Snakes, Cats, Cracks, and Other Worries

Last week we found a baby snake in the house!!!  Yes, that's right, a snake!  Ewwwww.  It was the size of a worm, nothing big, but gross anyway.  It was in the pantry, underneath a cooler.  We googled it because it was black with a yellow ring just below the head.  Turns out it's a ringneck snake (creative name).  After we found that surprise, we immediately pulled everything else out of the pantry to make sure there weren't more.  We vacuumed every nook and cranny and even patched a small crack in the wall.  Then we put everything back in a more organized fashion.  I had been meaning to clean the pantry, but I wasn't happy that a snake was the impetus for our organization!  Anyway, luckily we didn't find any other snakes.  I didn't sleep much at all that night though.

The next day I walked around the foundation to see if I could see any holes or obvious places that a snake would have gotten in.  I actually found 2 really good sized holes near the living room windows on the side of the house.  I had Carlos patch the two holes, and I swear I heard things rustling in the walls of the living room for the next few hours after.  Maybe we walled some animals in?  I was so skeeved out after both of these things, that I called Mike from Bat Guys (found by googling) to come and do an inspection of the house and make sure that we weren't missing anything important or obvious that would help keep these unwanted animals out!

He came the same week and was amazing.  Super nice, helpful guy.  He walked around everywhere and basically found only a few suggestions.  First of all, he found one more little hole that needed to be patched.  We did that tonight.  Second, he suggested we stuff the corner boards of the house with steel wool.  They are hollow and big enough to let Mice right up into the attic.  Third, he said if we don't want snakes, to cut the clematis that is growing on the house.

It gets them right up to the crack between the foundation and the floor boards that is big enough for insects.  We have a company spraying for insect control, but the chemicals don't keep snakes out!  He said that while this space is too small for mice, it is not for snakes.  So I think I'll be cutting down that clematis at the end of the season...it's pretty, but not pretty enough to justify sharing my house with snakes!

Mike from Bat Guys is also coming back this week to install a chimney cap.  That should keep out bats, squirrels, and raccoons.  The good news is that hiring him to come out will save me money on a chimney sweep.  I had booked a company for September to clean out the flu and get the fireplace ready to use this season.  When Mike went up there, he said it was super clean and that it probably hasn't been used in many years.  He thought it would be a complete waste to have them come!  So that saved me at least $150 bucks.

On another gross note, our neighbor's cat keeps coming into our backyard, digging these big holes, and then making massive poops in them.  I was raking back there last month and kept finding poop.  At first I thought it was dog poop...but I've never seen loose dogs in our yard.  Just last week I saw the culprit.  A big ugly fat cat.  What the hell can you do about a neighbor's cat so that it won't poop in your yard??

Lastly, there are some ground wasps or black wasps (not sure what they are called) nesting? burrowing?  in our wall in the backyard--right near Carlos's grill.  They are huge and they are also gross.  And I'm sure they hurt like mad if they sting.  Luckily, getting rid of them is covered in our insect/pest control plan.  They are coming Thursday to get rid of those stinkers.

I hope this is it with my encounters with gross animals in or near or around my house.  I sure do live out in the boonies!  This ain't Watertown no more!