Though exciting, buying a home comes with a long list of concerns. What if the roof leaks? What if the air conditioner breaks? The list of potential problems is so long that “what if there’s a snake nest in the walls” doesn’t make the cut for most home buyers. For one Colorado woman, though, that unthinkable “what if” scenario recently became a reality.
After buying her first home, Centennial resident Amber Hall couldn’t wait to get unpacked. While moving her belongings into the garage, however, she noticed her dog acting strangely.
“I came over to see what he was looking at, thinking it was like a spider or something, and there were two little holes right here and I saw snakes slither up the wall,” Hall told Denver7. “I started watching and there were more and more and more snakes.”
In ten days, the new homeowner found 10 “shockingly big” snakes in the walls of her home. “After all the research, everybody’s saying they’re some form of garter snake,” she explained. “But they’re also giving the caveat that nobody’s ever seen their garter snake that big.”
Owning a home can be stressful, but for one first-time homebuyer in Colorado, it was pure terror. As soon as she moved in, she found at least 10 snakes inside the walls of the house! https://t.co/wxwIUlKZzd pic.twitter.com/HOAI5UPsNI
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 9, 2023
Since making the shocking discovery, Amber Hall has hired a professional snake catcher, who’s helped humanely remove the reptiles from her home.
According to the snake catcher, there’s likely a nest under the house somewhere. Given the size and approximate age of the snakes, he estimates they’ve been living in the home for at least 2 to 3 years.
In the interviews regarding the snake infestation, the homeowner has said she’s “petrified” and “scared to death.” So much so, in fact, that she’s afraid to even unpack her boxes. And, fair enough. Learning a snake nest is lurking under your brand new home isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time.
Could the snakes in the walls of the home be dangerous?
It’s excellent that the homeowner chose to have the snakes relocated rather than killed, despite her overwhelming fear. Snakes are classified as nongame wildlife and protected by law in most states, but that doesn’t necessarily stop anyone from doing harm.
The most common snake in Colorado is the bullsnake, a species stretching 4-6 feet in length on average. Their size matches the description of the snakes found inside Hall’s home, but not the color. While the snakes in her walls appear to be dark brown, bullsnakes are lighter in color.
(It’s worth mentioning that even if they were bullsnakes, there would be no danger. The species is non-venomous and poses no threat to humans).
They’re not ringneck snakes, hognose snakes, or yellow-bellied racers, either. And, most importantly, they clearly aren’t rattlesnakes – the only dangerous species to call the Centennial State home.
With all of those options off the table, it’s certainly possible that the snakes in the home are garter snakes. “Everybody” is right, however, very few garter snakes grow to over 4 feet in length, and that’s at the absolute largest. The average garter is barely 2 feet long, if that.
Again, because the snakes aren’t rattlers, they aren’t dangerous to humans. As the snake nest is likely under concrete, though, the homeowner could have a different problem on her hands.
Snakes can’t dig their own holes, so they often use the burrows of other animals as their dens. Unfortunately, this could mean the homeowner is sharing her new home with not only snakes but rats as well.
