The Snake on Your House Isn’t Trying to Hurt You

Look, I understand it can be disconcerting to come home and find a ratsnake somewhere that you weren’t expecting. I PROMISE they are not trying to hurt you.

They are simply agile critters (which is why they are such good mousers) that “follow their nose” (well, tongues, technically) to find dinner. They don’t seem to notice that your house is not part of the forest. This lands them in lots of predicaments.

Being a wildlife rescuer, in springtime like my phone rings all day long with nervous people who have come home to a ratsnake they weren’t expecting. It makes me sad when they are needlessly killed because these guys are actually very nice animals.

I spent last night unsticking one from a glue trap and then pulling and wiping on him for 30 minutes and he never once complained. Typically, when I get to someone’s house, I find a ratsnake hiding, terrified because everyone was whooping and hollering at him. They seem to intuitively understand that I am there to assist and have never once offered to bite me.

I am not saying they never bite, anything with a mouth can bite. If you are scared of them or rough with them and they think you are about to harm and maybe eat them, of course they will defend themselves. But that is not their fault. They would much rather go back to their exploring than run afoul of you, they are just not good at realizing when they are exploring somewhere they shouldn’t.