There was some excitement in our house this morning! I opened the front door and in-between the screen door and wooden door was a Tiger snake. I had the kids and Rocket following me, so I tried to slam the door, hold them all back and try and control my total fear. All in one tiny moment that felt like an hour!
Stupid me, turned my back for a second to tell the kids to grab the dog, go into the kitchen and sit up on the bench while I watched the snake. I turned back and it had disappeared.
Did it go out the flyscreen door? Did it go under the freezer that is close to the front door? Did it slither into the office? I had no idea. I didn’t know if there was a snake in my house or not! Not a pleasant feeling!
I had a bit of a look a round while Rochelle flew out the of the kitchen door to get Anthony. Couldn’t see anything. Neither could Anthony, when he came back.
I fussed around getting the kids school lunches, all the while keeping an eye on the area I’d seen it last. Then I decided to have a look in the office.
I walked down quietly and stood in the doorway… Yep, there it was, sliding along the window, trying to get out. My heart just about flew through my chest. Now I don’t like snakes, but they don’t unduly upset me if they are outside. But it was the fact that it was IN MY HOUSE: that I had a problem with!
So we called the reinforcements – Anthony came to the rescue and finally, after upending the entire office, (which I now have to clean!) we found it under a filing cabinet. Needless to say that it is no longer with us!
But even as I sit at my office desk and write this blog, I am still wary. I know it’s gone, but I have my boots on and the dog locked in the laundry. The unsettling feeling of not knowing where it was, if it was even in the house and the danger that the snake presented, is still very real.
**Note, I got this photo from the internet and it was taken by John Fowler.
It is a horrible feeling- when you can’t see the danger- I think there’s an emotion to tap for a story right there!!! If we can at least SEE the danger, we know how to FIGHT it… it’s when we can’t see where it’s coming from or where it is, that makes it hard to face! Ok my head hurts from all this deepness.. I must go and have a coffee now! Glad you found it I got the heeby geebies just thinking about it!
Fleur, how on earth did you get it out of the house? You didn’t do it by hand, I imagine. Did hubby have to shoot it?
Please tell.
Hi Karly and Brigitte!
We ended up ‘gaffing’ him! (Although I will add I bought Anthony his gaff for bringing me home yummy fishing, not killing tiger snakes behind the filing cabinet!)
Well Fleur, I think that tops any of my own snake posts or stories, but I know too well the feeling of post-snake-event stress. A pity we don’t have remote window and door openers to let such outdoor creatures back out!
I had a tiger snake go under our 4 wheel motorbike when i was on it and then it continued in to our chook yard where i lost sight of it! Needless to say, I didn’t do the chooks that night!!
wow that was brave! Had a baby fox run into the house last month chased by the dogs. They got him in the kitchen. I opened the door to see what the commotion was and they all ran between my legs.
My brothers live out west of Bourke in the vicinity of Tilpa. Their house has lots of gaps and is therefore not very animal proof. There are always a few frogs in the shower. A while ago they noticed that there were less frogs in the shower than normal. Not long after this observation they came in to find a brown coloured snake in the bathroom.Now this snake had obviously come in under the back door, and turned right to go to the bathroom (past the gun cabinets), if it had turned left it would have been in my brothers bedroom and given that he doesn’t believe in cleaning……..he would never have known! Anyway, being professional roo shooters the snake was quickly dispensed with a shot from the 22 and remarkably there are no bullet holes in the bathroom!