bed like 4 years ago. I was super tired, but just happened to lift up my sheets to adjust my bed before I crashed out.
Well, there it was hiding under my sheet. I would have unknowingly crawled into bed with it in the dark. Scared the absolutely crap out of me, and still to this day I check under every single one of my pillows and blankets before hopping in bed.
Roadrunnr61@reddit
I used to go to summer camp near Midlothian. We learned to check our shoes in the morning for scorpions or spiders - scorpions did get into the buildings - but they mostly stayed hidden. They will sting if you step on one. They seem to be more common south and west of the city.
Suitable-Eagle-8256@reddit
Multiple when I lived in North Richland Hills. Neighbors were hoarders so we had mice too! I moved away from that neighbor and no rats or reptiles since
rgg40@reddit
No, but I found an opossum one day. I still don’t know how it got in.
picircle@reddit
Yes. They are under every house in Dallas. Just few inches below the ground. Mostly Rattle Snakes and vipers. If your house construction is not good, you might see them in toilets or bedrooms.
Blondefirebird@reddit
I once found a garden snake in my bedroom on the 3rs floor of my condo
ReasonableAd1887@reddit
Only once. I was changing the air filter for the first time in a new house and the snake fell on my head
ImTheOxyMoron@reddit
I have lived here 2 years and have not seen a single snake. Tons of lizards around my house though! only seen them in my garage, not inside the house though.
poikond@reddit
Friend of mine found a snake in his restroom early in the morning when his daughter was getting ready for school. He assumed it came out of the toilet because there was no other avenues for the snake to enter besides the toilet.
mylinuxguy@reddit
I've lived in the DFW area since 1980... I've only seen 1 in the house. Cutest little 7" little nope-rope ever... but he wasn't moving. My cat found him first and played with him a little too hard.
The only other time I've seen a snake in my yard was when my (x)wife told me that the outside AC unit was making a noise. I look in it and thought it was a stick.. but nope.... it was a good size snake that didn't fare too well with the ac motor blades.
Anyway.... 2 snakes in 46 years..... I live across the street from a nature area... near Lake Grapevine... so lots of opportunities to see snakes.... just don't see them.
oakleafwellness@reddit
Our neighbor actually just had a brown snake inside their laundry room. However, our neighborhood is right next to a creek, so for our neighborhood this is a common occurrence.
elliequay@reddit
My parents have had rat snakes in their garage. Because their garage was full of clutter and excess boxes of pantry food, perfect environment for rats, ergo rat snakes. It was big too, definitely took its job as rodent control very seriously.
ukegrrl@reddit
My cat used to bring snakes in as presents but they never came in on their own.
librarykerri@reddit
Not in the house, but a small snake for into the staff workroom at the Lakewood library when I worked there. When I first saw it on the floor in front of the door to the staff restroom, I thought it was one of the toys/props belonging to the children's librarian.
bemvee@reddit
I have found two dead garden snakes in my house, two separate occasions, thanks to my cat. Not even an outdoor cat, they just got into our garage somehow (we never used it for cars) and my cat liked to hang out in there. Left one dead in the garage, dragged the other one into the living room.
dankjudydench@reddit
It happened once in six years. Small harmless grey snake. Doesn't mean I didn't want to burn the house down.
Justadivorcee@reddit
Haven’t found any in my house, but I live near a large partially developed park and I’ve encountered several copperheads. I joined a north Texas snake ID group on fb for a while and it helped me recognize the ones to worry about vs the harmless ones. Knowledge makes it less scary. Most that end up in or around houses are rat snakes that are harmless. Watch out for copperheads if you visit trails tho!
AppealConsistent6749@reddit
I’ve found a substantial snake skin tucked ip inside box spring when I was moving. I’d almost prefer an actual snake cuz I had no idea where the snake came from in a 2nd floor apartment. Also in Dallas I’ve found 3 snakes in the gym where I taught P.E. Just garter snakes thank goodness. My sister lives in Carrollton and finds snakes all the time. Inside the house, on top of the outdoor gazebo, swimming in the pool, in the garage. Always pretty substantially sized rat snakes.
IwasIlovedfw@reddit
Nope, nope, nope...🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
Bigfartz69420@reddit
no, only green anoles and house geckos
ashdeb89@reddit
If the home is a new build that was formerly a field then I wouldn’t be shocked you’d get bunch of field roaming critters sneaking in
Adjective_Noun4377@reddit
We have had garter snakes wander in on 2 occasions. Little things. We bring plants in and out. They likely hitched a ride in a pot. The only other time was at my job. I was a sales coordinator for a heavy duty construction equipment company off of Cash blvd. I unlocked the office, turned on the light, and right beside the water cooler was a big o' snake. Trying to warm up, I guess. We were equally surprised at each other's presence.
Emac_039@reddit
Yes, once and only once that I still think about to this day. It was a black grass snake I think , maybe 9-10 inches. Thought my cats chewed a shoe lace off but no just the snakes head. It happened over night in my closed bedroom can’t believe I slept through it. I spent many days going over HOW that snake got in and the only thing I can think of is the window ac unit. Never found the head lol.
Effective_Cut_7423@reddit
my cat brought in a 12 inch snake when i lived in las colinas, it was a grass snake, but i also saw a 5ft diamond-back in the road so i got out and took some pictures, I have also seen a few 3ft-4ft water moccasins in the road, and a 2ft copperhead. most of this a little north of dallas near oklahoma. i found a scorpion in lewisville outside an apartment i lived in, and under my laptop bag in a building in carrollton.
huvanile@reddit
No but I had 2 chimney swift birds fly into my house today. Not fun.
Trillion_G@reddit
Yup i find a snake in my house at few times a year. That will go down a bit now that my cats no longer have access to a screened patio.
YaGetSkeeted0n@reddit
yeah in my pants LMAO
Roadrunnr61@reddit
Once found a tiny snake in the house, I think it was a rough earth snake. I hate snakes, so I was freaked out but my kids thought it was cool. They moved it to the yard.
My husband grew up on a creek. Occasionally, they found snakes in the yard, but never in the house.
Aromatic_Location@reddit
Yes. Inside apartment in Richardson. Just a cute little baby black thing. I encouraged it to slither into an empty box and took it outside where it belongs.
Ok_Substance_1503@reddit
What floor?
Aromatic_Location@reddit
First floor. He made it all the way to the bedroom. His head was sticking out from under the dresser. He really was nice about everything. Sometimes we all end up in place we shouldn't be.
GrillMarks0@reddit
I have a lot of snakes around my home in Rowlett, (some Big!!), but I’ve never had one in my house. I did help a neighbor get a large snake out of her garage once.
VeganWerewolf@reddit
No it’s not common at all.
Whole_Berry_965@reddit
We had it happen once. It probably got in via the garage door which I left open for a few minutes. It was in our laundry room, about 1 foot long. I used a broom and a cardboard thingy to pick it up and set it outside.
So yea, it does happen.
katie4@reddit
Just once, I found a rough earth snake inside. They are itty bitty, like large earthworm sized. It had already died, and it was under my front window. I do know some live in my flowerbeds out there, but no idea how he got in or how he died.
GoldenGoof19@reddit
INSIDE the home? No. If there’a an opening in the outside of the house large enough to let a snake in, then there’s probably bigger issues with the home than a snake.
Have I seen snakes in the yard? In 40+ years in Dallas I’ve seen a handful of snakes in the yard, none of them venomous. I leave them alone and they leave me alone and it works out. Sometimes I’ve seen water moccasins in creeks if I’m walking paths or that kind of thing, but they don’t like people and keep their distance.